Adobe GoLive Taps Active Server Pages

SAN MATEO (02/28/2000) - Adobe Systems Inc. released last year GoLive 4.0, a stellar Web-authoring tool the company bought from GoLive Systems and revamped.

In January, Adobe Systems released Dynamic Link for Active Server Pages (ASP), a piece of code that integrates seamlessly into the GoLive 4.01 environment and allows a Web designer to link elements on a site to a back-end database.

Dynamic Link is available for free to registered users of GoLive 4.01. You can download the software at www.adobe.com/products/golive/main.html.

Dynamic Link is targeted at GoLive users, specifically Web designers who want to add dynamic content to their Web pages without having to write CGI or learn a new application, such as Macromedia Drumbeat or Microsoft FrontPage. The beauty of Dynamic Link is that it allows the designer to work independently, without relying on a programmer to write the code necessary to grab data. That way, the designer controls the look of the site, no matter where the content comes from.

Dynamic Link is very simple to use. A designer builds a Web page using a special dynamic content palette and Dynamic Link generates the necessary ASP code to fetch the content from a database. When a user requests the page, the Web server will execute the ASP code to dynamically assemble fresh, pertinent, even customized information to that user, which is particularly helpful for I-commerce sites. Using Dynamic Link, you could display daily specials on your home page, present tailored pages to your customers based on their preferences, or deliver up-to-the-second sales information to your sales representatives around the globe.

Implementing Dynamic Link changes the GoLive interface slightly by adding a simple window with a Content Sources tab, a Binding Details tab, and a Make Dynamic button. The Content Sources tab displays all the fields in a given database table and allows the designer to bind elements on the Web pages to those fields. The Binding Details tab supplies the controls that define exactly what those elements are bound and/or linked to. Dynamic URL arguments and filters can be added with the Binding Details tab as well. Any existing page can be turned into an ASP page by clicking on the Make Dynamic button.

The real power of this application is its capability of serving up dynamic content from a database you probably already maintain. Creating links to tables in your database is literally as simple as pointing and clicking. Dynamic Link prompts you to select a database from a drop-down list. To create a link, you simply click on a container within the page, then click on the appropriate database field, and the data is automatically linked to the container. Every time a change is made in the database field, the data is updated in the corresponding Web page.

The downside to Dynamic Link is limited power. Dynamic Link is a first release and an add-on, not an application built from the ground up; it lacks the capability of automating more sophisticated I-commerce capabilities, such as inventory tracking, credit validation, and order fulfillment. Building in sophisticated e-commerce functions will require an ASP programmer to write server-side scripts to get Dynamic Link to communicate with your commerce server.

Dynamic Link also relies heavily on Microsoft technology. It requires Microsoft Internet Information Server. Furthermore, Microsoft Site Server is the recommended commerce server. And although Dynamic Link interacts with any ODBC (Open Database Connectivity)-compliant database, the solution works best when used with Microsoft Access. In the future, Adobe plans to release Dynamic Link for Java Server Pages, which will give the program more flexibility, as well as an e-commerce module for better integration with a variety of commerce servers.

The documentation also has some holes. Dynamic Link comes with a demo and a 40-page PDF file that gives new users a tour of the interface, as well as terse instructions on creating an e-commerce site and building a Web-based front end.

It also includes three sample sites that serve as the focus for the instruction. Although the documentation does a good job of introducing Dynamic Link, descriptions of the more advanced functionality need improvement.

Dynamic Link for ASP is a very good addition to an already solid Web authoring tool, allowing GoLive users to easily add database-driven content to their sites. The best part is that you work in an environment you already know, saving you from recreating an entire library of elements you've already built with GoLive. And being free doesn't hurt it at all.

Steve Jefferson (stevej@hawaii.rr.com) is a former editor for the InfoWorld Test Center. He is a free-lance writer in Hawaii and recently adopted a dog named Moki.

THE BOTTOM LINE: VERY GOOD

Dynamic Link for Active Server Pages

Business Case: Dynamic Link is a free add-on to Adobe Systems' GoLive that lets Web designers easily link elements on a Web site to a back-end database without having to rely on the skills of a programmer.

Technology Case: Dynamic Link is a must-have addition for anyone using GoLive because it enables your Web site to present information tailored to your customers and employees.

Pros:

+ Integrated with GoLive

+ Free

+ Easy to use

Cons:

- Lacks sophisticated commerce capabilities- Incomplete documentationCost: FreePlatform(s): Macintosh; Windows 98, NT, 2000Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif.; (800) 833-6687; (408) 536-6000 www.adobe.com.

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