An Introduction to Intranet Application Frameworks - Database Support
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I mentioned in the previous section that database support will include an abstraction layer. Access to the database will therefore be "abstract." This means that an application can use any of the supported relational databases without having to worry about changing the code. For example, when we develop our applications we are going to use the popular MYSQL database, but because we are using an abstraction layer, our applications will work perfectly with Oracle or PostgreSQL without the developers needing to change a single line of code. This is of course dependent on the developers not using vendor-specific code.
Comments
To implement an application framework of this size is not easy; it needs careful planning and some kind of organization of code. To this end I have decided to use object-oriented code for the entire project. This is because object-oriented code makes it easy to maintain and troubleshoot the code.
It has its drawbacks though. Chief among these is the fact that it slows down program execution. You are going to have to weigh that when deciding to use this system in the real world.
I would also like to make it clear at this point that this is one of many ways in which to implement an application framework. There are other ways in which it can be done, so it is up to you to weigh the advantages and disadvantages and see which of the systems is best suited to your needs.
Conclusion
In this article we worked through what an application framework is and what it does as well as the best environment in which it functions. We also explored what an intranet system is and how it works. We then discussed in detail the core components found in our application framework.
In the next article we will look at the design and development of the user interface of our intranet. We will look at the CSS code as well as the HTML templates that we will use in the entire intranet. We will also look at the structure of our applications and how they are going to work. Then we will move on to develop the code for the framework components.
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