web application thru VFP 3

[PeriyurParthi]

hi all
iam new to this concept, i have a database in a specific ip address, i need to access it from 3 different places, lot of replies will be more helpful
thanks
parthi

 

[Mike Gagnon]

PeriyurParthi

Are you trying to build a WAN or web application? Do you have a Web Server?
Do you look at webconnect as I suggested to you in thread184-395883? Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first

 

[Neil Toulouse]

Not done anything like this myself, but have purchased a book:

"Internet Applications with Visual FoxPro 6" - Rick Strahl
Publisher: Hentzenwerke Publishing

...which appears to be very comprehensive. "I love work. I could sit and stare at it for hours..."

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thanks mike

but i still i have not got the solutions for my web project,
in case if i use webserver, then how to access all the tables from webserver.
in intranet we can specify the path like use \\192.191.900.1\sharedname\directury\master.dbf, the same how to access it from web..
replies will be helpful
thanks
parthi

 

[Scott24x7]

Parthi,
In your "Intranet" you are in the private side of your network, so from outside of it, the 192.x.x.x IP range is not visable. What you need to do is provide an external IP to that box, which is a PUBLIC IP, as apposed to a PRIVATE IP. Now, that's the simple answer. The down side is, you will need some SERIOUS security in that arena if you are going to just make it available via the "Internet". Unless you are going to establish a VPN, or some other private network, if you make it available to any public IP, you will want to put in some heavy firewall and authentication to only allow the users in that you want in, and believe me a UserID and Password are just not enough. I would recommend a Radius server, and for maximum security, a checkpoint firewall.

Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[PeriyurParthi]

hi scott
thanks a lot.
i have a uploaded a test file at a FTP site, its ip is 216.234.161.87,
i use to specify all the tables localy as below
sele 1
use customer.dbf

wheather it will work on below code

sele 1
use \\216.234.161.87\customer.dbf

i have tried but in vain, i think settings might be wrong. iam keeping all my application local hard disk even my master table will be at local. only transaction table alone will be there at ftp site. how to over come this probelm??

Replies will be more helpful.
tahnks in advance
cheers
parthi

 

[RedLion]

Look for webservices and split up your business layer, using webservices you can connect to your tables everywhere in the world where they have an internet connection. And no extra problems with firewalls and so on, because you're using the HTTP port (80). (There is a disadvantage with using webservices, and that is the speed)


Charl

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thanks every body
charl , can able to give me more details regd this...
thanks
parthi

 

[RedLion]

Hi parthi,

One thing, you need VFP 7 or higher to built webservices. Other tools as .NET can also built webservices.

Some links where you can get some information about webservices:

-

http://www.universalthread.com/Magazine/December2001/Page7.asp

- also look in the MSDN help look for keywords like: "webservice" or "soap"

-

http://msdn.microsoft.com/theshow/episode010/default.asp

-

http://msdn.microsoft.com/webservices/default.aspx

Charl

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thanks charl, i have tried by registring a free website and uploading a file there, but i think ip is wrong can any one able to help me, here is my user name and pwd
user name: parthi
pwd: TMB82w9w
ftp site: galileo.spacesports.com
web site:

http://galileo.spacesports.com/~parthi/

dbf fiel name : card.dbf
replies will be helpful
here my web connection and internet is very slow...
thanks a lot
parthiban

 

[csr]

Wow ... this is a great thread. It may be just what I need.

Let me check my understanding of what I have read.

It appears possible to build a VFP7 application which utilizes data that resides on some remote webserver. The only change to the coding would be that each reference to a data table would need the IP address of that webserver attached to the beginning of the table path and name.

(i.e. use "

http://www.myweb.datadir/myapp/customer.dbf")

That sounds too good to be true. Is it ?

Don
dond@csrinc.com

 

[wgcs]

This is misleading.... You CANNOT simply "USE

http://www.whatever.com/customer.dbf"

Here are the reasons:

1) To USE a table, you need read-write access... HTTP only gives Read access. Ok, it might be useful to just read only, but:

2) USE requires "File Sharing" access to a file... HTTP is a completely different protocol, and one that will transfer the entire file rather than returning a File handle that can then be used for retrieving specific blocks from the file.

3) "USE \\

http://www.myserver.com\sharename\customer.dbf"

will not work, most of the time, because webservers ALMOST NEVER are set up for microsoft file sharing. If YOU control myserver.com, AND myserver.com is a Windows box (or a UNIX/Linux box running Samba) then YOU could turn on File Sharing, but then only a Username/password stops anyone on the internet from changing the files on that drive.... This can work, but, since the internet tends to be slow, and "USE whatever.dbf"... SCAN, ENDSCAN or REPLACE ALL require transferring the ENTIRE .dBf across the wire, this usually is not practical.


"Web Services" are the right way to go about this whole issue. (Note: "Web Services" may imply XML/SOAP, but it DOES NOT REQUIRE xml/soap... that's just One way of doing web services. West Wind offers tools that make web services on VFP 6 very possible.)

Now, to create Web Services with VFP, the server MUST be a windows box (since VFP doesn't run on unix/linux), and you need to control that box and run your VFP server program. Most FreeServers do NOT meet Either of these requirements.

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thanks don & wgcs
still i need explanition, mean while i have left the user name and pwd for the ftp site above, have any one tried it ???, please. or else is there anyu other technology other than leased line, vpn and vsat. if it is web oriented i need examplese, already i went thru

http://www.west-wind.com

but i have not understood the code and concepts. if lot of replies and help will be more useful for me..
thanks
parthi

 

[wgcs]

There's no need to try the ftp site: VFP doesn't understand FTP, and USE \\ftpSiteIP\dir\tablename.dbf will NEVER work.

What we need, to give you appropriate help, is an explanation of what you need to do to the shared data tables from the remote locations.

Is read-only access enough?

Are you looking up one record at a time, or reporting on the whole table?

Is it Just user interface that needs to be remote? Or is it intesive data processing? (this is a hard question to answer directly.. we'll determine the answer after you explain what you expect your users to see and do)



There are several architectures commonly used for internet-enabled applications:
1) Web Front: all your users use a web browser to access the data. A VFP application sits on the same computer as the web server and acts as a middle-tier to provide the data that is requested by the web pages, and to make the changes to the data that web page form submissions request. This requires your webserver to be a Windows Box under your control. (not a Free server)

2) Web service: Your users run a VFP application, your web server also runs a VFP application; when the user's vfp application needs to get or change data, it submits a web service request to the VFP server app, which then responds. This can be done through SOAP or simple HTTP... it's easier to implement through SOAP in VFP7, but is very possible in VFP6 with plain HTTP.

3) File Distribution: If your users simply need to update reference information, your .DBF can sit on a webserver, and your users run a VFP application. The client VFP app can use HTTP or FTP to retrieve the latest .DBF file and then can use that file for reporting. The .DBF cannot easily be updated, but once it's downloaded, all access to it is very fast.

4) Windows Terminal Server: The windows box is exposed directly to the web and runs a VFP application in multi user mode. Each user logs into WTS, and runs as though they were a local user on the WTS box, seeing the screen only transferred across the web.

5) VPN: The .DBF's are stored on a Windows/ UNIX+Samba box, and is accessible through the web via a VPN. Users run a local VFP application that accesses the .DBF's as though they were on a local network, using "USE \\server\share\filename.dbf"

 

[johndan]

If you already have an app that is not written specifically for web access am I hearing you say that windows Terminal Server will do this for me ....There is a product NFuse by Citrix that I hear about ...is that a good alternative.....We don't want to rewrite our app......

 

[Mike Gagnon]

johndan

There is a product NFuse by Citrix that I hear about ...

Citrix is a pricey proposition, but you a right it works quite well. Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first

 

[wgcs]

Windows Terminal Server is running on a limited set of software that was originally written by Citrix. (I don't know the exact relationship between them, but they do very similar things)

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thanks all of you for helping me in this regd
thanks
parthi

 

[RedLion]

Hi Parthi,

As I can make up out your posts above, tell me if I'm wrong, you haven't got:

- a webserver to your possibilities

or

- a 24 hours connection with the Internet


What results in:

- It will be to hard to find a web hosting company that will support VFP webservices.

- You can try to use another tool to make webservices, that is supported more common (like .NET or ColdFusion MX) but you have to learn the skills for it.

- You can try to find a web hosting company that support Microsoft SQL server (or any other RDMS like MySQL or Interbase), you can buy / rent for some bucks a Ms SQL account, and you can connect to it with VFP. Within VFP you have to make a connection to the Ms SQL database via a IP-address and a port. Because using a normal VFP database with the business logic on the client, will deliver you a poor performance, and even a connection that will not be so secure (when you share your drive).

I think this will be the cheapest and easiest way to connect to a database on the Internet when you have a poor Internet connection.


I hope you can find the best way for your situation,

Charl

 

[PeriyurParthi]

thank you very much red,
thanks for your reply, i have got some idea but still iam confused, i plan to go off for a hot line, i think that could be costly in effect no way then, as per your reply how to connect vfp with sql server in internet???
thanks a lot
parthi