In the old days, you could just make a screenshot of your app (for each record one) and put that one the web.
Remember the early days of TDMBKS on the web?
Table-2-HTML
For a local intranet, or a situation with no web server, we can simply convert the data in a table to static HTML-pages.
In case of a web server that does not have the BDE installed (or a Unix web server, for example), this is also one of the possible solutions to publish your data on the net.
As an additional "feature", performance will be best when compared to other techniques (that require execution of programs).
Disadvantage of this solution is the fact that the information is read-only, and no dynamic queries can be performed: everything has to be thought-off and "answered" on beforehand.
This can be a problem with linked tables and large master-detail relations.
Table-2-CGI
If the web server platform is win32 (i.e. a WinNT web server), then we can have a situation with or without the BDE.
In the latter case, the ideal (but not a majority) situation, we can write a Delphi 2 CGI (console) application that can use the BDE features to open tables, perform queries, etc.
Using ISAPI or NSAPI we can speed up the performance of this CGI application (by keeping part of it in the air at all times).
Table-2-CGI (BDE)
If a Windows NT server is present but the BDE is not available, then we can develop a solution which is the best (and worst) of both worlds: dynamic HTML pages, generated by a Delphi 2 CGI application without using the BDE.
The data will be read-only, but dynamic queries may be performed, and the result may be a complex or large master-detail relation.
Performance is less than static pages, but better than the Delphi 2 CGI applications (even with ISAPI or NSAPI).
ActiveForms
ActiveForms can be stored on any Web Server (no NT required), but only run on Win32 client machines.
I'll convert the TDMBKS application into an ActiveForm using local BDE (i.e. on the client machine).
I won't go into the steps needed to make a connection to a remote database...
Web Modules
The Web Module components and Wizard are available for Delphi 3 Client/Server uses only.
I'll show how to use them to produce write CGI/WinCGI or ISAPI/NSAPI web apps (single app, multiple actions) that produce dynamic HTML-pages.
Third-party Tools
There are currently three major third-party web application development tools: WebHub (HREF), WebApp (HyperAct) and Portcullis/IAG (Shortline).
I'll use the later to modify the TDMBKS application into a web application almost without needing any HTML or CGI knowledge at all.
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8th Annual Borland