CIM277 Intro to ECommerce

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CIM277 Intro to E-Commerce

• Week 2

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Introducing Server-Side Tools

• The web has grown tremendously in the last decade
  when it comes to the technology powering
  e-commerce. Non-standardized, custom programmed
  applications have been replaced with many open
  source and vendor-supported programming and
  server tools. Most of the design and development
  of e-commerce has become a series of standardized
  practices.

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Defining Server-Side Tools

• Server Tools are generally broken down into the
  major categories of
• Web Servers-
• Allow access to files and folders through the
  web.
• Share content through the HTTP protocol.
• Server-Side Languages
• Create web applications.
• Server-side languages MUST be stored and run off
  of a web server that has a compiler module
  installed.
• Databases
• A server-based version of data management.
• Server-based databases must be scalable.
• Tools like MS Access and FileMaker Pro are
  Client-Based and usually meant for only a small
  number of people accessing their data.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Security
• Certificates
• Firewalls
• Filters

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Web Servers

• The two most popular web servers are
• MS Internet Information Server (IIS)-
• IIS comes standard with any version of MS Windows
  Server.
• Apache-
• Apache is an open-source, free web sever.
• Apache has over 80 of the marketplace for web
  servers in use.
• Apache is often bundled with popular operating
  systems like
• Mac OS X
• UNIX
• Linux
• Apache must be installed for Windows users, but
  can be easily downloaded through apache.org or
  you can use my favorite all-in-one server tool
  WAMP (Windows Apache, MySQL, PHP)

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Server-Side Languages

• There are numerous popular server-side language
  tools.
• Most server-side languages utilize HTML/XHTML
  formatting for displaying information.
• Server-side languages usually have a compiled
  language that provides syntax (the way its
  written) and functionality.PERL/CGI is based on
  C/C
• PHP is based on C/C
• ColdFusion (CFML) is based on Java
• Java Server Pages are based on Java
• ASP is based on Visual Basic
• ASP.NET is based on VB.NET and C

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PERL/CGI- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Open Source
• Free, cheap to develop
• Huge user base for small through enterprise size
  businesses.
• Widely taught in Computer Science programs in
  Higher Ed.
• Can be developed using a wide variety of
  platforms (Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac, etc.)

• Cons
• No vendor support
• Lacks Object-Oriented Programming Scalability
• Works well with MySQL for databases, and not much
  else.
• Syntax is moderately hard to use.
• Code intensive
• Losing popularity

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PHP- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Open Source
• Free, cheap to develop
• Widely used for small/medium size businesses.
• Widely taught in Computer Science programs in
  Higher Ed.
• Can be developed using a wide variety of
  platforms (Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac, etc.)

• Cons
• No vendor support
• Lacks Object-Oriented Programming Scalability
• Works well with MySQL for databases, and not much
  else.
• Syntax is moderately hard to use.

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ColdFusion- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Vendor Supported (Adobe/Macromedia)
• Extremely easy to use- it codes like HTML!
• Built-in tools for Dreamweaver
• Developers Tools are Free
• Can use a wide array databases (Access, MySQL,
  SQL Server, Oracle, etc.)
• Widely used for in all size businesses.
• Can be developed using a wide variety of
  platforms (Windows, UNIX, Linux, Mac, etc.)
• Object Oriented Scalability
• XML and Flash are easily incorporated

• Cons
• Expensive for Server Licensing
• Does not follow Java standard extendibility,
  meaning its difficult to change core
  functionality.
• Vendor-based if they make a change to the
  language means so do you.

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Java Server Pages- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Initially vendor-based (Sun Microsystems), now
  open source
• Widely used for large/enterprise size businesses
• Massive Object-Oriented Programming Scalability
• Widely taught in Computer Science programs in
  Higher Ed
• Supports many databases
• Programming labor can be easily outsourced
• Extremely well-documented

• Cons
• Code intensive (lots and lots of programming)
• Extremely expensive for many development projects
• Minimal vendor support
• Requires many additional tools for certain
  fuctionality.

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ASP- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Now open source
• Free
• Widely used for small/medium size businesses
• Widely taught in Computer Science programs in
  Higher Ed
• Scalable
• Wide base of older web applications

• Cons
• No vendor support
• Expensive Microsoft licensing
• Based on Microsoft Server (IIS) and Database
  (Access or SQL Server) platforms
• Code intensive
• Losing popularity

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ASP.NET- Pros and Cons

• Pros
• Vendor supported (Microsoft)
• Widely used for large/enterprise size businesses
• Scalable (C or VB.NET)
• Many adopters are form ASP developers
• Cheaper domestic programming costs (less than
  Java or PHP)
• Gaining popularity

• Cons
• Expensive Microsoft licensing
• Based on Microsoft Server (IIS) and Database
  (Access or SQL Server) platforms
• Code intensive
• Developers prefer higher salaries (like using
  Java or PHP!)

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Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

• APIs are essentially a way to enhance any
  existing development tool.
• Virtually all of the proprietary, vendor-based
  development tools have in-depth APIs
• APIs are also referred to as Software Development
  Kits (SDKs).

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The Servlet Defined

• Servlets are examples of using a full-blown
  programming language like Java or C to create
  small programs to work on the web.
• Servlets are usually used in conjunction with a
  server-side programming language
• Examples
• Java Servlets JSP
• C Servlets ASP.NET

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Server-Side Development Software

• There are many popular tools for creating
  server-side languages.
• Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver allows designers and
  developers a way to control the client-side or
  the visual design of an application, and live
  server-side connectivity.
• Dreamweaver can create
• ASP
• ASP.NET
• JSP
• CFML
• PHP
• Other tools like web servers, language modules,
  and databases are often required to make these
  languages functional.
• Java/JSP is often created using Eclipse, a free
  developers toolkit
• ASP.NET is often created using Microsoft Visual
  Studio
• CFML is often created in Dreamweaver, and now
  also in Eclipse