Supplemental Software


Throughout the process of developing the site and all the necessary elements, there are a couple pieces of supplemental software that, although not absolutely necessary, assist in your understanding of how the site works.

Internet Information Services (IIS) or Apache Web Server

Although the ColdFusion server does include an internal web server, Macromedia has indicated that it is best suited for the development environment and not intended to replace more powerful web server applications, like IIS or Apache. Therefore, it's a good idea to install and configure a web server on your local machine so that you can test your site as you progress.

Caution

If you are using a machine that has Windows XP Home Edition, it is not capable of using IIS unless you make significant modifications to operating system files. Therefore, if you are using the Home Edition, you can either upgrade to the Professional Edition or choose to run Apache Web Server.


Throughout this book, IIS is used because it's included in most versions of Windows, but if you are a Mac user or you prefer a server such as Apache or SunOne, you can use those as well. IIS can be installed with your Windows Operating System CD, the Apache web server can be downloaded from http://www.apache.org, and SunOne can be downloaded at http://www.sun.com/software/products/web_srvr/home_web_srvr.xml.

Note

For additional information on configuring each of these web server applications for use with ColdFusion, check out this site:

http://livedocs.macromedia.com/coldfusion/7/htmldocs/00000049.htm


Macromedia Flash Player

As mentioned earlier, one of the elements you will be developing for the client is a Flash slideshow of their employees and facilities. Therefore, to fully test the Flash movie you are going to create, you need to have the latest version of the Flash Player installed on your local machine. When you install Macromedia Studio, the Flash Player should be installed as well, but you can test to ensure that the player is installed and configured correctly by going to Macromedia's website at http://www.macromedia.com. Their site is Flash based, so if you are able to view their site correctly, Flash is installed properly on your machine.

Microsoft Access

The final piece of supplementary software that will be helpful in developing the site is Microsoft Access. Since you are going to create database-driven pages for the website, the content will be stored in Access and then rendered on the pages when they are accessed. Although it is not imperative that you have Access installed on your machine, it might be helpful to be able to open the Access database and view the table structure and field properties that have been created for the site.



Special Edition Using Macromedia Studio 8
Special Edition Using Macromedia Studio 8
ISBN: 0789733854
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 337

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