Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases | Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases

Susan Sales Harkins
Bryan Chamberlain
Darren McGee
San Francisco London

Associate Publisher: Dan Brodnitz
Acquisitions Editor: Willem Knibbe
Developmental Editor: James A. Compton
Production Editor: Leslie E.H. Light
Technical Editor: Lucinda Dykes
Copyeditor: Pat Coleman
Compositor: Interactive Composition Corporation-Rozi Harris
Graphic Illustrator: Interactive Composition Corporation-Rozi Harris
CD Coordinator: Dan Mummert
CD Technician: Kevin Ly
Proofreaders: Amey Garber, Emily Hsuan, Laurie O'Connell, Laura Schattschneider, Yariv Ravinovitch, Nancy Riddiough, Monique van den Berg
Indexer: Nancy Guenther
Book Designer: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Cover Designer: Design Site
Cover Illustrator/Photographer: Sergie Loobkoff

Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved. The author(s) created reusable code in this publication expressly for reuse by readers. Sybex grants readers limited permission to reuse the code found in this publication or its accompanying CD-ROM so long as the author(s) are attributed in any application containing the reusable code and the code itself is never distributed, posted online by electronic transmission, sold, or commercially exploited as a stand-alone product. Aside from this specific exception concerning reusable code, no part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to photocopy, photograph, magnetic, or other record, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Card Number: 2002115470

ISBN: 0-7821-4148-X

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To Lexie-the reason I stay in this line of work. -SH

I dedicate the part I played in this book to my wife, Sandy, and my children, Jacob and Rachel. You provide me with motivation, strength, hope, and happiness. Thank you.-BC

My portion of this book is dedicated to Jay, my family (immediate and extended), and my friends who, over the years and most recently, showered me with faith, encouragement, patience, and support. Without all of you, I wouldn't have been able to write this-and, specifically, to you, Aunt Opal. I love you all. Also, to Mrs. Bain, Mrs. Unthank, Mrs. Cole, and Jim Moreton. You inspired me more than you'll ever know.-DM

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Bryan and Darren for stepping in at the last minute, thanks to Sybex for staying with the book even when the project seemed impossible, and thanks to The Cobb Group editors for teaching me such an interesting marketable skill.

-Susan Harkins

I wish to thank Susan Harkins and Sybex for the opportunity to create this book. To The Cobb Group for providing such a great environment to learn and grow so much during my time there. I also wish to acknowledge that light is both a wave and a particle and that fast-food fries are much better while you are still in the car.

-Bryan Chamberlain

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Susan Harkins for her guidance and leadership on this project. Thanks to the folks at Sybex, too, for all your help and having patience with this hectic schedule. Special thanks to Troy Compton for his expert advice and additions to this book-KATE MIPS never fails! And thanks to those of you who find this book useful.

-Darren McGee

As a team, we'd also like to thank Macromedia, Inc., and particularly Heather Hollaender, for providing software that we used in writing the book, and for letting us distribute trial versions of MX software on the companion CD-ROM. Thanks also to Mariann Barsolo of Sybex, for coordinating the software, and to the Sybex CD team of Keith McNeil, Dan Mummert, and Kevin Ly. Special thanks to Leslie Light of Sybex for managing the book's production.

The Scripting Tools

Dreamweaver MX is a powerful tool for building web applications visually, and it supports a wide variety of scripting languages and environments, including ColdFusion, Active Server Pages, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, JSP, and PHP-and the fundamental database language, SQL. If you've worked with any of these languages and need to add another one to your skill set, Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases will give you enough of the essentials to get started. Or, if you have the opportunity to choose which language to use for a project, you can use these chapters to compare features and make an informed, appropriate choice. See Chapters 11 through 16, and 18.

Working with Data (and Securing It)

Finally, Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases shows how to secure your data and how to handle the essential data-manipulation tasks-retrieving, searching, and updating data. In this section, you'll also learn how to use templates and create master/detail page sets to both reduce your workload and give all the pages of your site a uniform look, and you'll be introduced to the add-in extension tools available through the Macromedia Exchange website. See Chapters 17, and 18 through 24.