Text Indexing, XML Searches, And Other Database Tricks
By Ken North
One of my goals for this column has been to increase the number of developers who understand how to adapt databases to their requirements when building applications or Web sites. Consider a site such as Yahoo or Amazon.com. Generic products are inexpensive, but a mom-and-pop bookseller can't go to Egghead Software and buy a shrink-wrapped copy of "Amazon.com in a Box." Constructing a unique Web site such as Amazon.com or Yahoo requires custom content and custom software to control its presentation. You can't buy a $99 package of static HTML pages and expect to draw people to your site, whether it's an e-commerce site or an information portal. Enter the Web developer with a bag of tricks for creating custom logic and custom content.
The bag of tricks lets you stay calm amidst concerns about being out of step with the newest technology. In 1993, organizations reacted to the "Windows and client-server" revolution. In 1996, it was the "Internet and browser" revolution. Today, with XML drawing everyone's attention, we have an "e-commerce and XML" revolution. In each case, the technologies took a while to mature before reaching critical mass and causing a paradigm shift.
To make the transition from one technology wave to another, the developer needs a full (or at least, comprehensive) bag of tricks. Some developers understand the front end of a Web application, but have no appreciation for what happens behind the browser. They think developing the custom logic of an application means authoring HTML pages and writing JavaScript, VBScript, or Perl.
