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Back End Technologies

Server Side Communications




Back End Technologies

Server Side Communications






As a web developer, there comes a time when you realize you're building the same page over and over again - that's when you should think seriously about adopting a server-side technology. If the only thing that's different is the text and maybe some pictures, Adobe Dreamweaver templates work fine for small sites, and for content that doesn't change very often. But templates have the disadvantage that each page needs to be built and uploaded to your remote server individually. If you make a change to the template, every file needs to be uploaded again.

At the simplest level, server-side technology lets you include the same code in multiple pages from a single external file. For example, you can put your site menu in an external file, and include it in every page. Whenever you update the menu, all you need to do is upload the single file to your web server, and it automatically updates every page. It's similar to using a template, but you don't need to upload every file each time you make a change. It's faster and more efficient.

If you have a lot of material that needs to be displayed in a uniform way—such as a product catalog or sports results—it makes sense to store the content in a database, and use a server-side technology to display it. Instead of building dozens of separate pages, you build just one of each type, and let the server-side technology do all the heavy lifting for you. Using a server-side technology opens up a wide range of possibilities: e-commerce, customer management systems, direct user feedback, and adding a search form to your site. It all sounds wonderful—and it is — but there's a huge problem: How do you find your way through the alphabet soup of server-side technologies available? And what is a server-side technology anyway? This article will help you answer these key questions.

A quick introduction to server-side technology:

Choosing which server-side technology to use is an important decision. All of the technologies covered in this article have similar capabilities and features, but while switching a project from one technology to another is possible, it is also time consuming and often fraught with difficulty. It's impossible to say if one is any better than another, but there are certain aspects of each technology, such as ease of learning, availability, cost, and software support, that can help you make up your mind.

    n this article, we weigh the merits of the most widely used server-side technologies, namely (in alphabetical order):

  • Active Server Pages (ASP)
  • ASP.NET
  • ColdFusion
  • JavaServer Pages (JSP)
  • PHP
  • Python
  • Ruby on Rails

What makes a website dynamic?

The word dynamic is often used to describe websites that use a server-side technology. This is because the content of each page often changes in response to user input, such as through a search form. Such pages are considered dynamic in contrast to static web pages, where all the content is fixed by the web developer at the time the page is built. Confusingly, the term, dynamic is also applied to web pages that use effects like rollovers, drag-and-drop, and fades, or widgets like accordion panels that slide open and closed to reveal or hide content. These dynamic effects and widgets are controlled by JavaScript in the browser, and are not related in any way to server-side technology. Because they take place in the browser on the user's computer (the client), they are known as client-side technology.

On the other hand, as its name suggests, server-side technology operates entirely on the web server and sends the results to the browser.

What happens on the server?

    Server-side technology can be used in the following main ways:

  • To build web pages with HTML
  • To serve data to a rich Internet application (RIA), such as a SWF file built in Flash Builder or Flash Professional(or other IDE's)
  • To process user input and send it by email or update the contents of a database
  • When used in conjunction with HTML, the server-side technology builds the web page based on information sent from the browser when a link is clicked or a form is submitted. If necessary, it queries a database to get the page content, and uses the results to build the HTML code ready to be sent back to the browser. A similar process happens with an RIA, except that the raw data is normally sent back to the SWF application, which handles the display internally. Both HTML-based pages and RIAs can forward user input to be sent by email, to insert new information in a database, or to update or delete existing information. Server-side technology also plays a vital security role, validating user input before it is used. Many web developers fail to realize that client-side validation with JavaScript can be bypassed simply by disabling JavaScript in the browser. Well-designed server-side validation cannot be evaded.

    The important thing to understand about using server-side technology is that everything takes place on the server, and the results are sent to the browser or the RIA. If further processing or database queries are required, it always involves a round-trip to the server. It might sound like a statement of the obvious, but it's easy to forget when you see a well-designed dynamic website, which will almost certainly use a combination of client-side and server-side technologies.

    Comparing widely-used server-side

    This is not an exhaustive survey of the server-side options currently available. It's intended as a general overview to help you decide which technology is likely to be most suited to your needs, particularly for use in conjunction with Adobe software. The technologies are listed in alphabetical order.
    Note: Some of the following sections refer to Dreamweaver server behaviors. These automatically generate server-side code for basic database operations, such as inserting, updating, and deleting records, user authentication, and paging through a long set of database results.

    Active Server Pages (ASP):

    ASP (often referred to as Classic ASP) is Microsoft's original server-side technology, released in 1997. After ASP 3.0 was launched in 2000, Microsoft decided to abandon all further development, and focus instead on ASP.NET. Nevertheless, Classic ASP remained very popular and is still in widespread use.
    Contrary to common belief, ASP is not a language. Active Server Pages can be created using either VBScript or JavaScript. Older versions of Dreamweaver include server behaviors in both languages. However, the ASP JavaScript server behaviors have been removed from Dreamweaver CS5, which now supports only ASP VBScript.
    Classic ASP is likely to remain in use for many more years; but it is a stagnant technology, and does not make a wise choice for anyone currently contemplating learning a server-side technology. Versions of ASP designed to run on non-Windows servers are no longer officially supported.

    ASP.NET:

    The replacement for Classic ASP bears little resemblance to it apart from the name. The difference is so marked that previous experience of Classic ASP does little to smooth the transition from one technology to the other. ASP.NET uses the Microsoft .NET framework, and can be written in many different computer languages, the most popular being C# and VB.NET.
    A major feature of ASP.NET is the use of controls, such as data grids and navigation controls. This makes it a very powerful server-side technology, which is particularly suited to large-scale projects. However, the power comes at the expense of a steep learning curve. ASP.NET is worth serious consideration if you plan a career as a programmer in web application development. On the other hand, if you simply want to add database functionality to small- to medium-size websites, ASP.NET might be overkill.
    Older versions of Dreamweaver included server behaviors for ASP.NET 1.0, but these were removed from Dreamweaver CS4. There are currently no plans to reintroduce support for ASP.NET in Dreamweaver. However, Flash Builder 4 does support communication between ASP.NET and SWF applications.

    Adobe ColdFusion:

    ColdFusion is Adobe's application server that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. In the background, it uses Java, a powerful programming language that, in spite of its name, is unrelated to JavaScript. From a web developer's viewpoint, ColdFusion is very easy to use because the application server takes care of most of the complex programming. Commands are written using a tag-based language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), that looks very similar to HTML. To give a simple example, if you have a form on your site where visitors can enter their name, the following code displays the name when the form is submitted: Hello, #FORM.name#! Dreamweaver has support for ColdFusion through server behaviors and code hints. Because the release cycles of Dreamweaver and ColdFusion don't coincide, code hints for ColdFusion are kept up to date by installing a free extension to Dreamweaver.
    A major strength of ColdFusion is its integration with Java. While most users do everything with CFML, and need no knowledge of Java, advanced programmers can access pre-existing Java objects from within a ColdFusion application. If you plan to do a lot of server-side development with ColdFusion, you should consider using the Eclipse-based ColdFusion Builder. ColdFusion is particularly suitable for use with RIAs as it automatically converts data to and from the binary Action Message Format (AMF), which greatly improves the speed of data transfer.
    A common misunderstanding surrounding ColdFusion is cost. Because it's a commercial product, a license is required to run a ColdFusion server on the Internet. However, this cost is normally included in the price of a hosting service. The developer version of ColdFusion is free, and is not time-limited.

    JavaServer Pages (JSP):

    JSP is designed to work with very large, high-volume sites. It uses libraries of Java code known as servlets, which reduce the amount of code that needs to be written. JSP is worth considering if you plan a serious career as a programmer. Older versions of Dreamweaver included JSP server behaviors, but these were removed in Dreamweaver CS4.

    PHP:

    PHP is the most popular open-source server-side language. It started out in 1995 as Personal Home Page Tools (PHP Tools), a simple set of utilities that gave users access to their server logs and processed online forms. Since then, it has developed into a sophisticated technology that drives some of the most visited websites, including Facebook, Wikipedia, and Yahoo!. The original name eventually sounded out of place, so PHP now officially stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

    Like ColdFusion, it is relatively easy to learn, and it also has advanced features that appeal to serious programmers. Unlike ColdFusion, it is not tag-based. Instead, PHP uses traditional programming syntax. However, the basics are easy to grasp. The PHP community is very active, making it easy to find help. The community has also produced powerful content management systems (CMS), such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, that allow even non-programmers to create sophisticated database-driven websites without touching a line of PHP code.
    Dreamweaver CS5 has enhanced support for PHP. In addition to the existing server behaviors that work with the open source MySQL database, Dreamweaver CS5 provides real-time checking for syntax errors and code completion for user variables. Code hinting has also been extended to display the PHP documentation, complete with examples, for all built-in functions, methods, and constants (up to PHP 5.2). Other improvements include code introspection to provide code hints for custom functions and classes, as well as external libraries, such as the Zend Framework. Live view also makes it possible to see the output of WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla directly in the Document window.
    PHP also makes a suitable back end for an RIA. Flash Builder 4 automatically generates the basic code to transfer data through PHP and Zend_Amf, an independent module of the Zend Framework that handles conversion to and from AMF.

    Python:

    Python is an open-source programming language that claims to combine "remarkable power with very clear syntax." It's a standard component of most Linux distributions and Mac OS X, and can also be installed on Windows. Its users include YouTube, Google, Yahoo!, and NASA. Two popular web development frameworks for Python are Django and Zope. However, neither Dreamweaver CS5 nor Flash Builder 4 has any built-in support for Python.
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    Ruby on Rails:

    Ruby on Rails (or Rails, as it's often called) is an open-source web application framework designed to make common development tasks easier through the use of tools, such as scaffolding, which automatically constructs some of the basic elements of a website. A notable feature of Rails is that the ActiveRecord library enables you to write code that works with any supported database, rather than having to write database-specific code, as is common with other server-side technologies. Twitter is perhaps the best known among prominent users of Rails.
    Rails can be installed on Windows, Mac OS X (Ruby is preinstalled), and Linux. There is no built-in support for Rails in Dreamweaver CS5 or Flash Builder 4. However, the free RubyWeaver extension for Dreamweaver adds syntax coloring, code hints, and other functionality designed to facilitate Rails development.

    Now - which server-side technology should you choose?

    As mentioned earlier, there is no single right answer to this question. Much depends on your goals and the amount of effort you're willing to expend. Many people make the mistake of thinking that Dreamweaver server behaviors take care of everything for you. You can use the built-in server behaviors for Classic ASP VBScript, ColdFusion, or PHP to get a basic database-driven website up and running without writing any server-side code yourself. However, the functionality is very basic.

    As soon as you want to customize the server behavior code to your own requirements, you need to open Code view and start writing your own code. You also need to understand the code Dreamweaver has created for you, so you know how to edit it. The Dreamweaver team says server behaviors should be regarded as a learning tool, rather than as an end in themselves. Moreover, the PHP server behaviors in Dreamweaver limit you to using the MySQL database. If you want to use SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or another database, you need to write all the PHP code yourself or use a third-party library, such as the Zend Framework.

    Having said that, the support that Dreamweaver CS5 offers for Classic ASP VBScript, ColdFusion, and PHP through server behaviors, syntax coloring, and code hints clearly raises these three technologies above the rest if you want to build dynamic websites with HTML and CSS. If your goal is to use a server-side technology as the back end for an RIA, Flash Builder 4+ offers support for ASP.NET, ColdFusion, and PHP.

    Narrowing down the options. our opinion is that you should exclude Classic ASP from consideration unless you need to maintain an existing database-driven site that already uses it. There is little point in spending time learning a technology that is no longer actively developed. Although it might achieve everything you currently want to do, web development is moving at a rapid pace; and as the years go by, you're likely to find Classic ASP increasingly restricts your options. Eventually, you'll need to switch to a different technology. So, why not make that choice now, rather than later?

    The remaining six technologies surveyed here all have their strengths. However, familiarity with a particular IDE such as Dreamweaver will certainly have an influence. It's a reasonable assumption that you already use Adobe programs or are considering doing so. Support for two server-side technologies—ColdFusion and PHP—is particularly strong in Dreamweaver CS5 and Flash Builder 4. There's also support for ASP.NET in Flash Builder 4, and a dedicated ColdFusion integrated development environment (IDE) in ColdFusion Builder. Of these three, ASP.NET has the steepest learning curve and the lowest level of support in Adobe programs. That doesn't mean ASP.NET is a bad choice; but if you're still unsure, it might influence your decision.

    For many people, that means the choice boils down to ColdFusion or PHP. Both have the advantage of being relatively easy to learn, without limiting your horizons if you want to progress to a more advanced level. They're equally suitable for small websites and sophisticated online applications. The main difference between them, from a beginner's viewpoint, is that ColdFusion uses tags and attributes—so it's similar to HTML code—while PHP uses more traditional programming syntax like JavaScript.

    ColdFusion requires a ColdFusion server, which the hosting company needs to license, so you need to check whether it's available on your hosting plan. Because PHP is open source, it's more widely available and hosting tends to be slightly cheaper. The downside is that not all hosting companies keep their version of PHP up to date. Even though PHP 4 was discontinued in 2008, many hosting companies were very slow to upgrade to PHP 5. Check your hosting company's upgrading policy carefully. Your hosting plan should support a minimum of PHP 5.2 and preferably higher.

    Because of its wide availability, PHP has a large, active community, making it easy to get help. The danger is that not all help is of the best quality. Many online PHP tutorials are out of date. The ColdFusion community is smaller, but tends to be passionate. There are also many ColdFusion user groups that provide mutual help and support. Now you know .




    Our Most Recent Projects

    Please do note that the clients listed below all came to us as a result of personal recommendations. They very much new nothing about the web let alone the fundamental technologies involved. One thing the knew for certain was that it is where everything is happening. They needed someone to take their ideas and make it happened so to speak on the web - And that's what we do here at ToromeTech.

    Click on the vertical tabs on each client 's section to see how the sites were designed

    Website Design - Project1

      Salient Features: Click on tabs to see content:

    Ezeogu Publication

    Preserving Igbo Heritage

    Their Objectives:

    We are here to take you on a journey to discover and appreciate not only the Igbo language but also the culture to which it gives expression

    • To contribute our bit to the crusade for the preservation of Igbo language and culture
    • To bring the Igbo language to all Igbo children growing up in the Diaspora who are eager to connect with their heritage language
    • To provide a tool and to be of assistance to anyone (Igbo and non-Igbo alike) who has a genuine desire and interest in learning to read, write and speak the Igbo language
    • To create awareness on the current state of the Igbo language and the need to preserve it for the future generations

    The Brief

    A Complete Responsive Design

    General theme should exude subtle colours and large expanse of margins and paddings that depict an uncluttered interface

    • Published Books will be sold on site
    • An interactive flash design game will be played on the site on a subscription basis
    • A dynamic content page showing Igbo phrases and their English equivalent
    • A dynamic picture gallery page

    The Design Process

    From Wire-frames To HTML5

    In the design process, the business imperative as narrated by the client is of the essence. This is why they've come to us. Our design methodology is encapsulated in these four phases: Discovery - Design - Deployment - Delivery. Each of these consulting phases, defines a clear step in the process of taking the solution of a business problem from concept into production. The client is alway in tune with what is going on. This facilitate a smooth transfer of control after completion.

    • A wire-frame mock-up of the interface is the starting point
    • Basic graphic assets are added into mocked design to improve visual for client to get a handle
    • intended graphic assets from client are then modified and edited in Photoshop to attain proper dimensions and resolution as per design
    • Responsive design is implemented with a skeleton backbone of components from Bootstrap framework
    • Various CSS3 style sheets are created to render the HTML pages with the desire effects
    • Java-script files are created to drive the front-end interactions
    • PHP script files are created to power the back-end applications

    Progressive Development

    Client's Input At All stages

    To effectively bring the client in to the design and development processes, a common venue had to be established. The most convenient and suitable location was the internet. thus, a private area was setup where client can log in and see how development was progressing. More importantly here,they could query issues they were not happy with and the development team can respond for them to see the immediate effect of their suggestions -

      Advantages
    • Very convenient for both parties
    • Significantly reduce glitches and typos
    • improved client satisfaction

    Delivery

    Deployment

    This final stage of the design cycle was rather straight forward because it is invariably dependent on the preceding phases. Thus it was merely transferring the entire package from it testing platform on to a production one. Here, the databases for managing both the on-line book selling functionality and administering access to the on line Interactive Audio Application were implemented and tested. Paypal was the obvious choice for completing the e-commerce section due to it simple and intuitive modules.

    Final Features

    • Site with interface as envisaged by client and then some
    • Java-script providing intuitive interactive elements at the front-end
    • Publish Book can be bought on site
    • Interactive - Audio Media can be played on site with access control
    • Client has total control of back-end activities













    Website Design - Project2

      Salient Features: Click on tabs to see content:

    Fabu Publishers

    Publishing Books With Moral Values

    Their Objectives:

    Fabu Publishers is a Foundational Publishing house based in London. We have developed into a leading publisher of historical, cultural, educational and religious publications to name but a few. Our books focus particularly on fostering a better world order and promoting self-transformation. Our themes are Self-awakening irrespective of your denomination. Foundational thoughts are not merely academic but real food for thought for the discerning.

    The Brief

    A Complete Responsive Design & Branding

    General theme should exude a bright colour specified by client

    • A dynamic book display gallery on home page
    • E- commerce integration
    • Published Books will be sold on site
    • A means of subscribing to weekly news letter from home page
    • A dynamic detailed content page showing main attributes for each book
    • A blog and news section

    The Design Process

    From Wireframes To HTML5

    Our design methodology is encapsulated in these four phases: Discovery - Design - Deployment - Delivery. Each of these consulting phases, defines a clear step in the process of taking the solution of a business problem from concept into production. The client is alway in tune with what is going on. This facilitate a smooth transfer of control after completion.

    • Mapping - A wire-frame mockup of the interface is the starting point
    • Mapping is very subjective due to the fact that your personal feelings (emotions) and experiences are the driving force. It starts from your brain where you envisage how everything will be positioned in a given time - space disposition.
    • The transfer of these brain concept on to paper (mockup) is the starting block for the interface to come into realization
    • Basic graphic assets are added into mocked design to improve visual for client to get a better visualization

    Progressive Development

    Client's Input At All stages

    To effectively bring the client in to the design and development processes, a common venue had to be established. The most convenient and suitable location was the internet. thus, a private area was setup where client can log in and see how development was progressing. More importantly here,they could query issues they were not happy with and the development team can respond for them to see the immediate effect of their suggestions -

      Advantages
    • Very convenient for both parties
    • Significantly reduce glitches and typos
    • improved client satisfaction

    Delivery

    Deployment

    This final stage of the design cycle was rather straight forward because it is invariably dependent on the preceding phases. Thus it was merely transferring the entire package from it testing platform on to a production one. Here, the databases for managing the on-line book selling functionality , contact form , newsletter, blog and news functionalities were implemented and tested. Paypal was the obvious choice for completing the e-commerce section due to it simple and intuitive modules.

    Final Features

    • Site with interface as envisaged by client and then some
    • Java-script providing intuitive interactive elements at the front-end
    • Publish Book can be bought on site
    • A blog section
    • A news section
    • A news-letter section
    • Company stationery consistent with wed interface
    • Client has total control of back-end activities









    Website Design - Project3

      Salient Features: Click on tabs to see content:

    The Nigerian Community

    Joining The Motion

    Their Objectives:

    The Nigerian Community Waltham Forest (NICOWF) is a charitable organisation born out of the necessity to foster and strengthen the bonds among Nigerians living in the borough

    • Strengthening Capacity For Self-Help
    • Providing Economic Opportunity
    • Delivering Relief In Emergencies
    • Influencing Policy Decisions At All Levels
    • Addressing Discrimination In All Its Forms

    The Brief

    A Complete Responsive Design

    The general theme should reflect the national colours (GREEN-WHITE-GREEN ) with large expanses of margin and padding that depicts an uncluttered interface

    • Lots of videos will be shown on site
    • Lots of pictures will be shown on site
    • Details of Nigerian embassies in the diaspora
    • Useful public information from the The High Commissioner s Office in London
    • A dynamic blog and news section
    • An opened architecture for accommodating new features

    The Design Process

    From Wire-frames To CSS3

    There are multitude of different screen sizes across phones, tablets, desktops and TVs,. Screen sizes will always be changing, so it’s important that your site can adapt to any screen size, today or in the future. Responsive web design, responds to the needs of the users and the devices they’re using. The layout changes based on the size and capabilities of the device. For example, on a smart-phone, users would see content shown in a single column view where as a tablet might show the same content in two columns.

    The fundamentals of the responsive design concept is based on a grid structure made of columns. A maximum of 12 will be utilized to display content for a typical desktop and anything bigger (TV). Tablets , smart-phones and smaller screen devices will use progressively less. The magic in rendering the same content for devises of varying screen resolution and sizes is in the css file (CSS - Cascading Style Sheet)

    • Mapping - A wire-frame mockup of the interface is the starting point
    • Mapping is very subjective due to the fact that your personal feelings (emotions) and experiences are the driving force. It starts from your brain where you envisage how everything will be positioned in a given time - space disposition.
    • The transfer of these brain concept on to paper (mockup) is the starting block for the interface to come into realization
    • Basic graphic assets are added into mocked design to improve visual for client to get a better visualization

    Progressive Development

    Client's Input At All stages

    To effectively bring the client in to the design and development processes, a common venue had to be established. The most convenient and suitable location was the internet. thus, a private area was setup where client can log in and see how development was progressing. More importantly here,they could query issues they were not happy with and the development team can respond for them to see the immediate effect of their suggestions -

      Advantages
    • Very convenient for both parties
    • Significantly reduce glitches and typos
    • improved client satisfaction

    Delivery

    Deployment

    Final Features

    • Site with interface as envisaged by client (based on the Nigerian Flag)
    • Java-script providing intuitive interactive elements at the front-end
    • Dynamic Photo Album
    • Dynamic Video Player
    • A Blogging Section
    • A News Section
    • Client has total control of back-end activities















    Be Properly Informed

     

    Publishing no more a privileged few

    The main broadsheet and television to a certain extent have always argued that the principle of reviewing books that are only published through well-renowned publishers had inbuilt quality control they could not do without. It now seems the quality control factor was merely a smoke screen for maintaining the old school boy network. This hitherto sacrosanct principle is now being reviewed,revised or ditched completely. There now seems to be a change in the wind - or to put it bluntly a revolution in the making. As more self-published authors hit the big time, that reputation (of vanity,flagrant ego etc,etc.) is definitely beginning to diminish. Self-published authors are now thought of as entrepreneurs, energetic souls determined to forge their own identity and destiny in the cultural landscape.


    Anyone can get published

    Here at Torome Tech, we have the expertise to help you bring your dreams to fruition. it is generally said that, everyone has got a book in their head. Be it fiction or non fiction. The problem has always been the expense in getting it published. Well to a certain extent that obstacle has been rendered obsolete. Not because of the caprices of the big publishing houses but due to innovation in technology and the increasing power designers and programmers have in affecting how information is presented and consumed on the Internet platform. Thus you do not have to have a physical book so to speak(i.e printed) . Your book will reside on the internet to be consumed in a digital format only. That is to say people can read it online on their chosen platform (Tv,desktop,laptop,tablet, or smartphone). You can give it gratis or incorporate a charging scheme of your choice.This by and large, will be on a pay-access basis. Just in case you are one of those averse to digital books, the tangeable option can easily be realised from this juncture. You just have to say the number of copies you want and it get send to the printers - and that is it. You only need to have your story out of your head and we will do the rest. Interested - talk to us.


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