Which technology do I use? 2

[blondebier]

I've been asked to develop an internet based application to store company data.

The fields required would be something like:

Company Name
Contact Person
Address
Post code
Telephone
Fax
Email
Web Address
Notes

The users need to be able add/delete/update contacts online.

Also they need to be able to download/extract the data from the database and store it some way locally, so that they can browse it offline if needed. ie. on Laptops on the road.

What would be the best technology to use to create this application? I'm thinking of portability, as all the users laptops and machines would be different. The only certainty is that they will be able to browse the internet.

Thanks,

Francis

 

[palbano]

>> Also they need to be able to download/extract the data
>> from the database and store it some way locally, so
>> that they can browse it offline if needed. ie. on
>> Laptops on the road.

Ah… the connected/disconnected online/offline application paradigm. Very few of these applications have been developed successfully. The difficulty is not in deciding which technology to use but rather the fact that the list of issues becomes rather large very quickly. Do you have Requirements documents? Specifications? Use model? User input? Use Case diagrams? Without most of this information it is way to early to start thinking about how to implement specific parts of the project.

"But, that's just my opinion... I could be wrong."


-pete

 

[blondebier]

Thanks Pete,

It's a tough one. I'm not sure that the end users really know what they want to be honest.
There are too many chiefs at the top and they can't decide!

But,I have come across FileSystemObject. Do you think that it would be possible to use this to extract the data from Access 2002 and save it locally as a text file?

Thanks again,
Francis.

 

[Craig0201]

Internet and Access? Look up Remote Data Services for connecting to an Access db over http.

Craig

 

[palbano]

>> It's a tough one. I'm not sure that the end users really
>> know what they want to be honest.
>> There are too many chiefs at the top and they can't decide!

Are you here in my office?!

Well from a simple Data Synchronization standpoint, MS SQL Server supports that natively when using the Desktop engine for the clients. I don’t know what the licensing issues are. If you need to support more than like 3 users I would not suggest using MS Access. Event with just a few users if the size of the MS Access file grows beyond about 2 meg of data forget it.

I would caution you that Data Synchronization will not be the last problem you will have, actually it might be the simplest problem you have to solve in this project. I would get on those Requirements etc. immediately. You need to find the scope of the project as soon as possible and make sure you are evaluating risk.



-pete

 

[jfrost10]

You mention in your initial post that "The only certainty is that they will be able to browse the internet."

So, if this is the case then, and every client will have internet access, it shouldn't be too hard to set this up.

My recommendation (and I am a Microsoft mark, so it is biased) is to use ASP.NET with IIS 6.0 and SQL Server 2000 for the database, running on either Win2K, XP Pro, or the new Windows Server 2003.

You just need to create an internet application that will solve the business needs. And if they all will have internet access, finding a solution should be cake.

hth

D'Arcy

 

[palbano]

Also they need to be able to download/extract the data from the database and store it some way locally, so that they can browse it offline if needed. ie. on Laptops on the road.

That indicates to me they need to be able to execute while disconnected from the internet. Now have fun making that work with ASP.NET or any other industry standard Browser based technology.

If i have interpreted that wrong then disregard everything i posted.

-pete

 

[jfrost10]

Pete brings up a good question about clarification. Francis, you mentioned that The only certainty is that they will be able to browse the internet. Now, if thats true, then why would they need to browse offline on their laptops? That suggests that internet access isn't a given.

HOWEVER, I still stand by my recommendation with one difference: you'd need to build an application taht sits on the users laptops that will allow them to view the data. You can still download the data using asp.net (as long as the file sizes aren't huge, in which case its a bad idea), and your app simply displays it.

Clarification would be needed to give you the best answer with all the known variables.

hth

D'Arcy

 

[blondebier]

The users will have access to the internet in their offices, but they would like to be able to view the data while they are out on the road.

Therefore, my initial thought was to allow them to download the data and store it in some way locally, just as a temporary thing. When they are back at the office, they can then view any amendments via the internet.

Thanks for all your comments, they are most helpful.

Francis

 

[palbano]

How is new data generated? Do the users generate new data and need to update the server data with it? If so do they need to generate that data when disconnected and then synchronize the next time they connect?

Do all the users need to see all the data, or perhaps you have categories that they would subscribe to? Perhaps based on geographic locations?

Do the users need to receive application updates as well as data? Is it possible that the data schema would ever change? If so does it effect application components? If so how do you manage schema and application changes?

-pete

 

[daneharnett]

If they only want to view the database through thier web browser at the office, then running the webserver on the local network would allow for a quicker download of the data to the laptops... If you build enough of the business logic in .NET dll files.. it could be a bit easier to build a client app in windows forms... therefore you would have 2 client apps 1. in ASP.NET for the web interface (which is run over the local network. 2. in .NET WindowsForms which is loaded onto the laptops and used to access the data which is downloaded from the network....

How about that?

 

[RiverGuy]

XML

 

[TheMissionary]

You may want to go back to the definition stage. A lot of the discussion talks about "how", but you may still need to look at "what."

Will you need a relational database?
A company table?
A Department Table?
An employee table (contact)?
What business events do you wish to record?
Contact Events?
Order Events?
Payment Events?
Where is the information going to be used?
Reports?
On Screen?
On a Palm Top?

Remember, the life of a database can be very long. (There are still people out there running COBOL stuff.) If the data is valuable enough for you to design and develop a database, you will want to invest enough time doing your homework to ensure that the database will stand up to the test of time. Will you ever want to record contact events etc?

Spend some time looking at the "business" that the users wish to do and then develop a definition of requirements. This definition will logically lead you to a good technology decision.

 

[BG12424]

Do you users have Lotus Notes? Lotus Notes is implemented to help users take information offline, then synchronize at a later time.


regards,
Brian

http://www.gainesconsulting.com