Have an idea? We can help you ! Moving from Simple Desktop applications with Microsoft Access , Paradox as the backend databases to more robust SYBASE (db-library) , ORACLE , Microsoft SQL SERVER used in Client Server architecture with ODBC , OLEDB , TUXEDO frameworks we have moved to the Web based systems widely using Mysql , Microsoft SQL SERVER,ORACLE, POSTGRESQL databases as some of the backend supporters.
How does a traditional web server application function?
A request is sent from the user’s browser (either a static or dynamic page) to the server (Please note that server here is the web server (Apache, IIS, PWS). The server handles the request from each client independently. If the response to the clients request is another simple static page, it simply sends the static page to the client to be rendered by the client’s browser. If the response is a dynamic page then the server generates a dynamic html stream and sends it to the client.
What is the difference between a static page and a dynamic page?
A static page is a simple html page whose contents do not change once developed. On the other a hand a dynamic page (a .php, .aspx, .jsp, .pl) is generated on the run by the server and the contents are generally picked up from the database, CSV files or XML files. These dynamic pages are executed by the server (remember it is the web server that is the main program here) using either: PHP, .ASPX, .JSP, .PL technology. The dynamic page is converted to an html page and sent to the client (the browser residing on the user’s machine) who then renders the page to the user. Applications like Mail, Banking Systems, and Credit Card Processing Systems are all systems which use this technology.
Where does the database fit into this picture?
The database is installed on the server either the same server running the Web Server or a physically different server (yet known to the web server). The php / jsp / asp applications connect to the database server to retrieve / send information either specific to the user or to the application. A small to medium sized website too may require database support to have features for:
Shopping Cart Modules
User Login Newsletter Signups Building Forums Building BLOGS
User driven Photo Gallery
We have the expertise in web based systems and our exposure spans using Microsoft .NET with Microsoft SQL SERVER, ORACLE and Mysql database systems. Microsoft .NET uses the ADO.NET to handle all the communication objects from the client to the database server. We have designed and developed a web based application for a utilities company using the Microsoft .NET framework with Microsoft SQL SERVER and the ORACLE as the backend databases. Our experience also spans building web applications using JAVA (JSP / Servlet) components connecting to the Database using JDBC components. To our credit we have developed an in house shopping mall application using the PHP technology with Mysql database as the backend system.
Linux Apache Mysql Php / Perl / Python:
Most of the web based applications today use the popular LAMP technology to build fast and efficient systems. PHP is the more popular scripting language than the other two. Database connectivity from the scripts can be achieved using the native mysql library from PHP or through ADODB – database abstraction library for PHP. Our biggest asset includes building fast and robust applications using PHP as the scripting language, Mysql as the backend database and Apache as the Web Server. This combination can be used to build large web based Mail applications, shopping mall systems to dynamic photo building sites. Coupled with the client side DHTML & AJAX technologies, rich web based applications can be built with the same efficiency and speed as desktop applications.