WEB DATABASE INTEGRATION
Tim Berners-Lee invented the WorldWideWeb (www) in 1991. He was working on a project for a physics laboratory called CERN in Switzerland and recognized the need for collaboration between software engineers to produce common software with the use of shared hypertext. Now people can access a web or internet which links millions of data pages, websites, chat rooms, and search engines. You name it, it can be found on the web.
As a relative newcomer I can immediately see the advantage of integrating one’s database with the web. Billions of people can access your information if you and they so desire.
In addition, the ability to access this information is split-second. Users don’t have to write a letter or wait for a phone call to be connected and then have to re-directed to the appropriate party. We can communicate with the website online and get answers immediately. This enhanced communication also improves the quality of the information available on the web.
Another obvious advantage to having a web integrated database is the ability to communicate updates and changes as soon as they are made. This is essential for a database that changes frequently.
The less obvious advantage to me was the outcome of my ability to interact with this data. I knew I could buy things on the web. From a different perspective, I now see that my interaction with the data, even if it’s only e-commerce, increases the database, or wealth of knowledge available. Just from a single transaction, the website owner can get information from me about product preferences and target market locations. This information can be used to develop new and different products which in turn increase the amount of data available.
I can share ideas, brainstorm and collaborate with anyone on the net. As stated by Berners-Lee in a Business Week article dated October 22, 2004, “The original goal was that the Web should be a sort of play space.” By sharing ideas or data people can create new ways of thinking, new processes or products. “The challenge is to make the innovative power of a group greater than the power of one person.” Even in a small Microsoft Access class way out in the wilds of Alaska sharing information helps us all.
In conclusion, integrating a database with the web improves:
1) Access to the data;
2) Speed of access;
3) Communication of data changes;
4) The quality of the data, and;
5) The quantity of the data itself.
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2 comments:
indeed integrating databases with the web is essential to almost all businesses with any sort of online presence. too bad access falls short of being a significant presence in this need.
It's hard to imagine life without the internet. It seems it's become almost a necessity. I know it makes going to college easier for me since my work schedule is always changing.
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