Database Metadata Requirements for Automated Web Development. A case study using PHP. Item Type Thesis Authors Mgheder, Mohamed A. Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 04/10/2021 15:09:36 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/4907 University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. Database Metadata Requirements for Automated Web Development Mohamed Ahmed Mgheder PhD 2009 i Database Metadata Requirements for Automated Web Development A case study using PHP Mohamed Ahmed Mgheder BSc. MSc. Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Computing School of Computing, Informatics and Media University of Bradford 2009 ii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to my Lord Almighty ALLAH who helped me and guided me throughout my life and made it possible. I could never have done it by myself! I would like to acknowledge with great pleasure the continued support, and valuable advice of my supervisor Mr. Mick. J. Ridley, who gave me all the encouragement to carry out this work. I owe my loving thanks to my wife, and my children. They have lost a lot due to my research. Without their encouragement and understanding it would have been impossible for me to finish this work. My special gratitude is due to my parents and brothers and sisters for their loving support. iii Mohamed A. Mgheder “Database Metadata Requirements for Automated Web Development” Database, Metadata, PHP, Web Development, HTML, WWW Abstract The Web has come a long way. It started as a distributed document repository and quickly became the spring board for a new type of application. Propped on top of the original HTML+HTTP architecture, this new application platform shifted the way the architecture was used so that commands and functionality were embedded in the form data of Web requests rather than in the HTTP command conveying the request. This approach enabled Web requests to convey any type of data, not just document operations. This is occurring because the Web provides such a powerful platform on which to create applications. This is occurring because web development methods are still evolving toward the structure and stability required taking on this enormous new role. As the needs of developers change, certain themes that arise more frequently than others become embedded into new environments to support those needs. Until recently, Web application programming has largely been done with a set of keywords and metaphors developed long before the Web became a popular place to program. APIs have been developed to support Web specific features, but they are no replacement for fundamental changes in the programming environment itself. The growth of Web applications requires a new type of programming designed specifically for the needs of the Web. This thesis aims to contribute towards the development of an abstract framework to generate abstract and dynamic Web user interfaces that are not developed to a specific iv platform. To meet this aim, this thesis suggests a general implementation of a prototype system that uses the information in database metadata in conjunction with PHP. Database metadata is richer in providing the information needed to build dynamic user interfaces. This thesis uses PHP and the abstract library ADOdb to provide us with a generalised database metadata based prototype. PHP does not have any restrictions on accessing and extracting database metadata from numerous database management systems. As a result, PHP and relational database were used to build the proposed framework. Additionally, ADOdb was used to link the two mentioned technologies. The implemented framework in this thesis demonstrates that it is possible to generate different automatic Web entry forms that are not specific at any platform. v List of Author’s Publications Related to this Thesis 1. M. A. Mgheder and M. J. Ridley, "Automatic Generation of Web User Interfaces in PHP Using Database Metadata," presented at The Third International Conference on Internet and Web Applications and Services (ICIW 2008). IEEE Computer Society (2008). 2. M. A. Mgheder and M. J. Ridley, "Classification and Use of Database Defaults to Derive Web Interfaces," presented at The IASK International Conferences, E- Activity and Leading Technologies & InterTIC 2009 Seville, Spain, June 2009. vi Contents Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivations ......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Aims and Objectives .......................................................................................... 3 1.3 Thesis Outline ..................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 5 Web Technologies ............................................................................................................. 5 2.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 5 2.1 HTML ................................................................................................................. 5 2.1.1 The Evolution of HTML ............................................................................. 6 2.1.2 Structure of an HTML Document ............................................................. 12 2.1.3 Forms ........................................................................................................ 13 2.1.3.1 HTML Form Controls ........................................................................ 16 2.1.4 Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) ................................................................... 19 2.2 Client-side processing ...................................................................................... 25 2.2.1 JavaScript .................................................................................................. 25 2.3 Server-side processing ...................................................................................... 28 2.3.1 CGI ............................................................................................................ 29 2.3.2 FastCGI ..................................................................................................... 30 2.3.3 PERL ......................................................................................................... 30 2.3.4 Java Servlets .............................................................................................. 31 2.3.5 Java Server Pages (JSP) ............................................................................ 32 vii 2.3.6 Active Server Pages (ASP) ....................................................................... 34 2.4 PHP ................................................................................................................... 35 2.4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 35 2.4.2 PHP history ............................................................................................... 36 2.4.3 PHP General Features ............................................................................... 38 2.4.4 PHP Syntax ............................................................................................... 40 2.4.5 PHP data types .......................................................................................... 43 2.4.6 PHP Libraries ............................................................................................ 44 2.5 PHP and Database ............................................................................................ 45 Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................... 50 Database Development.................................................................................................... 50 3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 50 3.1 Relational Database .......................................................................................... 51 3.2 SQL Overview .................................................................................................. 52 3.3 Database Metadata ........................................................................................... 54 3.4 Database-independent programming interfaces ............................................... 58 3.4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 58 3.4.2 JDBC ........................................................................................................