Re: web and databases

Franco Scarselli (franco_at_dsi.ing.unifi.it) wrote:
: Hi,
 

: I am going to restructure the informatic organization of an association.
: A part of the work requires the introduction of a Windows NT server that
: should contain administration and medical data. I think to use a DBMS
: among Microsoft SQL server, Oracle SQL server and Sybase SQL server.
 

: I have to rewrite all the (few) existing applications. I thought about a
: common interface to use. What about writing interfaces by HTML documents
: ? That is, I would use a WEB server to produce interfaces for ALL the
: applications that use the database, that is for ALL the applications
: that are used in the association.
 

: Which are pros and cons of such a solution ? Are there security
: problems ? Are there examples of this approach ?
 

: I thank in advance anybody who can help me.
 

: Franco

Sorry about you having to use Windows NT AS. That is going to limit some of your options about using web/dbms technologies. If that is the solution you are going to use, I suggest trying to use a UNIX box so you can have all the software availible.

Anyways, I suggest Sybase. Sybase has a product called web.sql that is for web integration. Also, as a web server, I suggest Netscape Commerce Server, as it has all the security and encryption it appears you desire built in.

HTML with CGI would provide you with a common interface. Another option for utilizing web technologies would be Java applets. Does anyone know if Sybase has come out with JDBC drivers yet? Java, however, is new, while CGI is a proven technology. The problem you might have with CGI is that it is server based technology, and you are using an NT server, which will limit what you can do. Remember that all of these technologies were designed in UNIX enviroments, and anything else is a port (minus a few features).

--
AJ Musgrove

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