Chapter 21. Putting It All Together: Configuring ColdFusion for Database Connectivity

In this chapter

Understanding the Database Structure 398

Database Naming and Location 402

Creating a Connection to the Database 405

Troubleshooting 408

Best PracticesPeriodic Maintenance of Your Access Database 409

With the site design in place and the template created, the next step is to choose a platform for your pages and decide whether the site will be dynamic or static. In the case of Retro's Cycles, they would like to be able to make updates to their own site, without having to rely on a web developer whenever a change is necessary. In this situation, there are two primary options. The first is to provide the client with a copy of an HTML editor or WYSISYW web page editor and give them basic instruction as to its use. The second option is to create a database-driven website that has an administrative section that enables clients to make updates to content stored in the database via their browsers. This second option is the one that the client has chosen.

This means that the web pages can't be static HTML pages. Instead, they need to be created on one of the dynamic platforms such as ASP, JSP, PHP, or ColdFusion. Because we have covered just the fundamentals of ColdFusion and because ColdFusion is part of the Macromedia Studio, we'll stick with the ColdFusion platform.

The second element that you need is a database that contains the data for the pages. Although a variety of databases is out there, one of the most common is a Microsoft Access database. Access databases are ideal for small sites because they are easy to build, perform relatively well on the web, and can be updated easily by someone with a basic understanding of Access.