Access a data base from the web site?

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(If there is a better forum for this query and its potential discussion, please advise)

I believe I am using the DAO3.51 library. I have simple cover functions (below) in Word97SR2/VBA which successfully access my Access97 databases. I can write Word97/VBA which obtains data from local Access97 databases and thereby populate a document. I have written simple Centura/SQL code.

I *have* to start moving towards writing code that accesses a data base from the web site.

At this point I don’t know what the database will be (but I keep hearing the words “SQL”) and I don’t know where the server would be.

I figure that I can do some preparation by taking my existing code and cloning/modifying it towards a better standard. An example of such a step might be to create a private web page that can access my local Access97 database when I am dialled in to the ISP.

How big a step is this? Am I going to have to learn another (web) language? Although it might seem pointless to have a page on the Web that works ONLY when I have 56K-dialled in, it is at least a step away from isolation.

(snip)
    Dim wrk As Workspace
    Set wrk = wrkCreateWorkspace("", "admin", "")
    Dim dbs As Database
    Set dbs = dbsOpenDatabase(wrk, strPath, strFile) ' given path and file
    Dim rst As Recordset
    Set rst = rstOpenRecordset(dbs, "SELECT * from " & strTable) ' given table
(snip)

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The answer for you is Visual InterDev, ASP and ADO.

Basically, I was in a similiar position about 2 years ago. I was strictly a VBA guy, but I needed to create database-driven web apps, which I had absolutely zero experience doing. I taught myself the basics of Visual InterDev and ASP within one week. (I already knew ADO.) Coming from VBA, this wasn’t too difficult because the main server side ASP language is VBScript, just another flavor of VB!

Anyway, a better forum for this type of question may be the “HTML/JavaScript/VBScript/etc…”. Also, you might want to check out a Visual InterDev forum I also belong to: http://VI6Talk.listbot.com

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Stephan, thanks. If nothing else I should start towards ADO. I’ll also hunt down Visual Interdev. Is that a third-party package? Are there alternatives to it (but you found it to be the best) or was Interdev forced on you by a corporate decision?

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Visual InterDev comes with MS Visual Studio up through version 6 (it’s supposed to be incorporated into VB in the next version) or is available directly from Microsoft for the cost of shipping. InterDev is free (there’s your corporate decision for you) and already compatible with the rest of the MS suite, so it’s a natural choice. You could look into products like Cold Fusion, but they require you to learn their scripting language.

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Where is the free version? Professional is $279 for FrontPage users…

http://shop.microsoft.com/Products/Product…essionalEdition[663]/ProductPricingDetails.asp

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You may have to own one of the Visual Studio products to get the offer. I own VB 6.0 Professional, so I may have been confused by all the stuff they offered with it.

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Chris,

ADO by itself is not going to do it for you. You’re still going to have to learn ASP. Visual InterDev, which comes with the Visual Studio package (as Charlotte mentioned in her post), is simply a development tool for creating and deploying ASP. I, and not my former boss, was the one who made the decision to use it instead of competing technologies like Cold Fusion. And, like I said in my earlier post, coming from a VBA/VB background, I found Visual InterDev/ASP *really* easy to learn because the main server side language is VBScript. Now, as you get into web programming more, you’re also going to have to learn some JavaScript for client side stuff, and there’s no way around that. But the meat of the programming is server side.

The way I taught myself Visual InterDev was with essential 2 books. I started out with the easiest book on the market, believe it or not, “Visual InterDev 6 For Dummies”, which I zipped through within a week. With that, I already had enough knowledge to develop basic database-driven web apps. Then, I immediately graduated to one of the hardest books on the market, “Visual InterDev6 Unleashed” from SAMS, from which I got more intricate knowledge.

Anyway, with your experience in VBA/VB, I’m sure you too will pick up the web programming very fast.

Stephan

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Stephan,

Appreciate your posts here. This is very helpful for me too.

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Stephan, Charlotte, thanks for your replies. It’s going to be a small invsetment in cash and a small investment in literature and an investment in time – perhaps one week total if I can maintain my 3am-11pm schedule a while longer.

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Some months later- how did Visual Interdev suit you? I’m just starting to look at it now as one alternative.

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Look fast, Geoff. I understand it’s built into the Visual Studio applications in XP rather than being a separate application. I guess I’ll find out for sure when I attend an XP launch in a couple of weeks.

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Geoff, I’m sorry; I didn’t follow up on the leads. I got involved with something else. I’m still trundling along with DAO3.51, when i need it.

I suspect that for now I’m happy enough saying “Ive used the DAO and the Centura/SQL techniques, and if/when a client asks me to use something else, I’ll master the differences”.

The talk of spending money to learn something also put me off a bit …..

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Could you recommend a good book for Visual Interdev?
Thanks!

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Like I said in my earlier post, Visual InterDev 6 For Dummies (when you’re just starting out) and then Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed (once you get beyond the basics).

However, note this: Visual InterDev as a development tool is gone in Visual Studio.NET. However, what you learn Visual InterDev, you can still apply all you know to ASP.NET. OTOH, you may just decide to skip learning Visual InterDev entirely and jump straight into ASP.NET — there are pros and cons to doing either, but it’s your decision.

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Thanks!

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FYI: You can use the Microsoft Scripting Editor tool that comes with Office XP (Tools | Macros | Microsoft Script Editor – or find MSE7.EXE in the Office program folder).

I started using this to write ASP code before I actually purchased VS.NET. AFAIK, MSE is quite similar to InterDev, except that it is missing a few “goodies” – such as being able to add libraries to the Object Browser.

I’ve found several great ASP.NET books if anyone is interested: ASP.NET Unleashed (Sams Publishing) and ASP.NET Database Programming – Weekend Crash Course (Hungry Minds).

Also, a there are quite a few great ASP help websites out there. One of my favorite is 4 Guys from Rolla.

HTH

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