The Benefits
Why should a webmaster use a web page database?
Better than server databases and HTML lists
Web page databases accessing small files on the client computer are usually faster than searches against a server side database or searches for text in an HTML document. Using traditional CGI search techniques can frustrate visitors who don't get quick results or any results. Many client server systems are not designed for repeated searches because they forget the previous search criteria. This forces the user to type in all the criteria for each search request. Browsers do not provide search functions necessary for effective data query and reporting. The browsers "find" command does not allow complicated queries that require searching more than one column within the same record. For example the request "Find homes with at least 2000 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms" would require the user to use the "find" command for one field and then visually search the located records for the other fields.
Economical and fast implementation for web page designers
No special training is required for a web page designer to install a web page database. No CGI or PERL programs need to be designed, written and tested. No database interfaces need to be established and no server database software needs to be purchased or deployed. The installation and configuration of the database is fast. Most web page databases come with a set of sample HTML documents that may be used as templates to build a new web page database.
Reduces processing load on web server
Web page databases are stored on the web server as a Java class file and an optional sequential text file. These files are delivered over the Internet when a web page visitor requests the HTML that includes them. After the download, the web page database performs the query and report processing on the client computer. The Internet server only delivers documents and files to the client computer. This reduces the load on the server resources such as CPU and data transmission.
Great for Users The Java language allows web page databases to utilize sophisticated features like sorting, column scrolling, and image manipulation. Innovative graphical techniques can be incorporated to assist the user in quickly locating data of interest. These databases may be designed as part of the HTML document or they may be floating windows on top of the HTML page.
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