Length: 1 Day

OVERVIEW

This one-day hands-on course presents tools and techniques for Perl programmers and Webmasters who need to build CGI scripts that do lookups and updates on databases. The approach is platform-independent and vendor-neutral; these techniques work on Windows and UNIX, with Access, SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and others.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This course is for technical staff — programmers, webmasters, application developers — who need to:
Connect databases to the Web.
Use browsers as their user interface.
Breathe new life into legacy databases.
Build new Web-based database applications.

PRE-REQUISITES

Perl programming experience, including:
basic concepts:variables, control of flow (loops, branches),
input/output, functions (subroutines)
writing and running scripts
regular expressions record- and field-oriented data processing
Use of a text editor
Familiarity with the programming platform
Basic notions of i/o in Unix and Windows:
Writing web pages (basic HTML)
Databases (basic SQL)

COURSE OUTLINE

    Introduction: The Big Picture: Strategies for Web-Enabling Your Database
    Chapter 1: Connecting to Your Database
    Chapter 2: Handling Errors
    Chapter 3: Adding Rows to Database Tables from Web Forms
    Chapter 4: Building Dynamic Forms from Database Data
    Chapter 5: Updating Database Records from Forms
    Chapter 6: Generating Reports on Web Pages
    Chapter 7: Conclusion
    Appendix A: Common Administrative Tasks

COURSE OBJECTIVES

You will master the skills and techniques to:

  • Choose a strategy for web-enabling your database.
  • Use browsers as your user interface.
  • Breathe new life into legacy databases.
  • Build new web-based database applications.
  • Use Perl and its DBI and DBD modules.
  • Connect to a relational database from a web page.
  • vAnticipate and handle errors when they arise.
  • Insert, retrieve, and update data in a database using Perl.
  • Generate web forms containing data retrieved from databases.
  • vCollect data from Web forms for database updates
  • Generate reports on web pages from database retrievals.
  • Perform basic database administration tasks from Perl scripts