Transcript A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING MIS AND MBA STUDENTS TO …

A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING
MIS AND MBA STUDENTS
TO DEPLOY A SCALABLE DATABASEDRIVEN WEB ARCHITECTURE FOR
B2C E-COMMERCE
Alexander Y. Yap, Ph.D.
Elon University, North Carolina
Claudia Loebbecke, Ph.D.
University of Cologne, Germany
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Background
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IS Environment: Five Years Teaching in two Business School
Environments (MIS & MBA students)
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A variety of B2C E-commerce systems solutions are available for
different business needs …
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But deciding on a particular systems solution can be a
challenging process
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Putting things in perspective for students
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Choosing the appropriate IS strategy for Business Objectives
Looking at Business Processes behind E-commerce systems
Assessing how different solutions and systems address short
term vs. long term strategies
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Objective
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Show students different solution paths
We came up with four generic solutions models
Show different architecture scalability
Demonstrate the role of database in e-commerce
Show how a web application server (middleware) shuttles
data between the database and browser
Discuss the importance of web interface and its usability
(front-end design)
Develop and Deploy an E-commerce application (one
project for each student)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Business Process Optimization,
Outsourcing, & Content Development
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Stand Alone Model
(Two-tier Architecture)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
E-Commerce
Integrated with E-Business Systems
(Model 4 – Three-tier & Multi-tier Architecture)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Web Architectures
Two-tier Architecture
Three-tier Architecture
Client
Computer
(Web Browser)
Client
Computer
(Web Browser)
Client
Computer
(Web Browser)
Web Server
Web Server
Web Server
+
Stand Alone
Database
(Access)
Multi-tier Architecture
Database
Server
(Oracle,
SQL Server)
Database Server
Email Server
File Server
Video Server
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
E-Commerce: A Two Component
Course (Teaching the Business &
Technology Components)
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Students taking MIS (Graduate Level) – needed 2 semesters to cover
the business component (1) and the technology component (1)
• Three-tier architecture
• Oracle and SQL programming
• Customize the Application with a lot of hand coding
• Setting up the Application Server & Web/HTTP Server
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MBA students learning E-commerce were limited to a one semester.
Business component (half a semester) and technology component
(half a semester)
• Two-tier architecture
• MS Access
• Use Rapid Application Development Methods for Coding
(Wizards, Drag and Drop coding, reuse of existing
components – shopping cart)
• No Server set up required
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Student Feedback
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MBA students with no database background were more
suited to learning Model 3 (just to see how technology
manages the electronic process)
MIS students preferred Model 4, because they know that
high-end relational database management systems (like
Oracle) work with other enterprise applications
MBA students were able to see how different systems
could be integrated with e-commerce systems, enabling
them to make technology acquisition decisions (Model 4)
MIS students were able to set-up customized ecommerce applications with their own coding logic, their
choice of database, and operating system (Linux)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Application
Development Environment
Client Software
(Home Installed)
Middleware
(University E-commerce Server)
Web
Page
FLASH
Animation
(Nested in html codes)
HOMESITE
Generates Cold Fusion
Enabled
Web pages (*.cfm)
COLD FUSION
APPLICATION
SERVER
Processes Web pages
with
CF tags
HTML
Tags
+
Cold
Fusion
Tags
Parsing Codes
Embedded in Tags
WEB/HTTP SERVER
(Microsoft IIS)
Process HTML tags
Cold Fusion Tags with
SQL scripts are
passed on to
database
DATABASE
ORACLE or
MS ACCESS
(interprets SQL scripts)
Database
(University Server)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
TECHNOLOGIES USED
SOFTWARE TOOLS
• Macromedia Homesite+ & Dreamweaver (editors
for coding)
• Cold Fusion Server (Application Server middleware)
• MS Access Database or Oracle (relational
database; back-end)
• Macromedia Flash MX (animation)
• Others (Fireworks, Photoshop, Graphic editors)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Application Features
When we decided to use CF
(2000-2001)
Features
Cold Fusion (CF)
Active Server Pages (ASP)
Multi-Platform
(Interoperability)
Windows, HP Unix, Solaris,
Linux
Windows only
Native RDBMS Drivers (i.e.
Oracle drivers)
Yes
No
XML Yes
No
Simplified One
Parser
Tag
Clustering and Software Load
Balancing
Yes
No
Security Sandboxes
Yes
No
Native support for all three
Only COM is native to ASP
Drag and Drop coding, custom
tags, automated scripting
with
SQL
Builder,
Template Wizards
No
CORBA
/
COM
JAVA Support
/
Rapid Deployment (Rapid
Application Development)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
RDBMS/Database Connectivity
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Cold Fusion Studio
(now Macromedia
Homesite +) – RAD
Features
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You can link the tables:
‘click and drag’ the
primary key to the foreign
key
Then, double click on the
fields and they will
appear automatically
SQL Script appears
automatically
You can sort the order
by a chosen field (e.g.
date)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
RAD Tools:
Drag and Drop Query Codes
(Cold Fusion Studio -> Homesite Plus)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
RAP - Using Wizards to create
Form and Action Templates
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Select Table and Fields
that you want to include in form
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Form & Action Template Created
(product_entryform.cfm, product_entryaction.cfm)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Form Template
Design & Code
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Action Template
(CFINSERT)
Validation/Confirmation that
data
has been
inputted into the database
Yap, Elon
University,
N. Carolina
First Step: Create Database
Data
to be Provided
Data
Content
Data
to be Collected
Data Content
(Samples)
Product Categories
(Catalog)
Product Categories (i.e.
cars, computers)
Client Information
(upon ordering)
Name, Address, E-Mail,
Phone
Products
(Catalog)
Product Name, Product
Description (short &
long), Price, Images
(small & large)
Payment Information
(upon ordering)
Credit Card Number,
Billing Address
Product Inventory
(Catalog)
Stock Available (quantity),
Back Orders, Date of
Delivery
Order Information
(upon ordering)
Products Ordered,
Quantity, Order
Date
Order Invoice
(after Ordering)
Order No., Item No., Items
Ordered, Total
Customer Services
(after ordering)
Complaints and
Comments, Item
and Order Tracking
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Second Step: Show students how their data is
connected to the Server
“Creating the ‘data source’ using student’s name”
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Data source
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MSAccess – set
up the path of
the database file
in the server
Oracle – create
a schema name
for each student
(using Oracle’s
userid and
password)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Third Step:
Creating the E-commerce Application:
Separating Content and Web Design
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
The
Shopping Cart
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Handling Session Variables
(Passing Data from Catalog to
Shopping Cart to Database)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Passing Data Variables
(Using different web templates)
Product
Table
Info
Online
Product
Catalog
Shopping
Cart
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Capture
Order Info
In Database
Form Variables
Inserted into the Customer Table
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Fourth Step:
Flash Animation
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SPLASH PAGE
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Create layers
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Separate animated
objects for each layer
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Different animation
effects
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Timeline of the
animated objects
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NAVIGATION BUTTONS
(optional)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Embedding Sound
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Drag the sound clip to the object
If you successfully dragged the sound, it will
appear on the frame
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Conclusion
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Students taking MIS at the Graduate level, with background in SQL
and Oracle, handled the three-tier architecture system very well.
They all wanted to learn full scalability of the architecture (Model
4).
MIS students mostly combined hand-coding and RAD functions
MBA students learning E-commerce for the first time could handle
the two-tier architecture without a problem.
But they need to use RAD methods with minimal coding (drag &
drop, wizards, application server handled by someone else)
MBA students felt they could make technology-related decisions
better knowing the capabilities of web technologies to improve
business process.
Multi-tier architecture was only feasible if taught across several
courses (logistics limitations; cannot be compressed into 1 or 2
semesters)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
CFGraph
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Pie Chart
Of
Quantity Sold
Create query
You can use
SUM to add
Use an alias –
e.g “as totalsum”
for the sum of a
variable
Define the graph
as shown
Sum (Quantity x
Price)
Horizontal bar
Chart of
Sales Amount
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina
Dynamic Charts based on the
Database (Sales Table)
Yap, Elon University, N. Carolina