>>>>>
I have created dynamic content using ASP and Access on NT
servers before, but I am wondering what you all have found to be
the best database connectivity solutions for UNIX based servers.
I haven't had the pleasure as yet to get into that arena and I am not
sure what tools I need to start gathering before I explore this area.
<<<<<

Currently the most favored would be a combination of PHP and MySQL.
Perl, especially mod_perl with Apache, is a close second to PHP. Regular
Perl/CGI requires that a new interpreter be started for each load of a
script, while mod_perl keeps the interpreter loaded in memory, so there
is no over head of calling a loading the interpreter each time a
Perl/CGI script is called. An alternative Database that has some strong
adherents is PostgreSQL.

The reason that these are so popular is that they are often what comes
with Linux distributions. Something like RedHat comes with Apache, the
modules for PHP connectivity to MySQL and PostgreSQL, and both of the
databases.

So, you can install something like RedHat, and immediately have
everything to develop web server applications using SQL databases. There
are some excellent books and tutorials on how to do this.

The only thing that you will probably have to really study is SQL and
how to normalize and optimize either of the SQL databases. Going from
ASP to something like PHP should be pretty easy: essentially the same
concepts, just a different set of tags.

The reason I mention studying SQL and the optimization and normalization
of the SQL database is that while it is not hard to develop an interface
to a database, an improperly set up database can be slow as molasses
when not optimized and updates can be a total horror if it is not
normalized correctly. If I am preaching to the choir, please excuse.

enjoy...

-- 
Jim Tom Polk - Camalott Web Team     | For Tech Support...
Fast Internet, Awesome Support       | Pager:  738-7972
URL: http://www.camalott.com/        | Office: 676-9818

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