Slide 3.1: Programming Exercise I: an on-line music store using files Slide 3.3: HTML web user interface construction Home

How to Construct the Programming Exercise I

Most web-enabled system includes a back-end database. Instead of using databases, this exercise uses the following steps to create a file-driven web system:

1. HTML web user interface construction,
2. Calling a CGI Perl script, and
3. File processing using C/C++.

These steps and tools are not definite nor unique. Some other approaches such as LAMP or ASP.NET are possible. This approach has the following advantages and disadvantages:

• Advantages: It is simple, powerful, and flexible because the most popular programming languages, C/C++ and Perl, are used.


• Disadvantages: This approach uses primitive tools and files instead of databases. Therefore, advanced programming skills are required.
  
  
  For example, concurrency control, which is automatically taken care by databases, has to be implemented if files are used. If concurrency control is not implemented correctly, incorrect results may be generated when two users try to update the book information at the same time.

Similar requirements in addition to using a database will be given in the Programming Exercise II for comparison.