Programming

To unleash the power of electronic commerce, it is necessary to develop applications that are interective in nature, that permit visitors to dynamically obtain information they need (eg., search a product catalog) or complete some task (e.g., submit an order).  This capability typically requires that the user-provided data be processed in real-time and very often necessitates interacting with databases.

This type of processing may be accomplished via programming languages such as perl, visual basic and c++.  Recently, several tools have emerged. such as Cold Fusion, and Tango,  that reduce the need for traditional programming while essentially achieving the same results.

Much of the interectivity is based on users entering data in HTML forms.  A review of  forms section may be useful.  In this section we will cover the following topics:

• The Common Gateway Interface (CGI):  This is a set of standards that facilitate the exchange of data between browsers, web servers and programs.
• perl progamming. This is one of the most commonly used languages for web-based applications.
• Database concepts:  Many applications typically require querying and updating databases, so a database primer is in order.
• Cold Fusion Markup Language, one of the emerging tools that simplify the development of interactive applications involving databases.

| © 1999 , Simha R. Magal  |  Feedback |