Message-Id: <mailto:199504232209.RAA10854@library.wustl.edu> Date: Sun, 23 Apr 1995 18:07:03 -0400 From: David Johnson <mailto:dave@CND.MCGILL.CA> Subject: Databases and HTML conversion. To: Multiple recipients of list IMAGELIB
Recently there has been some discussion surrounding database software, the ability to export catalog entries to HTML, and remote searching. I have a fair amount of experience with this as I've been working on making catalog databases available on the Web with embedded links to any scanned images.For the database itself, we are using MS Access because of its powerful engine, its interface, ease of use, and the ability to easily interact with Visual Basic code for HTML export and remote access.
While Filemaker Pro has a nice interface it is very limiting in what you can do with it. It can't be used on its own to export information to HTML documents nor can it be used in interaction with a Web server. It also doesn't provide any programming interface for more complex applications. Its file format is also not importble by other more powerful database software. Personally, I wouldn't recomend using Filemaker for any database more complicated than a simple mailing list.
Our Web server, Win HTTPD by Rob Denny, is running on a 486 DX2 with Windows 3.1. (This will be upgraded to Win NT running 32-bit Website by the same author.) We use HTML forms to allow people to search through the catalogs. Upon submission forms are passed by the server to a Visual Basic program which interperts the query, passes it to the MS Access engine, and converts the results to HTML along with embedding links for catalog entries whose image has been scanned.
It all makes for a nice neat package where people can remotely search through our databases and find images. All of it was also inexpensive and relatively easy to do.
For those interested the pages are located at the Canadian Architecture Collection, a component of Blackader-Lauterman library, at the URL HTTP://blackader.library.mcgill.ca
Everything is still under construction.
David Johnson Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art McGill University Montreal, Canada