Page 208 - Using MIS

176 Chapter 5 Database Processing

Browser applications are thin-client applications that need not be preinstalled on the users’
computers. In most cases, all of the code for generating and processing the application elements
is shared between the users’ computers and the servers. JavaScript is the standard language
for user-side processing. Languages like C# and Java are used for server-side code, though
JavaScript is starting to be used on the server with an open source product named Node.js (all of
this is discussed further in Chapter 6).
Browser database application forms, reports, and queries are displayed and processed
using html and, most recently, using html5, css3, and JavaScript as you learned in Chapter 4.
Figure 5-14 shows a browser form that is used to create a new user account in Office 365. The
form’s content is dynamic; the user can click on the blue arrow next to Additional Details to see
more data. Also, notice the steps in the left-hand side that outline the process that administra-
tor will follow when creating the new account. The current step is shown in color. Compare and
contrast this form with that in Figure 5-2; it is cleaner, with much less chrome.
Figure 5-15 illustrates a browser report that shows the content of a SharePoint site. The con-
tent is dynamic; many of the items can be clicked to produce other reports or take other actions.
The user can select a criterion in the box in the upper-right-hand corner to filter the report to
display only a specific type of content.
Browser-based applications can support traditional queries, but more exciting are graphical
queries, in which query criteria are created when the user clicks on a graphic. Figure 5-16 shows a
car jack for an off-road vehicle like a Jeep. AllRoad Parts might use a photo like this to show avail-
able parts to customers. Users click on parts of the jack and, in browser code behind the scene,
query criteria are sent to the database application to display part order data for that particular
part. In this way, users need not specify part numbers and so on when ordering. (See the opening
dialogue of Chapter 4 regarding the impact of sales costs on that situation.)
Security requirements are more stringent for browser-based applications than for tra-
ditional ones. Most traditional applications run within a corporate network that is protected
from threats common on the Internet. Browser-based applications are normally open to the
public, over the Internet, and as such are far more vulnerable. Thus, protecting security is a
major function for browser-based application programs. Like traditional database application

Figure 5-14
Account Creation Browser Form