Web Technology and DBMSs

(CB 29)
CPSC 356 Database Design
Ellen Walker
Hiram College

(IncludesfiguresfromDatabaseSystemsbyConnolly&Begg,AddisonWesley2005)
 What is the Internet?
Interconnected Networks
Interoperable via standards (TCP, IP)
History
ARPANet (late 60s, early 70s) - military
NSF took over, provided funding (1986)
Commercial backbones (1996 - present)
 Internet vs. Intranet
Internet
Global, open, public
Called extranet to distinguish from Intranet
Intranet
Private network for exclusive use of an
organization
Behind a firewall
Typically, limited interaction
 Internet Evolution of a
Business (Cisco)
E-mail
Web site
E-Commerce
Customers can place and pay for orders via web
E-Business
Complete integration of Internet technology into
businesss infrastructure
Ecosystem
Entire business process automated - customers,
suppliers, alliance partners, corporate infrastructure
merged into seamless system
 Web vs. Internet
Internet provides infrastructure of
information transmission across the
network
Web contains interlinked information
(web pages)
Servers: contain pages and transmit on
request
Clients (browsers): request and display
pages to users
 Languages of the Web
HTTP - protocol for sending / receiving web
pages. Includes GET vs. POST
HTML - basic markup language (represents
complex pages as text). Includes mechanism
(href) to reference other pages.
XML - extended markup language -
generalization of HTML to represent more
complex document information
(etc) -- this is not a complete list!
 Limitations of HTTP
Each transaction consists of a single
request for data and a single response.
GET = request data
POST = response (or data from form)
Protocol is stateless - does not retain
information beteween transactions
Workarounds: cookies or hidden text
Static vs. Dynamic Web Page
Static web page
Contents of page stored in a file, served as
originally written
Dynamic web page
Generated as needed
Only instructions for generating the page
are stored (e.g. php query/display based
on argument)
 Dynamic Web Pages
Input provided as parameters or from
forms in the page
Data generated from queries
Pages written in a scripting language
(PHP is one example)
Requirements for Web-DBMS
Integration
Ability to maintain data security
Not tied to a single DBMS
Not tied to a single browser
Availability of all features of DBMS
Open-architecture approach, supporting
multiple servers, standard interoperability
languages (e.g. DCOM, CORBA, XML,
SOAP)
Advantages of Web Approach
Simplicity
Platform independence
Graphical User Interface
Standardization
Transparent network access
Simplified deployment
Global access
 Disadvantages
(lack of) Reliability
(lack of) Security
Cost (!)
Heavy (unpredictable) loads
HTML limitations
Bandwidth & Performance limitations
Immaturity of platform & tools
 Tools to Integrate the Web
Scripting Languages
Client-side or Server-side
Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
Server-side
Web server extensions
Java, J2EE, SQLJ, etc.
Microsoft .Net
Oracles Internet platform
 Scripting languages
Programs embedded in HTML files on
server
Behavior of all clients changed by
changing script on server
Scripts are generally interpreted, not
compiled
 JavaScript
Server-side or Client-side (client-side
more common)
Allows immediate reaction to user
interface widgets
Object-based (Document Object Model)
Limited relative to Java
(VBScript : Visual Basic = JavaScript :
Java)
 Perl, PHP
Server side languages
Heavy Unix flavor (e.g. use of regular
expressions)
PHP preferred for Linux
Integrates with Apache HTTP Server
Works well with MySQL or PostgreSQL
 Common Gateway Interface
(CGI)
Defines how scripts communicate with web
servers
Uses Environment variables, standard I/O on
server side
Uses HTML Forms on client side (original impetus
for forms)
Nearly any programming language can run on
server (std. output returned to browser)
Server runs script based on filename (x.cgi,
x.php, etc) - this is configurable
CGI Environment
 Advantages of CGI
Standardized interface
Programming-language independent
Web-server independence
Simplicity
Wide acceptance
 Disadvantages of CGI
Web server can be bottleneck
Problems from HTTP Statelessness
No validation of user input (must go back to
repopulate form)
No transactions (must connect to database on
every page)
Security risks
Scripts with greater privileges than server
Risk of unanticipated (or malicious) user input
 HTTP Cookies
Stored by browser in a file on client
Cookies set / retrieved by HTTP request
Issues:
Not supported by all browsers
For privacy reasons, users disable cookies
 Non-CGI Gateways
API Extensions to server (NSAPI,
ISAPI)
Scripts loaded as part of server
Direct interaction with back end
One copy per server, not per request
Changes server executable (risk?)
Requires specialized programmers
 Vendor Specific Scripting
Developed by vendors as server add-ons
JSP - Java Server pages (Sun)
ASP - Active Server pages (Microsoft)
Flexibility of CGI, without performance
overhead and I/O limitations
Better integration with vendors other web
solutions
Some compatibility limitations
 Suns Java Platform
Java language: write once run
anywhere
Assorted editions
ME (embedded)
SE (standard) - for desktop & workstation
EE (enterprise) - for multi-tier, robust,
multiuser applications
Java 2 Platform (1999)
 Microsoft .NET Platform
Integrated across servers, OS, applications,
programming language environments
OLE - Object Linking and Embedding
Shared objects that provide specific functionality
(e.g. sound clip)
[D]COM([Distributed] Component Object
Model)
Connects client application and object (binary-
compatible components)
MS OLE - DB
.NET Framework
 Oracles Approach
Aimed at distributed environments
N-tier architecture, based on industry
standards
Designed for e-business
Components include:
TopLink (relate Java objects to relational
databases)
Portal (entry point for web access)
Business Intelligence (Reports, Discoverer, etc)
Oracle Internet Platform