I am completely new to PHP and am wanting to develop a simple application that allows me to keep track of all my finances on a single webpage. I want to do this by inputting all of my bank information, and have it automatically updated the transactions from ALL of my banking locations (bank accounts, paypal, etc.). I want to be able to sort that information how I want, categorize it how I want (and automatically categorize it in the future for the same type of purchases). There are other things I would like to do with the information, but I can figure it all out later. Is this kind of thing done with php/html, or do I have to use another language, such as javascript or something?
It’s possible to do that in PHP as long as there’s no communication going to your banking account (I believe that would be impossible anyways), but not practical in my opinion. You are better off using a finance application or a spreadsheet. Even though you could make it secure, I still would be leery of posting financial statement on the web.
I totally agree with Strider64 ! ! ! It would not be secure, although you could make it somewhat secure
with a login password, etc. But, why would you want to put your private banking info online? Much better
served on a spreadsheet or a local program on your personal computer. You might want to look at Intuit’s
Quickbooks. It is the way to go. It allows you to put all of your various accounts into it and it will even go
out to your bank accounts and pull your account data for you. You can even use their cloud version if you
really need to have all of your accounts online. Should work for you…
Ernie and Strider: but who’s to say your personal computer is more secure than a well managed server… 
Nobody JimL…
BUT, if you bothered to read the original post, you would see that Rheanna is totally and completely
new to PHP. Do you really think that someone starting out new with putting their personal financial
accounts online will know how to protect the data? I do not.
We know by your responses on this site that YOU are capable of securing a site, but, not the owner
of the post, in my humble opinion…
Still, if you host a site at a competent host you only need to think security when implementing the application. Versus your home computer where you have to think security all the time (getting updates, not clicking anything fishy, etc).
I’m not saying either is bullet proof, but one should seriously reconsider the idea of the home computer beeing “secure”, it really isn’t.
Well, JimL, I do agree any home computer is not secure. But, putting your personal financial info
out on a site is not either, in my humble opinion. That is why I mentioned Quickbooks which is really
exactly what is needed for this use. It can be passworded and pulls all of her accounts from her banks
and is just what the doctor ordered. A bit costly, in my opinion, but…
I believe it is safe to say, yes it is possible, but not a good idea. As mentioned there are better ways to accomplish what you are wanting. You could still approach the the project, but if I were to do it, I would go with a desktop application, not a web app, AFTER you learn and understand it a bit more.
lol… You scaring people again [member=71845]JimL[/member] ;D 8)