Transcript Design and Implementation of a Data Driven Application Using

Design and Implementation of a Data
Driven Application Using ColdFusion
-- A case study of the Mammoth Cave National Park
and WKU joint project
Western Kentucky University
Jue Wang
Introduction of the Project
Mammoth Cave National Park contains the world’s longest
known cave system and is the most heavily researched and best
understood cave system in the world. Each year the park
receives numerous requests by researchers and students for
resources of the Mammoth Cave system and its related regional
karst landscape. In order to provide access to this material,
Mammoth Cave National Park Staff and Western Kentucky
University Libraries initiated a joint project. They began by
reviewing each institution’s holdings related to Mammoth Cave
National Park, cataloguing identified materials, and developing
a joint Mammoth Cave Web site hosted by Western Kentucky
University. At the beginning of this project, the team kept user
flexibility and searchability in mind and pursued a data-driven
dynamic site instead of a content-driven static site.
Why Create a Data Driven Site
• Maintenance of a content-driven static
Web site can be very tedious
• Provide customized information and user
interactive capability
• Demand for a searchable site and
frequently updated contents
What You Need to Create a Static
Website
• Traditional static websites are inexpensive
to run and load quickly for users
• Need a computer with a Web server
software such Apache or Internet
Information Services
• Simple HTML code saved on Web server
This is How a Simple Static Website Works
What You Need to Create a Data
Driven Site – Hardware Requirements
• Intel-based systems, such as Windows and
many Unix/Linux systems
• Hardware with 256 MB of RAM is
recommended
• Disk space depends on the size of the software
and the space needed to save the data
What You need to Create a Data
Driven Site – Software Requirements
• A Web server (such as Apache or Internet
Information Services, same as static site)
• A Web application server (such as ColdFusion
MX, Oracle application server …)
• A database server (a database management
system, such as MySQL, Oracle database, MS
SQL server …)
What You need to Create a Data
Driven Site – Programming Languages
• ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) : an easyto-learn tag-based scripting language that
embedded inside HTML code
• JavaScript: cross-platform, object-oriented
scripting language that allows you to create
dynamic web pages
• Structured Query Language (SQL): the language
used to interact with Oracle, Microsoft SQL or
MySQL. SQL is the standard language for
relational database management systems
This is How a Dynamic Website Works
A Screen Shot of ColdFusion Admin Model
A Screen Shot of MySQL Admin Model
A Screen Shot of MySQL Control Center –
Database Tables
A Screen Shot of MySQL Control Center –
Table Details
A Screen Shot of Mammoth Cave Project -Search Page
A Screen Shot of Mammoth Cave Project -Result Page
Conclusion
The concept of a data driven Web site is not hard
to understand, but fully integrating new
technology into the design and implementation is
a challenge. ColdFusion is a reliable and scalable
development platform and is powerful enough to
create Web-based application. The dynamic Web
site powered by ColdFusion will deliver
information in a more accurate and timely
manner and the site itself will be far easier to
manage and maintain.
Thanks!