Java Database Programming with JDBC Java Database Programming with JDBC
by Pratik Patel
Coriolis, The Coriolis Group
ISBN: 1576100561   Pub Date: 10/01/96
  

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Information content for Web pages is provided either manually or electronically. The manual approach involves collecting information, organizing it, and typing or scanning it into the source files for hypertext pages. The electronic approach takes advantage of existing information collections by linking the pages to specific data stores, or collections. Using existing data to create new information views is one of the main ways to leverage your technology investment, and is the subject of this chapter. Every organization with a modest level of computerization already has a large collection of diverse, electronic information that can be used in an intranet-based system. In addition to examining these sources, we’ll look at using data conversion, interface activities, and Web page retrieval techniques to update existing databases or populate new ones. Before proceeding further, however, we need to understand what is meant by data and information, and how we use these terms.

Is It Information or Data?

The U.S. Department of Defense Directive 5200.28 defines data as: “A representation of facts, concepts, information, or instructions in a manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by an AIS [Automated Information System].”

A database professional, such as a Database Administrator or Developer, uses a much narrower definition, which says that numbers and characters stored in electronic format have no meaning by themselves. After this “raw data” is processed and interpreted, it becomes information.


Project:  For the most part, we use data and information interchangeably, more in keeping with the DOD directive. Furthermore, the source data for a hypertext page may have existed as information in a previous incarnation; it is viewed as data from the perspective of the page creator. Figure 6.1 illustrates this idea.

Existing Data Sources

The most common sources of data used in constructing Web pages are:

Material from any of these sources can be included, either in its entirety or in selected portions, to deliver the required content. Since each of these kinds of data is stored in a different format, accessing and displaying the information is not a straightforward procedure for the page builder. First, we’ll examine each type, along with the common format used to store it, and then go on to the methods employed to incorporate the data seamlessly into a hypertext page.

Documents

There are two types of documents that we’ll examine here: plain text and word-processed text.


Tip:  This text is a sample for tip text. We will need to have an icon place before it, just like projects. It has 3p before it, as just enough room for the icon, which should be simple.
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