Web Server - How Useful is It?

[forskare]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Ken, he's talking about a desktop app:

Funny how two people see it different ways.

[DaveM]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Now, two things just so it is understood:

1. If a person goes to your pages on the server and opens them with something like aptana(free), they can muck with them all they want. Suggest you protect against that? Remember that they may be named a bit different, but are still web pages.

2. At some later date, the app could be placed on a host site if you needed.

[forskare]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your input. I appreciate your comments.

A couple of follow-up questions to whomever:

1) Are A5w pages needed when a web app is only run on an intranet?
2) If not, I presume a form containing a super control dialog will be used?

[Steve Wood]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

1) Are A5w pages needed when a web app is only run on an intranet?
2) If not, I presume a form containing a super control dialog will be used?

It is irrelevant whether the app is Internet or Intranet, you build it (pretty much) the same. Yes you need A5W pages to serve as the container for any A5 component. Even the TabbedUI is run inside an A5W page.

[DaveM]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Thanks Steve,

Very well said.

An a5w page is kinda like html/xhtml with alpha components in it and usually a css file that controls it to some degree. It usually contains javascript and if you do it right, it utilizes ajax if written correctly.

You will(unless something has changed) need to put it on a windows server. That could be any of the Microsoft servers or a windows desktop like windows xp/win7/etc properly prepared.

Others will check what I said here and correct me if I blipped.

Unless you make sure to lock out others from entering the folder a5webroot(I think), the can mess with your pages by opening them with any number of apps like notepad and changing things. Your data can be kept in another folder in dbf, sql, etc, so it may be a bit safer. Putting the site on a host like zebrahost could be an option IF you need the extra security from the people in the company. You know your client better than any of us, so??

An a5w page opened with aptana in edit mode. This is a very simple feedback but makes my point.

[Steve Wood]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Unless you make sure to lock out others from entering the folder a5webroot(I think), the can mess with your pages by opening them with any number of apps like notepad and changing things.

(see Edit below) No this is completely inaccurate. I was not sure what you meant when you said it earlier. There is no way at all for anyone to modify any of your pages and ther is no "lock" to set on the A5Webroot or other folders. Any one can open your public pages, but cannot save them back to the server.

Edit -> Unless we are still talking about Intranet and users who are INSIDE the corporate LAN firewall, and have been granted file access permission to the web server, those guys can open files in Notepad and save them back to the web server. But that is ONLY valid for guys inside the LAN firewall with access permission.

[jkwrpc]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

The next version my desktop application (already under construction) will be a browser based desktop app. There are many reasons for doing it, though I remain a fan of true client/server desktop apps. Server administration is not something I am fond of, and is not something I as a developer want to take on. So even though it will be a browser based app, I will not tend to a server, they can find a network person to do that.

I just caution you and your client to remember if their system is connected to the internet proper server security is essential. The web guru's here can give enough guidance to make sure server and app are not open to the public.

Do let us know how it goes and if you are happy with the browser based app.

[DaveM]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Ken,

I debated long and hard about doing my apps in a lan based fashion as you are about to do. The only reason for not doing so was the price of the server at 499.00(even with discounts for volume), it did not make sense to me. The difference is that you are doing it for one company that will not have a problem with the price. I have 29 apps out there that are very large from the years of work. The other reason was the time it takes to completely rewrite a large web app that may have to be redone over and over as alpha/windows evolves.

[forskare]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

You guys are somethin' else. I so appreciate all the interaction here and I know many others are probably following this thread. I have two apps, one for me personally which really needs to go web with tight security and the other for my client which can go either way. M client has a who is trusted completely that is setting up the network and maintaining it. Until it finally pull the plug and tell the county, "adios", my time is somewhat limited. The client wants the app to be as simple as possible but has no idea what it's all about. They created a one table app with A4v8 and do some stuff with MS Word. My job is to put it all together. I really like a lot of the web stuff the grids and dialogs have to offer but since I'm new at that part of it, there's a learning curve to deal with. I am not strong at all in Xbasic but I can do a pretty good job putting together a nice app with the tools Alpha has to offer. Usually, once I get some code, I am able to make the changes so it works for me.

I would very much like to do the clients app as a web intranet as once I get the "hang of it", That, to me will be the best of today and tomorrow. I've been trying to follow the documentation on the a5w page stuff and how it's set up. I've searched the videos but have not found anything which shows how the a5w page will interact. I viewed the New to Alpha Software video and although it's a good video, it only shows how to do a sql connection. Que Lastima !

If you know of a specific video tutorial or article which deals with the who, what when, where and how of the a5w page, please make reference to it. I've look briefly at the list of tutorials but have not seen any that provides info on a5w pages. Thanks for all the help!!

[forskare]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

It is irrelevant whether the app is Internet or Intranet, you build it (pretty much) the same. Yes you need A5W pages to serve as the container for any A5 component. Even the TabbedUI is run inside an A5W page.

Steve, how then is the A5w page opened? It can't be placed on a form so obviously there has to be done via a browser on the company computers. When the browser is opened, how is that 'not' going onto the internet?

[Steve Wood]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

The a5w page does indeed opened in a browser and it runs on the alpha five web application server, and that can be Internet or Intranet. An Intranet runs on a browser.

[Peter.Greulich]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

...Yes you need A5W pages to serve as the container for any A5 component. Even the TabbedUI is run inside an A5W page.

Except when you put a grid, etc on a desktop form you don't need an a5w page.

[2ninerniner2]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

Ken -

It seems you may be misunderstanding a bit about browsers, web pages, etc.

A browser is nothing more than another program, whose main purpose is to open and display "web pages", that is, documents so constructed to be used with a browser.

A browser works just fine and dandy without being connected to anything, including the internet, intranet, etc.

If you like, try this:

- copy and paste the following code into plain old Windows Note Pad
- save is as whatever.a5w (you can name it what you want, just make sure the extension is a5w
- if you want, disconnect from "the net" :)
- in your fave browser, go File > Open > select this file and guess what :)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>

<h1>My First Web Page</h1>

<p>My first paragraph.</p>

</body>
</html>

Your A5 web app is nothing more than a collection of these documents, served up by the WAS, and displayed in a web browser instead of running as a desktop application.

Who has access to them is solely dependent upon how the network where the WAS is located is set up.

It can be internal, external, a combination or even just on you own computer, if you want :)

[GGandhi]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

hello

When the browser is opened, how is that 'not' going onto the internet?

i have a similar set up that i run in my business without any problem.
when you serve your own website via intranet, the server lies somewhere in your property. and you access the content via an address in the browser something like in windows 192.168.0.0/index.a5w unless port 80 is used then add appropriate port suffix to the address.
since these are local network ousiders will not be able to reach even with port forwarding you have to tell them proper address for people to access your page.

web publishing tutorial in alphapedia is a good place to see this topic discussed.

basically browser sends a html page with some request from the server and the server sends back the answer thru the bowser back.
a5w page is just another html page that contains a5 code that the a5 server intercepts and decodes the code and send the page to the server and the answer is sent back thru the browser to the person asking the information.

the advantage for me while this is still an intranet, since i know the address i can reach from anywhere and know what is happening at the job and actually carry out the work as if i were at work.

when you publish outside and let people see, you have to be careful. separate the pages public can see and keep yours private by using page security.

hope this helps.
if i am wrong any of my statements please correct me.
edit: for your own computer something like localhost/index.a5w

[forskare]

Re: Web Server - How Useful is It?

A browser works just fine and dandy without being connected to anything, including the internet, intranet, etc.

Cool, OK, now a light bulb came on. Clicking on a shortcut on the desktop, for example has a path straight to the in-house server. A big gap's been bridged.

I copied and pasted the code into Wordpad and saved it as my1st.a5w. Opened the browses, File, Open, naved to the file and opened. It aske what to open with and I chose IE, it opened the document showing the code. If that is what I should have seen, the doc could have contained anything cuz what I did was open the document with the browser. Correct?

Hey Lyle, how about those Flames? Probably skating on the same rink as the Wild in Jamaica