Related OIT Services for Data-driven Web Application Development

If you plan on developing an interactive or data-driven Web site, there are a number of facilities and  services supported by OIT that may be of benefit to you.  These include the following.

Automated Web Database Publishing and Data-driven CGI Development

DBToolBox - an OIT supported facility available to students, faculty, and staff.  This facility can be used to build data-driven Web applications directly from a Web browser without any need for programming.  

Databases supported: Microsoft Access, Excel,  Oracle and SQL Server.  

Features include

• no programming, point-and-click development interface
• develop your application  from your Web browser (no plug-in needed)
• secure access via SSL
• "point-and-click" SQL query designer to access your database
• secure customizable personal workspace for developing and managing applications you develop
• automatic session management, logons, and group access control available for applications you develop
• automatic formatting of data in a variety of HTML formats.
• automatic database creation based on any Web form
• e-mail and workflow capability for applications you develop

Web applications already built using DBToolBox include online reservation and registration systems, online surveys, online queries and data mining, online information requests, online purchase requests, online order, order tracking and order processing systems with built-in workflow, etc.   DBToolBox runs 40,000 to 60,000 transactions daily (over 100 applications as of Dec. 2001) and has a demonstrated capability to run more than 200,000 transactions per day.

Database Storage

• NTFileShare - an OIT supported file share to store your Access databases or Excel spreadsheets (available to faculty and staff,  student access provided for departmental work)  May be used in conjunction with DBToolBox (see below) for Web access to data and for developing data-driven Web applications using desktop databases..
• Storacle - an OIT supported Oracle server available for designing and developing application databases that can be accessed from CampusCGI or DBToolBox (available to faculty, students, and staff).

Web CGI Development

CampusCGI - an OIT supported facility available to students, faculty, and staff.  This facility can be used to develop and run CGI programs.  The development environment is UNIX.  CampusCGI runs an APACHE Web server.  A specialized suexec module enables developers to develop and run CGI using the permissions/privileges of their user accounts.

Web Page Publishing

• NT-based Web publishing environment to store your supporting Web documentation (available to faculty and staff) 
• UNIX-based Web publishing environment to store your supporting Web documentation (available to faculty, students, and staff)