The Web Database
April 3, 2008
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.
A web database also allows you to update or perform modifications on your data. It also offers the ability to store large amounts of information while organizing files for easier access. A web database is designed in a format that is understood and accessed from a script language such as the Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP.
Any site that successfully attracts repeat visitors has to have fresh and constantly updated content. In the world of traditional site building, that means HTML files-and lots of them. The solution to these headaches is database-driven site design. By achieving complete separation between your site’s design and the content you want to present, you can work with each without disturbing the other.
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.
Speaking of the web directory, database-driven websites could also utilize a web directory function in order to feature a list of contacts, addresses or even events in a easily accessible format. A web directory lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site, and the content is usually submitted by the visitors themselves.
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.”
The site can also be used for surveys. The survey information can be inputted on the site and it can be stored in the database. The website database simplifies the tedious task of distributing survey handouts.
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