i wish to make a live chat room for my website there is need for a certain group to discuss online the problem is how do i design and execute one? i wish to use php but if there are better languges i would still want to know what do i need to know and what do i need?

There is a php chat program which you can set up for your site under your cpanel (I believe it's called phpmychat). I've used this before and was quite impressed, although there were a few things i didn't like about it, the disadvantages below are what i didn't like the most.
The script can be found under the pre-installed scripts section.

However, using php for a chat room has disadvantages in that the only way you can really update pages is to keep refreshing the page to get the latest chat from the database or file. This means that the script is not bandwidth friendly and you may find that you run out of bandwidth quite quickly.

I advise using a language such as Java or Flash to have a chat room that is updated in real time and which is less stress on your bandwidth/database.
Unfortunately, I'm not good enough on these languages to tell you how to do it or to provide an example code, however, a google search should help. There's many chat scripts out there which you can use in java/flash which allows more of a live script than php.
Hope this helps :-)

Yes, good answer there. Check out Hotscripts.com for a good list of scripts.
I also had a phpmychat going and it worked nicely, too, but the part about Bandwidth was a concern until I raising my Hosting to Level 2. Now I don't use it, and it doesn't matter.
Also, there may be a chat using Ajax around. It is client-side stuff, so the page refresh and bandwidth issues wouldn't be as large a concern. Good luck finding what you need. Let us know if you are successful.

Its php question and you must post here : http://www.trap17.com/forums/php-programming-f59.html
For download and install scripts look this :
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_...ipts/index.html
if you know php and sql you can make owen chat script , read this tutorial ::
http://www.pixel2life.com/count_tutorial/2...-Chat_Tutorial/
ok i recommend it this script : TotalChatrooms
Its php and mysql script , its not free script you must buy it

I personally wouldn't recommend using PHP for a live chat program, but, I have not personally used PHP for a live chat system. In my experience, Java is better suited for this task. Hotscripts.com has many Java applets and servlets - and I'm sure there's one that would suit your site well. Best of luck in finding one that suits your needs!

I made a php/flash combination for a chat program. When i have time ill upload it to this thread. Its pretty great because its live and no refreshing.

Php and flash won't update automatically either. You may even have to close the browser to see the update. I recommend statying with PHP technology and just add on Javascript to it. Make sure you use the XMLHTTPRequest in Javascript to automatically refresh the chatroom without having to reload. This is called AJAX.

When I have the time, I think I should develop my own AJAX chatrooms. But there should be some pre-made scripts out there already I believe.

I would like to you to try 'Ajax IM' .. it's nice and have beautiful skins and you can integrate it easily with your website .. you can download it here

No. Flash can load variables from php continuously. My flash chat works flawless in every browser but internet explorer which for some reason cache's the page that flash loads from, causing you to refresh to see updates, but if you do a check for ie, this should be no problem.


I also made an ajax chat that loads from the same page that the flash chat loads from (it parses out the andpersands and stuff).
I prefer my flash one because you have much more control over the look of it.