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Description of  Web Database Connectivity - Web Database Connectivity Book

Objectives At the end of this Book you should be able to: Understand the requirements for connecting database systems to the Web. Critically compare a number of approaches that might be used to build the Web database connectivity. Make recommendations for a given company and specific scenario regard- ing which of the commonly used mechanisms is likely to be most appro- priate, taking into consideration relative cost, security, likely transaction volumes and required performance. Table of contents Objectives Introduction Context Basic concepts Web-based client-server applications Context summary Web database architectures Components of a database application Browser layer Application logic layer Database connection layer Database layer 2-tier client-server architecture 3-tier client-server architecture Database gateways Client-side solutions Server-side solutions Client-side Web database programming Browser extensions JavaScript Java ActiveX Plug-ins External applications Server-side Web database programming CGI (Common Gateway Interface) Advantages and disadvantages of CGI Extended CGI HTTP server APIs and server modules Server vendor modules Advantages of server APIs and modules Important issues Comparison of CGI, server APIs and modules, and FastCGI Proprietary HTTP servers Connecting to the database Database API libraries Native database APIs Database-independent APIs: ODBC Benefits of database APIs Shortcomings of database APIs Template-driven packages The approach Benefits of template-driven packages Shortcomings of template-driven packages GUI application builders The approach Benefits of visual tools Shortcomings of visual tools Managing state and persistence in Web applications Technical options The URL approach Benefits of the URL approach Shortcomings of the URL approach URL QUERY_STRING Benefits of the hidden fields approach Shortcomings of the hidden fields approach HTTP cookies Benefits of cookies Shortcomings of cookies Important considerations Managing state on the client Managing state on the server Security Issues in Web Database Applications Proxy servers Firewalls Digital signatures Digital certificates Kerberos Secure sockets layer (SSL) and secure HTTP (S-HTTP) Java security ActiveX security Performance issues in Web database applications