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.NET database and distributed computing tools |
BIS Intro | Database
Technology | Visual Studio |
Distributed Computing | BFC Intro
Building and
Administering Secure,
Database-Driven Web Sites with BFC
Base One's Internet Server (BIS) brings a new level of
convenience to building and maintaining large scale web sites. BIS is the part
of BFC that lets you administer servers and databases securely and easily across the
Internet, without programming. The sample web site
shows how BFC makes it as easy to manage your web site
as it is to use.
You can use Base One's core Rich Client technology to create custom,
Internet-enabled Windows applications. BFC gives your programmers a complete framework for building
high-performance, secure
enterprise applications with unprecedented ease.
- Internet-enabled tools to manage your site easily
- BFC includes several server administration applications that you can put to
immediate use. You won't need a programmer, and you won't even need to
be near the server, because these facilities work by remote access across
the Internet. Each tool is a carefully crafted program with the
familiar kinds of interfaces and online help that users acquainted with
Windows can quickly understand.
- total, secure control of your web and database servers
- The convenience of remote Internet-based access to your servers demands an
impeccable level of security. You won't be disappointed with what BFC
has to offer in this respect, because the Rich Client architecture was
developed from the ground up with security in mind. The
BFC
Security System complements the native security features of the
underlying DBMS and operating system, providing a greater degree of control
over user access privileges, security groups and rules, database sessions,
and internet server settings. Web server programs can call BIS functions for
Session Validation and block
requests by unauthorized sessions, prevent multiple logons by the same User
ID, and force off specific users regardless of the server they are coming
through.
- database command processing
- An indispensable tool is Base One's integrated database
command processor, which allows remote administrators to directly
control the database servers connected to your web site. The command
processor makes it possible to perform large-scale data processing jobs
efficiently, without complex server-side programming.
- batch job scheduling
- Integrated with the BFC security system and command processor, the
Distributed Batch Processing Services
are another facility for getting the most out of your servers and includes the
convenience of a remote, programmer-less interface. Jobs can be defined
to run manually or automatically, with complex interdependency rules and
comprehensive error handling. You can also remotely monitor, control,
and report on the progress of batch jobs. The Distributed Batch
Processing Services
give you a unique ability to balance the work load across a dynamic pool of
available server resources.
- database support including Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Sybase, and MySQL
- Behind most enterprise web sites lies a database management system (DBMS),
and BFC supports all of the major ones. Typically, integrating database
software into the web server is one of the most difficult chores in building
an enterprise web application, because each DBMS tends to be complex and
vendor-specific, and its origins predate the web by decades.
BFC greatly simplifies database integration by providing a clean layer of
generic programming interfaces that shield the developer from underlying
complexity while supporting advanced functions like security, an integrated
data dictionary, transaction processing, rigorous
error-handling, and so
on. This is the result of BIS' evolution from the
Base/1 Foundation Component Library (BFC). The Rich Client
architecture gives applications built on BFC an exceptional degree of
portability, not only across back-end DBMS platforms, but also across
Internet, intranet, and conventional LAN-based client/server environments.
More useful web programming services provided by BFC
Web server programs can call the BIS session
validation functions to block requests by unauthorized sessions,
prevent multiple logons by the same User ID, and to force off specific users - regardless of the server they are
coming through. BIS can be placed on the same machine with web servers such as Microsoft Internet Information Server
(IIS), Crystal Web Report Server, ColdFusion Application Server, etc., to deliver security services. Web
application programmers code their own data access and use BIS functions called by web server programs to
register users, check requests are coming from valid users and force off specific user sessions. Developers
can also add their own web site specific services. BIS components can be called by
ASP.NET, ASP,
ColdFusion, Java, C++,
etc. - any language that accepts standard Microsoft COM or .NET function calls.
Thin Client applications, such as web sites, do their own data access. So, to gain the benefits of the Rich
Client architecture, web programmers must understand the data model and follow certain data access
conventions. For example, there are various record types (tables) for the Security System (such as User
Master, Security Group, Security Rule, and Database Session records). Web application programmers can,
for example, access these records to check for a valid user logon or to change a user's password.
In return for following Base One's data access conventions, web site programmers,
administrators, and operations staff can immediately make use of the Foundation
Application. The
Foundation Application is typical of Rich Client applications built with Base One's C++ tools. You do not
need a browser to run the application (although the Foundation Application uses COM and an embedded
browser control to display Help documentation and Crystal Web Reports' high quality display).
Also note that there is no need for a conventional web
server (such as IIS) in order to run across the Internet through BIS.
Web developers can easily make use of the Foundation Application and the core Rich Client facilities, such as:
- Security System - Tied into the back-end database system and supports password checking/changing,
administrative controls for determining who should be allowed to view sensitive data or perform restricted
operations, and custom tailoring of application specific behavior, such as "filtering" data depending on who
is looking at it.
- System Administration Facility - For controlling database access, allowing administrators to
force users to log off, restrict logon to certain types of users, and broadcast warning and information
messages.
- Command Processor - Run complex scripts that include SQL and DOS commands, plus special
commands for loading and unloading large databases.
- Distributed Batch
Processing Services - Execute customized long-running tasks. Create batch functions and
scheduling rules. Specify the hardware characteristics of PCs doing batch work. Log task execution
milestones.
- Data Dictionary - Repository for the complete description of record layouts, validation criteria, and
indexes to ensure efficient data access. Automates database creation, including building tables, indexes, and
referential constraints, and granting access rights to individual users and groups.
- High Quality Printed Reports - Sample reports and code plus security improvements for
Crystal Reports (which supports display and printing of database reports with pages being broken
down properly, with headers, footers, page numbers, accurately placed images, etc. plus export to Microsoft
Word and Excel). Simplifies use of Crystal and
speeds up achieving a highly polished appearance (avoiding the fragmented look caused by wrapping lines
and improperly split images resulting from printing web pages directly).
Thin Client Web App using Rich Client Architecture

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BIS Intro | Database
Technology | Visual Studio |
Distributed Computing | BFC Intro