Dreamweaver® CS3 Bible

Chapter 19. Establishing Connections and Recordsets

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Examining the structured world of databases

• Dreamweaver Technique: Setting up a Dynamic Site

• Making a basic connection

• Dreamweaver Technique: Declaring an ODBC Data Source

• Dreamweaver Technique: Creating an ASP Connection

• Dreamweaver Technique: Defining a ColdFusion Connection

• Dreamweaver Technique: Setting up a PHP Connection

• Crafting custom connection strings

• Pinpointing data with recordsets

• Dreamweaver Technique: Defining a Recordset

• Writing SQL queries

Although Dreamweaver can be used to build any sort of Web application, one of its biggest strengths is its capability to present and manage dynamically accessed data. In other words, many designers use Dreamweaver to display and alter information from a database on the Web. But to handle that information, you must first establish a connection between the Web page and the desired data source and then you must define a selection of records from that data source.

Dreamweaver is adept at handling both of these pieces. You can connect to virtually any data source—databases, spreadsheets, and even standard text files—in a number of different ways. Dreamweaver offers a variety of connection types, ranging from the simplest with the highest overhead, DSN (Data Source Name), to the more complex, but most efficient, OLE DB. This chapter explains how the connections are made in Dreamweaver and why some are more robust than others.

After you have established a connection and your Web page ...