Integrating Databases into Your Web Site
ColdFusion is a product that acts as "middleware” between any ODBC database (Access, Oracle, etc.) and Web server for the delivery of "live" data to Web pages, which allows users to develop applications that dynamically input data to and output data from a database via the Internet and the Web.
ColdFusion, which is made up several components, is a powerful application development tool that enables developers to create interactive, dynamic Web sites. As a ColdFusion developer, you can create CF files by simply extending your existing HTML files with CFML (ColdFusion Mark-up Language – tag-based server-side scripting language) and SQL (Structured Query Language). These pages are processed by the CF server, and sent back to the Web server as an HTML page, which is then passed to the browser.
Specifically, ColdFusion allows a developer to:
- query existing database applications for data;
- create dynamic queries facilitating more flexible data retrieval;
- execute stored procedures in databases that support them;
- execute conditional code on-the-fly to customize responses for specific situations;
- enhance the standard HTML form capabilities with data validation functions;
- dynamically populate form elements;
- customize the display of dates, times and currency values with formatting functions; and
- ease the creation of data entry and data drill-down applications with wizards.
ColdFusion is available on the NT platform from most reputable Web hosting firms. The most effective ColdFusion deployments are made on managed and dedicated platforms that have been specifically built for the customer. ColdFusion is also available on the UNIX platform, but is not widely available from hosting companies on this platform.
Usually the more inexpensive option for the developer on the UNIX platform is the use of the Hypertext Pre-processor (PHP). PHP is a server-side, cross-platform, HTML embedded scripting language that extends HTML so that database information can be queried as well. PHP is quite popular amongst open-source developers, because of its low-cost and speed to implement.
PHP itself is a module that plugs directly into the Apache Web server, the most popular server software in use. Once the PHP module is enabled, authorized users can add PHP code to their Web pages to tie into SQL relational databases. These databases run on open-source databases packages such as "mySQL." As with most open-source software, the cost for individual deployments of "mySQL" are free and organizational deployments are nominal. This makes PHP and mySQL a huge value for those deploying dedicated servers with database/Web integration capabilities. Many virtual hosts will offer mySQL and PHP, but performance will vary based on the number of shared hosts deployed on a multiplexed server. The can also be said of ColdFusion application.
However, both ColdFusion and PHP are excellent methods for integrating dynamic database content into your Web presence.
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