Dynamic Content Sources Overview - Adobe 38040334 - Dreamweaver CS3 User Manual

DREAMWEAVER CS3 543
User Guide
"Inserting Flash content" on page 255
"Data sources for web applications" on page 531

Dynamic content sources overview

About dynamic content sources
A dynamic content source is a store of information from which you can retrieve and display dynamic content for use
in a web page. Sources of dynamic content include not only information stored in a database, but values submitted
by HTML forms, values contained in server objects, values of JavaBeans properties, and other content sources.
Dreamweaver lets you easily connect to a database and create a recordset from which to extract dynamic content. A
recordset is the result of a database query. It extracts the specific information you request and allows you to display
that information within a specified page. You define the recordset based on the information contained in the
database and the content you want to display.
Different technology vendors may use different terminology for a recordset. In ASP and ColdFusion, a recordset is
defined as a query. In JSP, a recordset is called a resultset. ASP.NET refers to a recordset as a DataSet. If you are using
other sources of data, such as user input or server variables, the name of the data source that is defined in
Dreamweaver is the same as the data source name itself.
Dynamic websites require a data source from which to retrieve and display dynamic content. Dreamweaver lets you
use databases, request variables, URL variables, server variables, form variables, stored procedures, and other sources
of dynamic content. Depending on the data source, you can either retrieve new content to satisfy a request, or modify
the page to meet the needs of users.
Any content source that you define in Dreamweaver is added to the list of content sources in the Bindings panel.
Then you can insert the content source into the currently selected page.
About recordsets
When using a database as a content source for a dynamic web page, you must first create a recordset in which to store
the retrieved data. Recordsets serve as an intermediary between the database storing the content and the application
server generating the page. Recordsets consist of the data returned by a database query, and are temporarily stored
in the application server's memory for faster data retrieval. The server discards the recordset when it is no longer
needed.
The recordset itself is a collection of data retrieved from a specified database. It can include an entire database table,
or a subset of the table's rows and columns. These rows and columns are retrieved by means of a database query that
is defined in the recordset. Database queries are written in Structured Query Language (SQL), a simple language that
allows you to retrieve, add, and delete data to and from a database. The SQL builder included with Dreamweaver lets
you create simple queries without having to understand SQL. However, if you want to create complex SQL queries,
you will need to learn SQL, and manually write SQL statements that you enter into Dreamweaver.
Note: Microsoft ASP.NET refers to a recordset as a DataSet. If you are working with ASP.NET document types, the dialog
boxes and menu choices specific to ASP.NET use the label DataSet. The Dreamweaver documentation generically refers
to both types as recordsets, but uses DataSet when specifically describing ASP.NET features.
If you will be writing SQL for use with ASP.NET, there are some conditions specific to ASP.NET that you should be
aware of.
September 4, 2007