Chapter 1 The Big Picture: Strategies for Web-Enabling Your Database

Chapter Objectives

Identify clients, servers, and the other components of the web/database architecture.
Explain how Perl can be used to create the "middleware".

Topics

Here's the big picture -- the web browser, the database, and the "middleware" that connects them.
Perl can be used to write server programs.
Perl can be used to write client programs.
To connect Perl programs to databases, use DBI.

Lab: Make Sure Everything Works

Here is a script that tests your software and configuration. It verifies that all the pieces (browser, web server, perl interpreter, middleware, database server, database data) are installed, configured correctly, and working. It provides detailed diagnostics for troubleshooting, just in case. It should yield a list of fictitious non-fiction.

Download and install the source code on your own web server.
Run it on your own web server (assuming you installed it in your cgi-bin directory). Note: this hyperlink will give an error if you haven't installed the script on your own web server.
cr-ix-db.pl is Reed White's version of the database setup-and-test script for a remote Informix server. If you're using Informix, download and install this source code and run it locally.

Chapter 1

The Big Picture: Strategies for Web-Enabling Your Database

Chapter Objectives

Topics

Lab: Make Sure Everything Works

Summary