Executive Information Systems

1
Executive Information Systems Session 3

• Henry Weigel
• Energy Information Administration
• February 2000

2
The Intranet Approach

• The use of scripting and coding
• Allaires Cold Fusion
• Microsofts Active Server Pages (ASP)

3
The Basic Idea

• Interactive with user
• Dynamic data (information) retrieval
• The use of a database
• Using queries to define data be requested or sent
• Using Structured Query Language (SQL)

4
Example 1 The Monthly Energy Review

• Using scripting and code
• Selection lists for predefined data tables
• Data retrieved from database
• Demo using a Personal Web Server
• ..\MER_Demo\default.htm

5
Example 2 The Office Intranet

• Initially developed by a manager
• To be extended to the Agency
• Uses ASP
• Linked to password-controlled database

6
Active Server Pages (ASP)

• A Microsoft product announced July 1996, shipped
  December 1996
• ASP is a technology for building dynamic and
  interactive web pages
• Runs on Internet Information Server
• Runs on Personal Web Server
• Two-way communication between user and web server
  (database)

7
ASP How It Works

• Used with html generates html pages
• Read request from browser (ditto html)
• Finds the page on the server (ditto html)
• Performs any instructions provided by ASP to
  modify the page (not in html)
• Send the page back across the Internet to the
  browser (ditto html)

8
ASP Advantages Over HTML

• HTML is interpreted by the browser, not executed
  on the server
• Can edit database rather than web page code
• Customize pages
• Communicate with database from the browser

9
Microsofts FrontPage

• Tool for developing web pages using wizards
• Manage a Personal Web
• Graphical user interface for HTML and ASP page
  development
• FP98 and FT2000 server extensions

10
Link to ASP Page MER

• Monthly Energy Review
• ..\MER_Demo\default.htm

11
Intranet Link