NOTES AND REQUIREMENTS ON

DATABASE CONNECTIVITY FEATURES OF

INTERNET / INTRANET DESIGN SHOP GOLD

 

The following sections provide some information about this web site. Especially the database functions used, server related issues, and ODBC requirements.

If you are to design a web site which will work with a back end database, the database must be setup properly on the web server where your site will reside. Your web pages should also have the proper database configuration and should match those of the database they will access.

With Internet/Intranet Design Shop GOLD, you may build web pages where the data entered by the visitor can be gathered and entered directly in the database. The program also enables you to create web sites connected to databases. Visitors viewing your web page can query the database, and browse information. In other words, your web site will act as an interface to the database residing on the server.

The database file associated with this web site example has been included with this program. It is:

widget.mdb

This database is accessed and used by the forms of this web site. Queries and other functions will work only if you place this database file on the server where you will publish this web site. The following sections give you more information on how to properly place database files on servers.

DATABASE AND SERVER RELATED REQUIREMENTS

There are a number of items that need to be properly configured, for your
web pages to use the database functions that the program supports.
The following sections provide information on the different topics, requirements, and
procedures to configure settings, and install database components on the local PC or the
web site server. These notes would be read by you the web designer as well as the
system administrator of the server where your web site will reside.

These instructions cover the use of web - database connectivity requirements for the
Windows platform Win32.

On this platform you must have:
Perl for Win32: version 5.003_07 or higher
Database Connectivity platform: ODBC extensions for Win32 PERL

Installation Instructions for ODBC extensions for Win32 PERL
       Copy the ODBC.PM file into the \PERL\LIB\WIN32 directory.
        Copy the ODBC.PLL file into the \PERL\LIB\AUTO\WIN32\ODBC\ directory.
        Define a DSN (Data Source Name) and ensure that you have everything you need
        to use it normally (ODBC drivers, database files, etc.)


To Define DSNs :
To use the database functions, you should design a new database using Access or other ODBS
compliant database program. You can also use an existing database. These databases should
reside on the server and be registered with a DSN. If the database is not registered on the
server, the following steps should be followed to ensure that the database is properly
registered.
The first step is to create the database and submit or give it to the system administrator
of the server. This can be done by you or anyone else. You can even FTP or upload the
database to the server administrator.
Now the administrator must perform the following tasks:

       From the Control Panel under Settings  click on "ODBC32" to call ODBC Administrator.
       The Installed ODBC Drivers list contains the names of currently installed drivers.
       (Additional ODBC drivers can be added through an ODBC application's setup program),
       select either "System DSN" or "User DSN".
       From the Installed ODBC Drivers list, select the name of the driver that the data
       source will use. Click OK.  
       Enter the information about the data source.
       For example:
        Click "Add" to add a DSN entry. For example if you are using Access,
        select the "Microsoft Access Driver" in the Driver's list.
       If "Microsoft Access Driver" does not appear on the list, you possibly
       have not installed Microsoft Access  32 bit ODBC drivers.
       In the "Data Source Name" for example "TestDB", then "Select" the database. You
       can use "Browse" to select the database tdb.mdb. If "users" directory is being used
       the path to the database may be c:\inetsrv\wwwroot\users\tdb.mdb

Important: You (the web designer) must specify or enter in the specifications of the
data source names the appropriate DSNs. These names and the structures of the
corresponding databases should exactly match those set in the server by the system administrator.
It is very important that you (the web designer) first contact the system administrator to check these
details first, then proceed to build and test your web site pages with the proper DSN
settings.

Web designers and System Administrators can get the latest versions of
relevant database components or ODBC extensions for Win 32 PERL from the internet.
Some of the important addresses are:

Win32:ODBC -