MusicGuide, Inc. Consulting and Design for the Music Industry on the World Wide Web

Why are databases important on the web?

Databases allow large amounts of information to be stored, organized, and updated in an efficient way. This makes it possible (and sometimes easy) for people to search for and find just the bits of information they want, using search criteria. Putting a database on the web provides these same advantages to the users of a website. Without a database, any sizeable amount of information becomes unwieldy, and eventually, useless.

What does it mean to generate web pages "on the fly?"

In order to be useful on the web, a database must be able to respond to user requests (queries) with the specific information the user was looking for. That information must then be put into a format that the web user can read, i.e. a web page. This is accomplished by using a custom CGI, a go-between from the database to the webserver. The CGI recieves the user request from the webserver, passes it to the database in the proper format, and then, recieves the results from the database search, formats these into a web page, and passes the page back to the webserver to be sent to the user. The results web page that the user then sees was created "on the fly." It never actually exists on disc unless the user saves it.

What is a "relational" database?

Databases come in two basic flavors, "fat file" and "relational." The easiest way to understand the difference is to think of flat file databases as a single card catalog in which all the information about each "thing" in the database is stored on one card. In a relational database, there are multiple card catalogs and each card may contain references to other catalogs. This allows the design of the database to more closely model reality by applying a set of principles known as "entity relationship theory." A relational database management system (RDBMS) allows for keeping track of the relationships between numerous different "card catalogs," and retrieving query results that combine information from them. Relational databases are much more flexible and useful than flat file databases, but the need for a relational database really depends on the nature of the information involved.

What's involved putting a database on-line?

Quite a lot, actually. First, you must decide how many users will be able to access the database at the same time. This is governed by the database software and the amount of RAM you run it with. Then you must design and fill the database itself. With a high end RDBMS, this will include designing the user interface. Next, you need a CGI that handles the user queries from the web and generates web pages. A web user interface must also be written. All of this is then set up on a network of at least three computers (one for the database server, one for the webserver, and one to administer the whole thing through). The network is then hooked up to the internet with some type of high speed line through an Internet Service Provider. There are some "out of the box" software packages, but they still require considerable programming to adapt them to your purposes.