ABSTRACT
The previous chapters discussed much about the client-side and server-side, but it is equally imperative to understand how we store the user’s data. Database systems are an indispensable part of server-side operations and some database software providers, such as Oracle, are combining web application functionality with their core database functions. The bottom layer of any web application is the database, which handles all the “remembering” for you. A web database is a system for storing information that can be accessed via a web site. For example, an online community may have a database that stores the username, password, and other details of all its members. Everything from the simplest blogs and directories to robust user-oriented web sites use databases. It can be relatively simple, like an excel spreadsheet, or incredibly complex and split into many giant pieces. No matter how complex or simple the web site and corresponding database may be, though, each takes careful planning in order to run efficiently and securely. This chapter will help you to understand one of the most useful applications of the Web is its ability to link a web site with a database to enable web surfing and browsing for information search.
