Chapter 11. Connecting to Databases

Internet information server has always provided a mechanism for connecting to a database. In the beginning, database connectivity was provided through an Internet Database Connector (IDC). IDC matured as Internet Information Server matured; however, it never really provided a simple way to access data. With IDC, a Web developer needed to write either a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program or an Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) application to efficiently work with the database. I've generally found ISAPI to be too complex for most Web developers and CGI to require too many system resources.

With Internet Information Server 3 came Active Server Pages (ASP). ASPs enable Web developers to embed scripts in their Web pages to easily access databases. Many Web developers today use ASPs for a variety of tasks, including database access, because they are simple to learn, easy to write, and can provide a wide range of functionality. For more information on ASPs, see Chapter 7, "Running Web Applications."

This chapter describes the components that make up the Microsoft Universal Data Access (UDA) solution. As the administrator of an Internet Information Services server, you will undoubtedly receive requests from Webmasters who want to store data to, or retrieve data from, a database. Therefore, this chapter covers the various methods used to connect to a database and select the correct database access method.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• An architectural overview of Open Database Connectivity, highlighting its components

• Three methods of connecting to a database, including configuring a system data source name, configuring a file data source name, and creating a data source name by using Active Server Pages code

• The pros and cons to using Microsoft SQL Server databases and Microsoft Access databases

• Version checking and its value to database connectivity

• A preventative measure for securing Open Database Connectivity information