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Dreamweaver UltraDev: Connect to a Database

UltraDev is what's known as a Web server application. If you'd like to create search pages, sell items online or log in users to your Web site, then UltraDev is the program for you. Dreamweaver UltraDev and Dreamweaver MX are both tools that allow you to design your Web site WYSIWYG-style. These tools also allow you to create dynamic Web pages using ASP, JSP or ColdFusion technologies.

Before using Dreamweaver UltraDev or Dreamweaver MX, there are some things you'll need:

1) A Web Server
-The computer that holds all the files for your Web site; the computer that serves the Web site files to the user
-Windows 2000 comes with IIS (Internet Information Server) on the system and you can use this while using Ultradev
-Windows 95, 98 and NT come with PWS (Personal Web Server)
-Apache server: nearly 50% of all sites runs on Apache
-Apache supports Unix, Windows 200, NT and MAC OS

Install IIS on Windows 2000 or PWS on Windows 95, 98 and NT:
1. Choose Start...Settings…Control Panel…Add/Remove Programs...Add/Remove Windows Components
2. Add the IIS program or PWS
3. This program will be installed on the C DRIVE/Inetpub folder
4. Place all of your web site info (including the database) in the Inetpub/WWWROOT folder

2) An Application Server
-A server that pulls info from the database and passes the info that creates dynamic content to the web server
-The kind of application server used depends on whether dynamic content is created using ASP, JSP or ColdFusion

ASP
IIS and PWS both have an ASP web application server integrated into IIS and PWS

JSP
Uses Apache, IBM WebSphere, Macromedia JRun, WebLogic

COLD FUSION
Uses the cold fusion server

3) A Database
-SQL Server (largest, fastest online database)
-Access (works best with small to mid-size databases)

Interface With a Database

1. Choose Site...New Site to define your Web site. Click the New button.

2. Choose the Remote Info category and select the Local/Network option from the Access drop-down menu. Then locate the C/Inetpub/WWWROOT folder and choose your Web site.

3. Next, choose the Application Server category. We need to set this up for the technology we'll be using to create dynamic pages. Specifry an application server to tell UltraDev what kind of server-side scripts to insert into your pages. Remember that UltraDev also uses the application server to establish connections to a database at design time.

4. Now we're ready to create a connection to the database. We will create a DSN (data source name) to connect to the database quickly with just one word. DSN: a one-word identifier that points to the database and contains all the information needed to connect to it. Think of a DSN like you'd think of an alias that you'd create for an application--a shortcut. First, create an ASP page (turn an HTML page into an ASP page). Then open that ASP page and create a connection to the database with it. Choose Modify…Connections then select New and choose DSN.

5. Now we're creating a name for our database connection within the DSN dialogue. For the Connection Name field, this should start with the word "conn" to indicate that this is a connection. Then use the name of your database. ex: "conntraining"

6. Next, click Define to create a new DSN; then click the System DSN tab so that this DSN will be available to everything on the system including the Web server. Then click Add and choose the correct database driver ( we chose the Access Driver during the seminar because we used an Access database). Click Finish.

7. Another dialogue appears. Give the DSN a name and a description. Now select the location of the database. Remember, you'll need to have the Access database file created on your computer in order to locate it. Find the database file and then click OK, then click OK again. Now the system DSN is defined. Click OK one more time. Now we can choose the DSN we just created!

8. Click TEST to test the connection. Click OK, then click Done.

We now have a new DSN defined in Windows and within UltraDev. We have created a connection to that DSN that we can use within the rest of our site. Go back to the site window and you'll see that a new folder has been created called CONNECTIONS that stores the details of the DSN.

Source: This lesson was developed especially for YOU by Debbie Berg.  :-)

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