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 Some
Web sites allow users to be able to access
the site, request specific information,
and then have the pages dynamically updated
to suit their needs. Such a capability
is possible by using software that creates
database-driven web sites.
Most web sites consist of a set of individual
web pages, connected to each other or
to a table of contents page through the
use of hyperlinks. Updating data must
be done on the individual pages.
A
different way of organizing and maintaining
web sites is through the use of data bases
of information. Such a database-driven
web site would then access specific information
from the database after the user has filled
out a form or asked for specific information.
This
is different than having static pages
where that the user can access from an
index or search. Instead, the page is
dynamically created from information requested
from the database.
This
also has the advantage in that the owner
of the data only needs to update the database
and not worry about updating individual
web pages.
Applications
Database-driven web sites have
numerous applications and possibilities.
Information
on products
A company doing e-commerce can
have all their goods for sale in a data-base
on their web server. When a customer accesses
the web site and asks for information
on a specific type of product, a web page
will display the information desired.
This
is how many search engines work, but the
capabilities in this case are greater,
because the information can be formatted
in other ways that a simple list.
When
new products are introduced or information
on them changes, only the database needs
to be updated.
Education
courses
When a student accesses an online
course, he or she may be able to selected
the level or the type of information needed.
Since the course material is in a database,
only what is requested will be displayed.
Also,
updating the education or training material
can be done without having to worry about
HTML coding issues. The information is
simply put in the database.
Software
There are a number of software
solutions to having data-driven web sites.
ColdFusion is a popular program
for companies involved in e-commerce or
handling large databases of information,
such as employee records or parts lists.
ASP, PHP and Jrun are other popular programming
languages. Among the most used databases
are Microsoft's Access and SQL, open source
MySQL and IBM DB2.
Generation21
Generation21 is a knowledge
management system, specializing in online
and distance education. Courses and lessons
are modularized and put into a database
for access according to the student's
needs.
In
conclusion
Using special software to develop web
sites that access databases in order to
create dynamic web pages is being used
in business and in schools. It is the
inmediate future in the World Wide Web
and you should be aware of it.
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