How you approach a project to display a random phrase on a web page. Let's say a visitor selects from 2,3 or 4 words in length, hits submit, and is give a phrase generated from random words. Something just like this http://watchout4snakes.com/CreativityTools/RandomWord/RandomPhrase.aspx I have some knowledge of php and mysql.
Firstly, if you're looking to mimic that site, work out in your head how it works. Get out some trusty paper and a pen, and plan out the project. Decide how the data is stored, and how you want the user to interact with it. If you start by drawing out the form, and then deciding the elements. To me, I would think of it this way: 1: Create the form 2: Create the database setup (only one table needed) 3: Create the database fields etc I would probably use id (primary key), word, type (int or something smaller, to decide type e.g 0 = noun, 1 = verb) and rarity (similar to type) 4: Add all your words to your database 5: Create the Database connection 6: Create the script to pull the data. Check the field type select, and then select a random word from the database where the type is equal to type (e.g. noun) and rarity is equal to rarity selected Keep checking fields until no more are selected or word limit reached Echo out the data Everyone approaches these projects differently, but I hope this helps