eCommerce Technologies

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eCommerce Technologies
MIS 4453 -- Spring 2003

• A Primer on Web Servers

Instructors Kelly Fish, Ph.D. John Seydel,
Ph.D.
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Student Objectives

• Describe interaction between browser and server
• Compare and contrast web server software commonly
  available
• Discuss the website development model presented
  in the text
• Select appropriate web server based upon
  organizational needs

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First, Some Administrative Stuff

• Customization (remember the 7 Cs?)
• Schedule modified
• XML moved to later
• Insert Chapter 4 (foundation for later work)
• Summary of exercises so far
• Exercise 1 Create personal profile pages (p.
  22)
• Exercise 2 FP exercise (modified from p. 36)
• Exercise 3 Flash, graphics (p. 45), site
  reorganization
• Access to materials
• PowerPoint problem noted and to be resolved
  today
• Flash to be installed in BU 202

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Web Servers

• Basics
• AKA HTTP servers
• Service requests from clients (browsers)
• Forward (if necessary) to
• Database servers
• Application servers
• Provide administration and security features for
  web management
• Process differs for static and dynamic web pages
• Static pages never changing brochureware
• Dynamic content (and even display) based upon
  interaction with user
• Draw information from databases
• Update databases
• eBusiness integrates servers, applications, and
  databases among users and suppliers

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eBusiness Data Access
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Recall the Web Development Model

• First, dont ignore the systems development life
  cycle
• Start by identifying user requirements
• Design a solution
• Construct, test, and implement solution
• Monitor and maintain
• Text model for web design, from Table 2-1
  (actually development)
• Front/Back end analyses
• Design and construction
• Website testing
• A bit more detail (note items in red) . . .

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Front/Back End Analyses

• Needs assessment
• Firm
• Customer/client
• Client hardware/software
• Technology trends (Moores Law)
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Selection of development tools

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Design Construction

• Home page
• Content pages
• Aesthetics and usability
• Fonts, styles, colors
• Horizontal lines
• Tables (borders, margins, etc.)
• Hyperlinks
• Frames
• Images
• Forms

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Website Testing

• Local testing
• Static pages
• Dynamic pages
• Server-side testing
• Client-side testing
• Loading speed
• Browser/platform detection
• Display quality
• Script processing speed/responsiveness

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Server Hardware

• Just about any computer can be a server
• Powerful multi-user hardware
• Lightweight personal machine
• Vary based upon
• OS (not really hardware, but treat as such)
• Number/power of processors
• RAM
• Hard drive space
• Organizational needs will dictate the appropriate
  configurations

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Server Software

• Top four
• Apache (open source) 11.1 million sites
• IIS (Windows) 4.1 million sites
• Zeus 0.3 million sites
• SunONE (replaces/extends iPlanet) 0.2 million
  sites
• Features to expect
• User management, authentication, etc.
• Cookies support
• Editing features
• Server-side script processing (e.g., CGI, ASP,
  PHP)
• See www.netcraft.com/survey

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Apache Server

• OS supported
• Windows, OS/2, Unix, Linux
• Most common Linux
• Open source whats that mean?
• Robust design and extensibility
• Not a dummies tool
• No GUI
• No browser-based maintenance
• Essentially all command line driven

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Internet Information Server

• Actually Internet Information Services (IIS 5)
• On the plus side
• Intuitive GUI
• Essentially as powerful/capable as Apache
• Incorporates WebDAV (web-based distributed
  authoring versioning)
• Emerging standard for simplifying intranet
  construction
• and enabling multiple users to publish to common
  web
• server
• Additional benefit Supports ASP
• Downside works only on Windows (what else would
  you expect from Microsoft!)
• Growing in popularity (?)

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Other Web-Related Servers

• Create multi-tiered architecture
• Include
• Application servers (sometimes middleware)
• A/V servers (especially valuable for streaming)
• Database servers
• Exchange servers (support collaboration email)
• Proxy servers (involve cache management)
• Security servers (e.g., firewalls)
• Offload processing and storage
• From server
• From client
• Can be in same or multiple boxes

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Multi-Tiered Internet Database Access Architecture
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Choosing Your Server

• First, what applications will be needed
• ASP
• Cold Fusion
• CGI
• Extensions FrontPage, DreamWeaver, . . .
• Then, what server software is required to run
  those applications
• Next, what OS will support that server software?
• Finally, choose the hardware that can support
• Software configuration
• Traffic expected
• Connection with database and applications
• Network

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Server Selection Considerations

• Keep in mind that eCommerce requires more power,
  memory, speed than static web applications
• Needs assessment
• Site traffic
• Concurrent users
• Bandwidth could be limitation
• Plan for three years growth
• Scalability (size)
• Extensibility (functionality)
• Hardware/software selection popularity,
  capacity, reliability, performance,
  compatibility, upgradeability, price, support
• See server ratings (sites on page 88)

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Summary of Objectives

• Describe interaction between browser and server
• Compare and contrast web server software commonly
  available
• Discuss the website development model presented
  in the text
• Select appropriate web server based upon
  organizational needs

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How About Questions Concerning Homework Exercises?

• Flash
• FrontPage
• XHTML

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For Next Time

• Read Chapter 4
• Complete Exercise 3
• Home page and related personal pages
• Flash exercises
• Animated conference logo
• Rollover button
• Installed on web pages
• Chapter 2 Hands-On Exercise
• Scan/convert conference image
• Use PhotoEd and Flash (not PS Pro)
• Flash exercises
• Complete previous exercise
• Try to create rollover button
• Try to create shape tweened image
• Incorporate on personal pages and conference site

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Flash Leftovers (If Time)

• Rollover buttons any questions?
• Shape tweening exercise
• A look at the markup

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Appendix
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Know Your Clients

• First of all, who is the client?
• Actually a twofold clientele exists
• Firm sponsoring the website
• Patrons of what the website offers
• Needs assessment
• What kind of business
• Target customers
• Consider toy store versus newspaper site
• Internet service speeds available and bandwidth
  requirements

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Servers at Active Websites
Source www.netcraft.com/survey
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Zeus Web Server versus Apache
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Effective Site Customization?
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What Happens When You View a Web Page?

• The same process applies whether you
• Click on a link or
• Type a URL into the address bar
• HTTP request is then sent to server at designated
  URL
• Includes header info
• Requests file
• Server then returns HTTP response
• Includes header info
• Contains file
• Repeated as client (i.e., user agent) interprets
  file

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Browser/Server Interaction
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HTTP Request Example

• Request
• GET/index.html?namejuliesmithID12234
• /HTTP/www.astate.edu
• /HTTP1.1
• Header
• Useragent IE 5.0
• Accept /
• Date 10/24/02
• Body
• (empty)

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HTTP Response Example

• Response
• HTTP1.1/200
• Header
• Server IIS 50
• Date 10/24/02
• Body
• lthtmlgt
• . . .
• lt/htmlgt

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Basic Shape Tweening Exercise

• Open new file and
• Turn on grid/snap
• Zoom to 75
• Create circle near center (red stroke gradient
  fill)
• On timeline, select frame 10
• Click on Insert Blank Keyframe
• Press Onion Skin icon
• Use line tool to draw triangle slightly larger
  than circle (black stroke)
• Use bucket tool to fill triangle with gray
  gradient fill
• Select frames 2-9 (press Control key and then
  drag)
• Turn off onion skinning
• Run the animation
• With control bar (Window Toolbars Controller)
• Or drag playhead on timeline

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Some Enhancements

• Turn on looping (Control Loop Playback)
• Reverse the action
• Copy frame 10 to frame 11
• Copy frame 1 to frame 20
• Tweening is automatically copied!
• Now, run the animation