PHP scripting can make updating you band calendar a lot easier. You make changes online using an interface so you don't need to upload a new HTML page through FTP and you can update anywhere through any ISP.

    If your calendar updating has become something of a routine, if you consistently have more than a few entries and you have a pretty clear idea of how you want to present the entries repecting your venue and band information you ought to consider using php.

    We use a free/donationware php "calendar management system" from wheatdesign.com called ::showlister :: which requires that both PHP and a MySQL database must be provided by the ISP hosting your site. Showlister is well written, annotated, and fairly easy to understand. Its interface and database can be customized to fit your needs. There are many links to examples of calendars using the showlister system at their download site.

    Establishing your MySQL database is a challenge which gets real easy after you've done it a few times (The way MySQL is setup depends upon your ISP). We recomend setting up at least one more data field than Showlister's default number which include: Date; Venue; Location and Details. Showlister's default Date fields are required for sorting the calendar entries so that the most current entry always rises to the top. But the default Date fields need not be displayed. Adding an extra field makes it easier to customize your date entry: We call our displayed date field [damon] and use it to display the date entry as ie:     July 1st.

Adding even more data fields allows for more flexability in determining your optimal layout.
Including additional variables in your database allows you to use different fonts for paticular entries, abbreviate lines, make unusual entries, add calendar divisions, show images, and vary or add to the space between events.

    We usually begin by designing a calendar layout in HTML. We then convert the HTML to PHP and design a PHP interface to facilitate online updating of the calendar.

    The pages which follow contain:

                 Some sample club calendar designs
                 A customized showlister interface for these designs
                 Some PHP "tricks" for calendar designs
                 Some PHP for use with twinhelix designs "tipster"