Database On the Web

By: Hispanic


A web database is basically a database used for the Internet. With this, your data can be accessed through the Internet regardless of its location.

Databases are used to back a majority of websites today. A web database is usually created in a way that is accessible to a script language such as the Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP. Using a database can add powerful interactive features to your website and save publishing time. It offers you large storage space, and the ability to perform modifications on your data without getting lost in all the technicalities.

Apart from the two basic functions, a web database is also used to create database-driven websites. By using a database in a website, you will be able to perform a number of tasks such as send images, text messages and other web content information to an individual viewing the website. Instead of the usual static site pages, you can deliver various pieces of information to the viewer.

One of the most common and most popular types of database-driven web sites is the search engine. The search engine works by simply typing text into a box. After clicking the search button, the site generates a page full of options and information.

Other functions that a database-driven website offers is the web directory. The directory could be utilized to feature a list of contacts, addresses or even events in a easily accessible format. A web directory is not a search engine, and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords, instead it lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site, rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only one or two categories.

On that note, a database-driven website can act as a sort of library for a large amount of data. Using a database driven approach, the programmer would build a product table in the site's database. This table would contain a series of columns with pertinent information about the information. When a user visits a particular page, the template grabs the data associated with that record's identification number from the database, plugs the data into the template and presents the user with a complete product page "on the fly."

In conclusion, a database-driven site can also be used for surveys. Using the same process detailed above, the survey information can be inputted and stored in the site by whoever is browsing and the given template would contain the basic structure of a survey data's page, identifying elements like the navigation system, where the charts and/or results are placed, where the description and other information goes on the page, and how all the data is to be formatted. Website surveys beats survey handouts every time.

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