Building a database from scratch is no easy task and building a database to use with a Web site, intranet, or extranet raises additional issues. The goal of this chapter is to walk you through the process of building a database that we can later use when developing our intranet application. The chapter will also introduce you to Microsoft Access, a relational database management system, and help you identify and avoid potential pitfalls that can arise when developing for the Web. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to do the following: • Understand the structure of a relational database • Follow the six steps of the database design process • Be familiar with building tables and creating relationships using access • Understand the potential limitations when using Microsoft Access • Have an expanded database vocabulary. Web Applications, Intranet Applications, and Extranet Applications In Chapter 2, 'Choosing Your Application Type,' we spent the entire chapter examining the differences between Web, intranet, and extranet applications. One thing they all have in common, however, is this: each relies on the technology that fuels the Web.

For this reason, in this chapter and those that follow, we're going to lump them all together by referring to them as Web applications. Understanding the Structure of a Relational Database Databases come in all shapes and sizes, and they range in size and complexity from a simple alphabetized box full of recipes to the most complex back-end relational database for an eCommerce site. For the most part, however, when we use the term database with regards to business and technology, we refer to objects created by database management systems—like Microsoft Access or SQL Server—that are installed on our home or work computers. We use these databases to store a wide variety of data such as employee information, business transactions, and product inventories.

Applications such as Access or SQL Server build their databases based on the relational model, where each database is comprised of tables that are uniquely named. Each table is then made up of records (commonly referred to as rows) and fields (also called columns) of related information. When retrieving data from a relational database, the system cares only about the data that is stored in each record; non-relational systems, on the other hand, not only consider the data but also the structure of the database, making the process of retrieving results much slower. For example, suppose your relational database has a table similar to the one shown in Table 3.1 that stores the names, usernames, passwords, and login information for each employee in your company. Table 3.1 An Example of aTable in a Relational Database LastName FirstName UserName Password LastLogin Johnson Fred johnsonf happyday Jackson Sara jacksons plowdown Martin Eva martine dailyend Bellows Dan bellowsd duster Because the relational model relies only on the value of the data itself, you could easily ask the system to find all the employees who have not logged in for more than 90 days.

The first step in building our client's intranet application is to build the database that will fuel it. Based on the responses we received during our planning phase, we will be building four database tables to store our data.

After the tables are created, we can define relationships between those that need them. Creating the Tables The four tables we are going to build are the Human Resources table, the Information Services table, the Departmental Site Management table, and the Username/Password table. The Human Resources table will store all of the information that KrystalClear might have in a typical employee file. Demographic information like name, address, and contact information would be present along with organizational information such as title, department, location, and the name of the employee's supervisor. We are going to start with the basics and, if KrystalClear wants to, it can add fields at a later date.

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Exercise 1 Creating the Human Resources table • Open Microsoft Access on your workstation. • From the menu bar, select File, New. • In the New File panel, shown in, select a Blank Database. Choose to create a blank database from the New File panel.• Using the File New Database dialog box, create a folder called KrystalClear in your My Documents folder. As shown in, name the file kc_corporation_0493.mdb and click Create. For security reasons, give your database file a unique name.• In the database window, click the Tables category and then choose Create Table in Design View.

• In the Design view, add the data using the parameters shown in Table 1. Table 1 Sample data for Human Resources table Field Name Data Type Field Size Required Allow Zero Length Indexed EmployeeID Text 11 Yes No Yes (No Duplicates) LastName Text 50 No Yes No FirstName Text 50 No Yes No HomeAdd Text 50 No Yes No City Text 25 No Yes No HomeState Text 2 No Yes No Zip Text 10 No Yes No HomePhone Text 50 No Yes No Title Text 50 No Yes No Department Text 50 No Yes No Extension Text 10 No Yes No HireDate Date/ Time N/A No N/A No EditPages Yes/ N/A No No No You should now have a table that looks like the one in. The structure of the Human Resources table.• Right-click on the gray box to the left of EmployeeID and choose Primary Key from the context menu. By indicating that EmployeeID is a primary key, no two records will be allowed to have the same Employee ID. This ensures that no duplicate entries are added to the database.

• Save the table as tbHR and close the table. NOTE Naming Conventions It is a good idea to get into the habit of applying naming conventions to your database objects. For instance, by naming the table tbHR, we can quickly identify this object as a table by the tb prefix. It doesn't seem as important when looking at the table name from within Access, but when you are staring at 300 lines of code and trying to identify whether your code is correct, it makes things a lot easier.

In addition, avoid using spaces in your filenames and field names. There are issues that can arise from within your SQL queries if you use spaces. Instead, run the characters together and use capital letters to signify where a space might occur (as in LastName). If you really want to make it easier to identify your tables when searching through your code, you can add a prefix to the column name that matches the table name. For instance, the LastName column in the tbHR table would be named HRLastName. We now have a table that contains the fields for our employees.

For the most part, the fields pertain to their contact information and company status. The EditPages field, however, was created in response to our communication with KrystalClear. This field allows Human Resources to indicate who has access to edit pages. When combined with the Department field, not only do we know whether that employee can edit pages, but for what department. The next step is to create the table that allows Information Services to assign an asset (for example, computer, phone, or pager) to a specific employee. Exercise 2 Building the Information Services table • In the Database window, select the Tables category and choose Create Table in Design View. • In Design view, add the data using the parameters shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Sample data for Information Services table Field Name Data Type Field Size Required Allow Zero Length Indexed AssetID AutoNumber Long Integer N/A N/A Yes (No Duplicates) EmployeeID Text 11 No Yes No AssetType Text 25 No Yes No AssetBrand Text 25 No Yes No AssetModel Text 50 No Yes No AssetSerial Text 50 No Yes No Date Assigned Date/Time N/A No N/A No Date Returned Date/Time N/A No N/A No ReturnReason Memo N/A No Yes No You should now have a table that looks like the one in. Looking over the table, you should see a group of fields that have unique names, data types that match the data that will be stored in the records, and appropriate field lengths.

Be careful when setting your field lengths because the sum of your field sizes directly affects the size of your database. It's a good idea to estimate as closely as possible how many characters are going to be necessary for a field.

Although you don't want to devote too many characters and increase the size of your database, you also don't want to chop off pieces of data (which Access will do if the data submitted is too large for the field size). In addition to the field name, data type, and size, we have also indicated that none of the fields in the database should be required fields and only the AssetID field should be an AutoNumber field. When building dynamic applications, it is better to use a technique called form verification to ensure that the information the user has entered meets your requirements.

If you choose to allow the database to determine if a field is required, when the missing data is encountered, a very cryptic error message is displayed in the browser (which has a tendency to freak users out). If, however, you use form validation, you can customize your error message with a clear, polite message that lets the user know what is wrong and how she can remedy it. The structure of the Information Services table.• Right-click the gray box to the left of AssetID and choose Primary Key from the context menu. • Save the table as tbIS and close it. The third table that we are going to create allows each department to update information contained in its departmental intranet site. Exercise 3 Creating the tables for Departmental Site Management • In the Database window, select the Tables category and choose Create Table in Design View.

• In the Design view, add the data using the parameters shown in Table 3. Table 3 Sample data for Departmental Site Management table Field Name Data Type Field Size Required Allow Zero Length Indexed PageID AutoNumber Long Integer N/A N/A Yes (No Duplicates) Department Text 50 No Yes No PageTitle Text 100 No Yes No NavLink1Text Text 50 No Yes No NavLink1URL Text 50 No Yes No NavLink2Text Text 50 No Yes No NavLink2URL Text 50 No Yes No NavLink3Text Text 50 No Yes No NavLink3URL Text 50 No Yes No MainPageData Memo N/A No Yes No LastUpdated Date/Time N/A No N/A No You should now have a table that looks like the one in. The structure of the Departmental Site Management table.• Right-click the gray box to the left of PageID and choose Primary Key from the context menu. • Save the table as tbPageMgmt and close it. Descargar Libros Zombies Pdf To Word. The last table we need to create stores the usernames and passwords that allow the users to log in and out of the intranet. We store this information in a separate table so that the employee can have her own username and password without it being a visible part of her employee record. Exercise 4 Creating Username/Password tables • In the Database window, select the Tables category and choose Create Table in Design View.

• In the Design view, add the data using the parameters shown in Table 4. Table 4 Sample data for Username/Password table Field Name Data Type Field Size Required Allow Zero Length Indexed UserID AutoNumber Long Integer N/A N/A Yes (No Duplicates) EmployeeID Text 11 No Yes No Username Text 50 No Yes No Password Text 50 No Yes No LastLogin Date/Time N/A No N/A No You should now have a table that looks like the one in. The structure of the Username/Password table.• Right-click the gray box to the left of UserID and choose Primary Key from the context menu. • Save the table as tbUserID and close it.

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