Database and Web Application Design
What can we do for you?
In a nutshell, place all your business information at your fingertips.
Not surprisingly, we utilise a database to achieve the above.
What kind of information can be stored in a database?
Any kind of information that can be stored on a computer. Let's list a few:
- Text and numerical data like customer, transaction, inventory and a myriad of other details.
- Image, sound or any other kind of files.
- Things like timestamps, dates, co-ordinates and what have you.
The short list above encompasses most types of information known to man.
What is so special about this?
The fact that you can mine this data to get details about your business that you didn't know you could have. You can also get reports, like sales by month by product, grouped by month and product, at the click of a button. Compiling a report like this from hard copy (paper) notes would take hours to days.
Where can this be used?
Any business should use a database. A database makes life so much easier. All your data is always there at the tips of your fingers. Just let your fingers wander over your keyboard, and voila, you have what your wanted.
A database is indispensable for a website doing any of the following:
- Display changing content, like items for sale
- An online shop that wants easily accessible records of transactions
- A mailing list sending things like newsletters to subscribers
- An application allowing certain users, belonging to certain groups, to sign in and do things permitted for that group
- Accept subscriptions from users for any reason
- Allow users to upload content like images, sound files, video, etc.
If you want a site that does things in addition to displaying static content - content not responsive to a user's input - you need a web-application. Web-applications form the bulk of our work. Go to the web-application page and have a look around.
J2EE Development
Any database can be accessible over an intranet or the Internet. If the project is reasonably big or if heavy use is anticipated, we use Java 2 Enterprise Edition applications to access your database. If you already have Microsoft SQL Server we can use Access forms and reports to connect to your MS SQL Server via an Access Data Project.
The new EJB3 specification is out. Database Applications used JBoss to create and serve several EJB3 web applications. All except one of the sites under Some Recent Work are EJB3 applications. After a visit to the sites, can you guess which ones? One is a J2EE 2.1 application, still going strong, day after day, night after night. These sites just go on and on, some making their owners handsome amounts of money.
Technologies used
Database Applications uses mainly Open Source technologies. Look at the list of links on the left. Some of the big concerns that use the same Open Source technologies are NASA, Walmart, Google, Optus and many more. The savings can be astronomical.
MS Access
Many small and medium sized businesses use MS Access. MS Access is perfectly adequate in many cases. Database Applications can develop and implement your MS Access database. This includes database design, table and query creation, design and creation of forms (for data entry) and reports. Building applications with Access is usually fast.
MS SQL Server
Businesses may find that they have outgrown MS Access. One can use MS SQL Server for them, but keep MS Access as a front end. Staff will then find familiar Access forms for data entry and Access reports in a format they are used to. One can then use Transact SQL stored procedures, not available in a pure MS Access application, to extend the usefulness of the application.
