| From: | Aarni Ruuhimäki <aarni(dot)ruuhimaki(at)kymi(dot)com> |
|---|---|
| To: | <stevemca(at)optushome(dot)com(dot)au> |
| Cc: | pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org |
| Subject: | Re: Developing a forms based web application |
| Date: | 2003-01-29 13:49:32 |
| Message-ID: | 200301291549.32949.aarni.ruuhimaki@kymi.com |
| Views: | Raw Message | Whole Thread | Download mbox | Resend email |
| Thread: | |
| Lists: | pgsql-novice |
Hi Steve !
If you are willing to spend some money on this, please have look at
MacroMedia's ( former Allaire ) ColdFusion for Linux.
cfml (ColdFusionMarkupLanguage) is easy to learn, fast and straight-forward,
yet powerful tool for even more complex web-applications. And there are
plenty of editors, for writing and generating the 'code' + html, like
ColdFusion Studio ( ok, you'll need one win-box for that ). One neat feature
is that cfml goes right into html like php but the syntax is much simpler.
And you can also use JavaScript where you like etc. The server even generates
form validation scripts for you.
I have used CF Pro Linux + RH + PgSQL for a year and half now, and when I
started I would not have dreamed of things I do with it now.
You can generate your forms 'on the fly' and populate them with data,
list-boxes, radio buttons, action buttons, almost anything goes, interacting
with mail servers and so on.
I've had no problems with the software, other than unexpetedly high traffic
and that was solved with tuning and raising the number of servers to start
and connections limits in CF + Apache + Pg. My databases are small and quite
simple ones, the biggest just under 20 000 rows, so I do not have experience
with really big dbs, I admit, but have a look anyway.
Best regards,
aarni
On Wednesday 29 January 2003 01:44 pm, you wrote:
> Thanks for the response Paul.
>
> I should at the outset state I am proficient in neither PHP, perl or
> indeed HTML. I understand this is not a good base to start from when
> developing web applications, but, I am keen to learn.
>
> I have tried a few test scripts with both perl and PHP including using
> the pg library to access records. However it is not immediately obvious
> to me how I could produce clean and efficient code using either of these
> languages. I have seen how this type of code can be used to generate
> dynamic pages, but, to move forward from a dynamically generated page to
> a fully interactive screen, at this stage appears to be tedious and will
> produce a tangled mess of pages.
>
> I have done a fair amount of reading on HTML over the last few days and
> I must say it appears HTML is all about jumping into vi and writing
> <head> <p> <br> </br> etc etc etc. It takes me back to the days when I
> used to write native LATEX about twenty years ago. Surely the world has
> moved on from then. I am sure I must be missing something somewhere.
>
> On the upside I have many years of programming in FORTRAN77, Algol,
> Pascal and of course Unix shell scripts. Oops I probably shouldn't have
> mentioned that I suppose, now you know I am a survivor from the Ark.
>
> However, I do have some 12 years or so grounding in Oracle, so the
> Postgres stuff has been a breeze (well maybe not a breeze :-). If PHP
> and perl are indeed the way to go I will take up the details with some
> of the PHP and perl support groups and stop boring people here. Before I
> do so though, would you satisfy my main concern?
>
> My application is a typical Access forms type application. i.e throw up
> a screen of controls with some action buttons, list boxes etc. Let the
> user select from a list or press a button then retrieve some data,
> calculate some controls and allow them to edit some fields, press some
> more buttons etc. etc.
>
> Can I emulate as much as possible this type of functionality using PHP
> or perl and the pg library or am I into a new paradigm here? Will HTML
> et al force me into a different type of program flow/architecture?
>
> I would appreciate any advice.
>
> Steve McAllister
> Outsourcing Solutions Consultant
>
> Phone: 61 3 9631 1714
> Mobile 61 414 311 677
> E-mail: steve_mcallister(at)kaz(dot)com(dot)au
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pgsql-novice-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org
> [mailto:pgsql-novice-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org] On Behalf Of paul butler
> Sent: Wednesday, 29 January 2003 9:04 PM
> To: Steve McAllister
> Cc: pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [NOVICE] Developing a forms based web application
>
> Send reply to: <stevemca(at)optushome(dot)com(dot)au>
> From: "Steve McAllister" <stevemca(at)optushome(dot)com(dot)au>
> To: <pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org>
> Subject: [NOVICE] Developing a forms based web
> application
> Date sent: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 21:14:27 +1100
>
>
> Aolserver is a webserver, so not a direct solution to your needs
> OpenAcs is an Open source Content Management/ web publishing
> set up that uses postgres, not sure how this would help you, and if
> it did it would probably be a sledgehammer approach.
>
> For a quick way to go online I would use php, its pg library is fast
> and effective for this sort of work, I'm sure a Perl script would work
> as well.
> You'll have to take into consideration how important state and
> concurrency is in the php side of things (ie whether you need to
> use sessions etc, user authentication, artifacts of the web
> environment) which is distinct from the persistent side of things
> that postgres handles so well
>
> Rewriting applications is usually tedious and rarely direct, but there
> you go
>
> HTH
>
> Paul Butler
>
> HTH
>
> Hi,
>
>
>
> I am looking for some advice on how to best create a web enabled forms
> based application. If anybody has any ideas it would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
>
>
> I have an MS Access forms application that now sports a Postgres
> database at the back end running under RedHat 8.0. I would like to
> redevelop the Access form to web enable it. I have played around with
> Perl and PHP and although I'm sure I could rewrite the application in
> either of these languages doing so looks a little tedious.
>
>
>
> Maybe I should be looking at OpenAcs, AOLserver and Postgres. But, then
> maybe I'm on the wrong track altogether. Is there some sort of forms
> based web application? I have seen one called DBForms, however, it
> appears to be based on server side Java. I would prefer to stay away
> from Java if I can.
>
>
>
> Does anybody have any advice for me, please?
>
>
>
>
>
> Steve McAllister
>
> Outsourcing Solutions Consultant
>
>
>
> Phone: 61 3 9631 1714
>
> Mobile 61 414 311 677
>
> E-mail: steve_mcallister(at)kaz(dot)com(dot)au
>
>
>
>
>
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