The term "prophead" is a leftover from the days when the nerdy kids on the
block wore caps with little propellers on top (want
to know more?). This fashion gave way to the pencil pocket protector. Here
at the WDJ, "propheads" refers to programmers, developers and other technically-oriented
types.
Introduction
to ASP
Here is a brief overview of Active Server Pages (ASP).
ASP allows for HTML and a scripting language such as VBScript, JScript or Perl
to be interspersed in a Web page generating HTML code 'on the fly' to make Web
sites dynamic and user-specific.
Maximize
Your ASP Performance
Active Server Pages give great performance, but you
can make them even faster with a few tweaks to your code and database connections.
Here's a detailed tutorial on how to refine your scripts and ASP features for
maximum speed.
Getting Your Quotes Right In SQL For ASP
It is somewhat ironic that the most confusing part of creating and executing a SQL statement from ASP is determining where to put the quotes. This article gives your the answers.
A Solution to the User Privilege Challenge
Defining user access privileges for an application with a small number of users is straightforward. But as new groups of users are added, it can become messy. Here's a solution in ASP, outlining principles which can be applied to other set-ups as well.
Calling Stored Procedures From Active Server Pages
With a low-level database, offering only basic data storing functionality, SQL code often needs to be embedded in Active Server Pages. With a more sophisticated database, stored procedures can be far more effective. Here's a case study.
Create
Your Own ActiveX Components For ASP
ActiveX components on the server-side have a lot
to offer. ASP is great, and the ability to effectively roll-your-own ActiveX components
is a highly flexible benefit. It really permits unlimited functionality in an
ASP page.
CGI &
Perl
Speeding
Up Your Web Server CGI
Where script use is heavy and many dynamic pages
are built on the fly, the resources used by scripts and the time it takes them
to execute are critical. Here, we look at ways of making CGI run faster and more
efficiently.
Watch
Out For CGI Gangsters
CGI provides the door between the street and the
bank. You need to keep it open to let in customers, but not open wide enough to
let the gangsters stroll in.
Adding
A Dealer Locator To Your Site
Many large corporate Web sites have a "dealer locator"
feature that lets a user enter a zip code and get a list of the closest locations
to them. It's both cheap and easy to do.
XML Content Syndication
"Applied XML Solutions," a new book from Benoît Marchal, shows you how to apply XML to a variety of real-world applications. Here we present the chapter devoted to producing HTML, WML and RSS from XML.
Why XML?
XML is new, it's exciting, and it's got to be good,
because the specification for it looks indecipherable.
Converting
XML to HTML using XSL
To view an XML document you need to format or style
it. In practice, this often means converting the XML file to HTML. Our detailed
guide takes you through document conversion using XSL.
Web
Virtual Reality and 3D - in VRML or XML?
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) was supposed
to be the standard language for VR, but market-oriented companies are ignoring
VRML in favor of XML.
XML
by Example
A book that gets you started developing XML solutions.
Other Languages
Why PHP?
According to NetCraft surveys, PHP is now the most popular module for the Apache server and in total running on something like two million Web sites. Here are some of the reasons why PHP is such a popular server side scripting language.
Learning to Like Linux
As a 21st century Web developer, you need to become familiar with Linux at some level. Linux is very different than Windows and will burn away many of your learning hours before you are productive with it. Edward Tanguay shares his experiences.
Linux
- Coming Soon to a Web Server Near You
Has Linux hit the big time as a Web server OS? The answer is yes,
it has. Major players like IBM are trying to incorporate Linux rather than reject
it.
Secure
That Server
Site developers often consider security to be somebody else's problem. But lack
of faith in site security is cited as the most common reason why people don't
shop online.
Is
SSL dead?
Most security experts have been aware of problems with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL),
but the problem hasn't been exploited extensively. Chances are it will be, though.
More
Apache Configuration
This time we look at the access.conf file as it relates to server security, and
briefly cover setting up locations in which to store your site content.
Wireless
Web Discussion List
This new mailing list focuses on the implications
of wireless technology for Web developers. WML and creating content for wireless
devices.
User Profiling and Cookies
Customise
Your Content With User Profiling
The more you can match your content to the people
reading it, the more often they will come to your site and the longer they will
spend there. User profiling lets you customise content on the fly to make it as
relevant as possible to each individual visitor.
DIY
User Profiling
Commercial user profiling software is expensive,
so why not build a home-grown system instead?
Using Scripting.FileSystemObject
The FileSystemObject is a component often used to access the server's file system. But be wary of the security implications for your Web site.
Embedding Key Data Into Web Pages
In the second of our series on developing in a secure environment, we look at the problem of giving away secrets by embedding information in the hidden tags of forms.
Misuse of Administrative Logins
How many times have you set up a connection to an SQL server database with username sa and a blank password? Or to Oracle using the username system and password manager? Go to jail immediately and do not pass GO!
When Hardware Humbles: Advice for Freelance Web Developers
Freelance Web developers are by the nature of their work dependent on their computers. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the hardware you work on will always be there for you. Here are some tips for fast recovery in the event of hardware problems.
In Praise of Sloppy HTML
Never one to shy away from controversy, Andrew Starling extols the virtues of the useless tags and bloated HTML code churned out by Web editing software.
Advice for Beginners: Learn HTML, ASP and Database Connectivity
In the last two weeks, three friends approached Edward Tanguay asking how they can get into Web development. His advice to all of them was the same: learn HTML, ASP and database connectivity.
Why and How I installed PHP4, MySQL and Apache on Windows 98
PHP can be combined with three other technologies to form a powerful Web development solution, abbreviated LAMP: Linux (operating system), Apache (Web server), MySQL (database) and PHP (scripting language). Edward Tanguay finds the concept appealing.
Web Site Down Time and Its Discontents
If you have your database-backed Web site hosted at an external ISP, you have to face the problem of Web site down time while you upload and download the database. What are the possible solutions?
The
Really Useful Page
Want to look up a domain registration, an IP address, or see what software a server
is running? Start here for a Domain Name Registration Search, a Reverse DNS Lookup,
Traceroute, VisualRoute, NsLookup, Server Check, Modem Speed Test or Ping.
Empower Your Website with JMail
Essentially, JMail 4.0 enables your Web sites to send and receive e-mail. This might sound like "just another neat feature", but the ability of Web sites to send and receive e-mails is for Internet evolution as significant as fish sprouting legs and running up on the beach.
Seven Reasons to Learn Server-Side Scripting Now
Server-side scripting has been around for years and although it is revolutionary in concept, many web developers still aren't learning it. Here are seven reasons why you should learn server-side scripting today:
A Simple Backup Plan with WinZip
Modern 100 MB Zip drives, 640 MB CD-R/W-drives, 20 GB hard drives and 10-Mbit ethernet networks need just one more little tool, Winzip 8.0, to provide a secure and flexible backup routine.
Drumbeat
2000
Drumbeat 2000 is by far the best ASP (Active Server Pages) development environment
I've ever seen. After just 5 minutes with the product, I was so hooked that I
dumped my copy of Visual InterDev.
Agent
Communication
Agent technology is becoming more prevalent, posing a challenge for developers
to design agents that can enrich the user experience, or make work cheaper, faster,
or more effective.
Online
Applications
A software application runs on a server, while the
client machine connects to the server over the Internet. ASPs have been grabbing
headlines lately, but they're only part of the picture, as we shall see.
