Web Form and Access Database

[Larry Schankman]

Ruth,

If you want to write to Access then I assume your server is Microsoft. If
that's the case, ask your web server admin if Active Server Pages is running
as a service. If so, you can read any one of many good books on ASP
programming (my favorite is Sam's ASP in 24 Days). Like similar technologies
in the Unix world (PHP or CGI), ASP can write to almost any OBDC compliant
database. The newest version is ASP .Net, which is even more powerful.

I have designed several dozen applications that interact with an Access
database on the web. The basic programming is fairly simple. The only trick
is getting the sysadmin to assign your database "write" rights so people can
add data to it (in my case I built my own server so I don't have to crawl to
IT for the privilege of being told 'no way, we won't allow that').

One of the applications that I created that uses this type of Access
programming is a virtual reference system, which consists of several related
ASP pages. The sequence of events are as follows:

1. patrons submit questions to the database via a web form (due for major
update this week)
2. librarian logs in to administrative page to retrieve new questions
3. librarian fills out a response form with the answer and any included text
4. upon submission, the response is appended to the database and an e-mail
reply is sent to the patron
5. the new submission is added to a comprehensive, searchable knowledge base
(one version for the public and another for the staff, that includes
information about the type of question and librarian who answered it, etc.).

If you'd like to see the complete site (with a link to the knowledge base)
look at the Virtual Information Desk, at:

  http://vid.sshe.edu/

Cheers,

Larry Schankman
Remote Services Librarian
North Hall Library
Mansfield University
Mansfield, PA 16933
570-662-4684
lschankm at mnsfld.edu


Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 10:07:49 -0600
From: "Ruth Harrison" <Ruth.Harrison at sll.state.tx.us>
To: <web4lib at webjunction.org>
Subject: Web Form and Access Database
Message-ID:
<F066C676AE22124295436EB56ED6BBC40246F7 at email.courts.state.tx.us>


Is it possible to create a web form that sends data to a Microsoft Access
Database?

Our library is currently working on a database to store patron reference
requests.  We would also like to create an Ask a Librarian web form and
would like the two to work together.  Has anyone else tried a similar
project? Can anyone recommend any books or other resources I can use to
learn more about this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Ruth Harrison
Texas State Law Library
P O Box 12367
Austin TX 78711-2367
512.463.1724
512.463.1728 Fax
512.463.1722 Circ/Ref
http://www.sll.state.tx.us
ruth.harrison at sll.state.tx.us