Using database software to create HTML documents

[Susan Rabe]

In Message Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:26:59 -0800,
  The Big Glee Bopper <thom at indiana.edu> writes:

>On Thu, 2 Nov 1995, asmith wrote:
>
>>      I was wondering if anyone has experimented with using a database 
>>      software program (Dbase, Access, Fox Pro ... etc..) to create a HTML 
>>      coded document?  
>>      
>>      It seems like it would be useful when you're creating a page with lots 
>>      of repetition and similar data (for example, a list of web sites 
>>      followed by short descriptions).     
>
>Not only pretty easy but solves Steve's problem of managing lots of web 
>pages. What you really want to do is realize that you are not really 
>interested in managing the _page_ so much as the the data element within 
>the web page such as the the url and the associated description, and the 
>meta description which holds together an entire page. The data is in a 
>data base and the data base is manipulated by a simple perl/visual 
>basic/C++ program which access the data elements which are indexed in 
>some fashion and the html is _spit_ back on the screen to create the 
>_particular_ webbed info you want. 
>
>Probably the easiest way is to use a Mac running webstar and your info 
>stuck in FileMaker Pro. FileMaker is a flat file today but will be 
>relational after December. You can also use sybase and syperl or whatever 
>on a unix box. Need to rethink what you are doing and why are doing it. 
>
>Every time you create a single html page you are creating a potential 
>nightmare for the future.
>
>Database, relational, entity-relationships, object-oriented, etc.
>
>--Thom

I personally haven't used this but other staff here have created web pages
using the report feature of PC-File.  They still have to do additional
editing but the bulk of the tagging is done automatically.
Susan M. Rabe
Collection Resources Bibliographer
Center for Research Libraries
6050 S. Kenwood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637-2804
TEL: 312-955-4545 x323
FAX: 312-955-4339
email: rabe at crlmail.uchicago.edu