web-based database

Posted: August 26th, 2021

Student’s Name

Instructor’s Name

Course

Date

Term Paper

1. Introduction

The way businesses and researches are being done have been dramatically transformed by the growing dependence on the World Wide Web (www). At the same time, the transformation comes with many challenges like resource diversity, almost infinite flow of content, maintenance, and content updates (Holly 167). However, the application and utilization of a web-based database offer an amicable solution to such challenges. Primarily, a web-based database refers to a database that is entirely hosted on an Internet server. Such a database is accessed through a web browser. Usually, it utilizes a security system such as the use of a password that implements restricted access to the database system for users based on the privileges each is assigned (Zongmin & Huaiqing Wang 118). A web-based database provides different functions, among them including the creation of product catalogs, maintenance of user or client details,frequent update of newsletters, among other activities. As such, this paper focuses on building a relational database management system (Kowalzcykowski et al.). Hence, the subsequent section discusses implementation components through three main parts, namely, the criticalcomponents of the software, driven web applications, and a comparative discussion of proposed software with do-it-yourself (DIY) software.

1. Approach

The section discusses the critical components of the software. The developed database is a DB2 database. The essentialelements of the software include the capability to host different users;in this case, the admins, parents, students, mentors, and mentees. The application is designed with software to execute the following functionalities; first, the software should allow users register and login using their username and password. At the same time, users should be enabled to update their information. Secondly, the database application provides student registration for meetings as either mentee or mentor if they meet the grade requirement. Students cannot be a mentor or mentee of the same session. Also, students can register for meetings of the same group for the entire school year or only register for the current week’s meeting by Thursday midnight. Thirdly, it allows admins to add mentors to a meeting; a mentee may be added to a meeting by either the admin or the parents. Lastly, the admin will be able to post weekly study materials. The students will be able to read the study material posted for the meetings they have enrolled in.

1. Do-It-Yourself Database – Web-Based Applications

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) web-based applications are among the emerging space technologies applied in empowering the less technical know-how businesses to create and customize applications that suit their organizations (Kowalzcykowski et al.). The DIY platforms are related to the emergence of the spreadsheets and graphical presentation tools of the 80s and 90s, respectively. During the period, presentations were developed by professionals with graphic skills. The primary benefits of DIY platforms are that they provide design facilities, that is, application-specific devices. As such, application owners can easily manipulate the visible aspects of the design facility, thus configuring desired options. An example of such platforms is the app2you project, accessible online as app2you.com and FORWARD (Kowalzcykowski et al.). The app2you is a form builder. Hence, on this platform, the owner can introduce a page configured form, after which the application appropriately responds by creating a database schema.

            However, functional DIY platforms should maximize two main metrics once implemented. The first metric is the application scope. In this case, the platform should illustrate adequate computation and collaboration on processes, proper presentation, or pages based on the specified application as instructed by the design facility (Kowalzcykowski et al.). The second metric is that it should demonstrate the highest level of ease of application specification when using the design facility. Notably, the highest level of ease is desired to reduce the complexity of using the platform, thus lowering the technical level required to use the platform applications. However, it is challenging to meet the two metrics when building DIY applications. For instance, when Ajax, Java, or SQL are used to create the platform, it is possible to achieve unlimited scope. Yet, it is not easy to attain sufficient ease of use of the platforms by non-programmers.

On the other hand, direct creation of the platform by employing the use of templates provides adequate ease of use while trading off the application scope. Notably, as demonstrated in the app2you/FORWARD application, the platforms can allow the users to have varied roles the right to directly interact on web-based processes (Kowalzcykowski et al.). Hence, based on the application state, the users are permitted to access particular pages, read the page contents, and implement requests. However, this concerns the reported records. Taking these aspects into consideration, the paper aims to dissolve the challenges in achieving desired metrics when creating DIY applications by developing human-centric database-driven web applications. These applications incorporate an entire state that is captured by the database application (Kowalzcykowski et al.). Equally, the developed applications implement the state changes that respond to the actions of the user on the web pages. Also, the design interface and front-end customization are highlighted. The work done in the paper is a general framework that captures thefull scope of the applications and workflows. However, it achieves the complete range that is emphasized on the SQL knowledge. The narrow framework addresses the design facilities of the DIY, thus underlying the main objective of the paper.

1. Discussions

The database system is a critical support system, especially in situations when users deal with volumes of data. Such amounts of data can be adequately handled through the implementation of a Relational Database Management Systems, that is, RDBMS. In this project, a DB2 database. The DB2 database is an IBM developed. However, the application is compared tothe Do-It-Yourself application platform, which is produced by Microsoft. Primarily, DB2 refers to an Enterprise Server Edition that is usually operated on Linux, Windows, or UNIX servers (Kowalzcykowski et al.). The project developed a version that can run on handled devices such as mobile phones and personal computers. The biggest notable challenge is that the DB2 application software cannot adequately provide smaller database needs or run on lower-end personal computers. It is useful with high-end processors. The feature critically distinguishes it with the DIY application, which can maneuver effectively from low end to high-end systems (Kowalzcykowski et al.). The DIY server also has different applications that it offers for users compared to the DB2 platform. Specifically, it contains features that users need to create and customize their databases. At the same time, it includes tools that are not available on DB2. Equally, developers are provided with multiple GUI tools to enhance database creation and integrate different tables. More so, it has dropped and drag functions programmed within the database.

            Further, the DIY application platform overrides the DB2 application platform with the capability to execute a net framework that allows users to develop and debug their programs easily. As such, the DB2 application platform appears to have limited capability compared to the DIY application (Zongmin & Huaiqing Wang 133). However, DIY has some limitations, as demonstrated in the utilization of SPJ for query execution and the EXISTS conditions under the WHERE clause. However, as illustrated in the comparison, DIY can easily meet the desires of target users who are mainly students, mentors, and parents that would mostly operate the application on low-end systems (Zongmin & Huaiqing Wang 127). In this case, it will be critical to improving the functionalities of the software to enhance the performance of the application platform. Hence, the subsequent section discusses on how best to improve the DB2 platform applications and the software.

            The first improvement that should be incorporated in the project software is enhancing its performance speed. The process will involve inculcating the use of queries through which users can easily utilize in retrieving large amounts of saved records from the database. Secondly, coding would be eliminated such that the application meets the ease of use even for non-programming users. The system would be adjusted such that limited coding is required for database maintenance services. Thirdly, the database would be enhanced such that it is portable. Thus, users would be able to use it on several platforms such as servers, personal computers, and laptops as well as mobile phones. Fourthly, there is a need to improve on the interactive language for the database such that it can easily communicate and receive responses even for complex questions. Lastly, the platform will be enhanced such that it can provide multiple viewpoints for data. Thus, once these adjustments are made, the system will meet the project objectives of enhancing interaction among different parties using the platform.

• Summary

The paper acknowledges the changing demands of organizations due to transformation in the use of information, and the utilization of technologies has driven the need to adopt efficient methods of data storage and maintenance. As such, the use of databases not only serves to maintain and store data but also contributes largely to the advance in business interaction. The database project designed in this paper targets a school setting environment to enhancecommunication among students, mentors, and parents. Besides, being a web-based database, the platform would provide users with the ability to update and store information online. In this case, it will make it easy to access the contents just with a few clicks. Equally, given that it has portability characteristics, it will give users a variety of options to access the platform. Security measures are among the enhanced features for the platform. It utilizes a security system that would require the use of a password that implements restricted access to the database system for users based on the privileges each is assigned. As a result, the users would be assured of adequate security for their information. More so, the web-based database would provide different functions, such asthe creation of product catalogs, maintenance of user or client details,frequent update of newsletters, among other activities. These services are critical for students and mentors, especially directories that act as a base for integration and source of information about the ongoing programs. Hence, users would access such services through their platforms to update themselves.

Works Cited

Holly. Content and workflow management for library web sites: case studies. Hershey, PA: Information Science Pub, 2005. Print.

 Kowalzcykowski, K. et al. Do-It-Yourself Database-Driven Web Applications. Accessed on 23^rd April 2020 from http://db.ucsd.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/319.pdf

Zongmin and Huaiqing Wang. The Semantic Web for knowledge and data management: technologies and practices. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2009. Print.