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This page describes some free tools that make it easier to write a web based application. It is intended for those who wish to to write a "program" that uses a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox to access a database, play a game or perform any other function apart from merely providing static content. The tools described below make writing a web based application much easier but it it is still a significant task. It requires exposure to writing complicated web pages in HTML and writing computer programs on the server and, probably, on the web page itself. Often you need to design and administer a database. If you have no experience with any of these tasks I suggest you start with at least one of them before attempting to write a complete web based application.
Microsoft Visual Web Developer Express Edition is a free tool that allows you to design your application by dragging elements such as text boxes, drop down lists and buttons onto a form and adding commands to process the information supplied. The elements on the form can be automatically associated with your database. Visual Web Developer produces Active Server Pages and expects the program on the server to be written in one of the .NET languages. A database server is included in the download. You can test your application without using a server. To deploy your application so that others can use it you must have a server that supports ASP. Internet Information Services (IIS) is included with Windows XP Professional and many hosting companies provide an ASP capable server.
Sun Microsystems produced a direct competitor to Microsoft's Visual Web Developer called Java Studio Creator. The functionality of Studio Creator has been incorporated into NetBeans which is now Sun's preferred development platform. Unfortunately NetBeans can be very confusing for a beginner because it includes facilities for developing programs in a variety of languages and operating environments. A web server and a database server are included to test your applications. To deploy your application so that others can use it you must have a server that supports the java server technologies you use. There are several free ones and many hosting companies provide a suitable server.
Although it is easiest to use the included database for development, the completed application can be deployed using almost any database. This is possible because the products use a standard ODBC (Microsoft) or JDBC (Sun) interface to communicate with the database.
Oracle Application Express provides similar functionality to Visual Web Developer but requires an Oracle Database as the server. There is a free version of the Oracle Database .
