Open source software is an increasing presence in the information technology community. Although it has been around for decades, the reduced costs and improved product support and innovation has helped it develop a strong following amongst individual users and businesses in a market traditionally dominated by software giants like Microsoft. With little to no investment capital required to pay for licensing and patent costs, companies can spend the money on customization, support, and other business expenses.

Basic start-up programs for companies interested in open-source material include the software cluster LAMP. LAMP is an acronym standing for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. Linux is a basic operating system, similar to Windows. Apache is a web server, MySQL is a database server, and PHP is a programming language. The combination of these technologies creates a web infrastructure, defines a developing paradigm, and establishes a software distribution package. Although not originally developed to be packaged together, their purposes complement and enhance functioning, creating a software solution stack.

Many companies begin using open source software on the internet side of their business, where a number of industrial strength products that have existed for years such as the LAMP stack. Apache is the most popular web server in use today. MySQL competes favorably with expensive, commercial database alternatives. PHP, or sometimes Perl or Python (all open source), function as programming languages for web development. In addition, Java-based websites can use JBoss, a Java application server. Other open source solutions frequently used by end-user organizations include desktop products, directly usable without any programming necessary. Mozilla Firefox, a web browser, and Sun’s OpenOffice office productivity suite are used in some governmental agencies and corporations as an alternative to Microsoft Office products.

Although some companies have replaced their Windows operating system with Linux, the commercial product continues to dominate the operating system market. User friendly spin-offs of Linux such as LinSpire have failed to break Microsoft’s grasp. Concerns about Linux use include user training and costs, as well as the predominance of software developed for compliance with Windows. Most programs are not developed for Linux conformity until later, after Windows development, if they are developed at all.

You don’t need to be a computer geek to be able to make your website do what you want. It doesn’t matter if you’re running a personal, non profit or internet business website, Just a few steps are needed to install 3rd party scripts and software on your website. After its installed, the controls are very intuitive and most 3rd party website software will allow you to control its functions through an easy to use web interface. So no programming is needed.

There are just a few simple steps needed to install and use website software (I can’t cover every different kind, but for most everyday scripts and software this will work).

1 - Identify which script you need and for what purpose. Get the files you need and any instructions that come with. Once again, you will not need to know how to code CGI or PHP to work with the scripts.

2 - Upload the files to your webserver. Identify a spot you want the script to reside if it is not already specified in the instruction s of your script.

3 - Edit 1 or more configuration files. Usually its just 1 file and all you need is your domain name, install directory (if it’s not in the root). The root directory is your “public_html” folder.

4 - login to the admin interface (webpages) and work with your script or software. All should be intuitive from this point.

5 - Test

Yes it takes a bit of work to make sure everything is installed and works correctly, but once it’s done once you’ll never have to do anything again, just use it. That is the beauty of website scripts and software.

Browser-based database access means nothing? Yes, but only in the context of the longer-term picture. It is true that the Internet/Web is today’s “next big thing.” The existence and ongoing commercialization of a global, open “wire” presents both vendors and users with certain opportunities. The rules and means by which companies have traditionally done business are being irrevocably changed.

By any measure the formative years of the Web have been a smashing success — except perhaps for the negative impact on the productivity of the sur- fing-addicted. But today’s Web successes are only the beginning. Both vendors and users alike have made a grab for the low-hanging fruit in the form of browser-based databa

Until quite recently, Web site authoring and browsing for content was where the majority of corporate Internet-related efforts converged. However, the bulk of current corporate interest — and vendor interest — in the ‘Net is now focused on the provision of basic data access capabilities from Web brow- ser clients. Still, basic data access — even with simple write functionality — is too limited. While document publishing and accessing databases from Web clients are important undertakings, to limit exploitation of the ‘Net to only these two areas undervalues its potential for corporate sites. The fullest potential of the Internet will only be realized when it is also linked into conventional transactional business systems.

Internet Transaction Processing (ITP)

Three general types of functionality must be supported before organizations can deliver Web-enabled transactional business systems. First, they must pro- vide database access, but also some link into application servers. It is critical that this access not be limited to Unix/NT servers and relational database tables. Robust ITP support assumes browser-based access to legacy data sources and mainframe processing. Second, the tools must provide an infrastructure for overcoming the stateless nature of the Web. Without state preservation — that is, the ability to track the progress of an individual session between browser and Web site — it is impossible to follow a single transaction from beginning to end.

All major pharmaceutical companies have speed-to-market efforts which are driven by the need to deliver innovation to patients, the changing face of the industry, and the advent of new research technologies. Lilly’s program was undertaken in the early 1990s and has achieved significant progress. One recent speed-to-market initiative was the construction of a Projects Management Workbench designed to facilitate the flow of information to those involved in drug development.

Three types of information are available through this electronic knowledge management tool: project-specific information, data on the performance of the portfolio, and project management tools. Lilly’s Projects Management Workbench was accessed globally through the corporate intranet over 10000 times in its first six months. Use of the workbench has led to a greater understanding of project plans and has accelerated the deployment of project management tools to drug development teams, leading to improved performance as compared to the plan.

Key Words: Speed to market; Projects Management Workbench; Knowledge management; Drug development information; Electronic repository

INTRODUCTION

MOST MAJOR PHARMACEUTICAL companies are working to increase productivity (1). These initiatives focus upon three dimensions of development: speed, quality, and yield. The goal of the speed initiative is to reduce cycle time and bring products to market more rapidly. Satisfying regulatory compliance requirements and customer expectations is the focus of the initiatives within the quality dimension. The yield initiative aims to achieve specific product goals, for example, the launch of three new products per year. Together, these initiatives are driven by the need to deliver innovation to patients in a timely manner, the changing health care environment, the evolving pharmaceutical industry, and the advent of new research technologies.

Learning Tree today announced its plans to release “Database and Web Programming with Perl,” a new hands-on course that teaches participants how to write standalone and CGI scripts in Perl that connect to and access databases. This four-day course provides extensive hands-on experience creating Perl CGI scripts to process Web queries, executing SQL statements from Perl using DBI and constructing a database-driven e-commerce system in Perl.

“Efficient Web-based access to databases is central to today’s business applications,” said John Moriarty, V.P. of Product Development for Reston, VA-based Learning Tree. “This new course teaches participants how to take advantage of Perl’s flexibility and the availability of vendor- and platform-independent database interfaces for retrieving and manipulating information from large databases,” he continued. “Every participant gains hands-on experience accessing flat-file, DBM and SQL information sources, and extracting rich media content from databases for display in Web pages.”

“Database and Web Programming with Perl” joins Learning Tree’s existing Programming and Web Development Courses, which include “Perl Programming,” “Developing a Web Site,” “Java Programming,” and “Building an E-Commerce Web Site.”

Learning Tree plans to present “Database and Web Programming with Perl” at Learning Tree education centers and other locations. The current course schedule through June 2000 is:

-- April 18-21, 2000 - Washington, D.C.

-- May 2-5, 2000 - New York, NY

-- May 16-19, 2000 - Washington, D.C.

-- June 13-16, 2000 - Washington, D.C.

-- June 20-23, 2000 - Atlanta, GA

This week we look at a Microsoft technology that everyone has heard of but which remains largely misunderstood: Active Server Pages (ASP).

ASP began in 1997 as a project Microsoft called Denali. It was released as ASP in Version 2.0 of Microsoft’s Internet Information Server ([US).

ASP was designed to provide a mechanism for generating Web content dynamically at the server. The mechanism used is called scripting, which embeds program instructions as plain text in Web documents. Scripts can be written in a number of languages, including JavaScript, VBScript, Perl and Python, and are added to an HTML page inside special tags.

In operation, the ASP system is simple: When a document with an ASP extension is requested, the IIS Web server knows from the file name that the ASP handler should be used and passes the document to the ASP engine.

The ASP engine examines the document and calls the appropriate script language module, which in turn carries out the script instructions and creates an output document that is sent to the browser. Scripts can also communicate with external applications either on the same machine or elsewhere on the network, so remote services and databases can be used as part of the dynamic content.

Now you might be wondering why a scripted application system would be taken seriously; after all, scripting languages are always slower than compiled code. The answer is that applications built using ASP technology are simple compared to applications written to Microsoft’s Internet Server API (ISAPI) or the standard Common Gateway Interface (CGI).The scripting is part of the HTML content, so ASP development and modification simply require editing Web pages.

The performance of ASP is, of course, not as good as well-engineered ISAPI applications, but Microsoft has done a good job of optimizing the ASP services for multiple users and threads. On the other hand, given the overhead of CGI applications,ASP performance is comparable. Combine the reasonable performance of ASP technology with the low engineering overhead, and ASP is a very appealing Webapplication development strategy.

By way of an example, see www. gibbs.com/gearhead/gh04.htm for the simplest ASP document I could create - it shows that generating dynamic content can be accomplished easily. More sophisticated ASPs can access databases, manipulate cookies, track user sessions, send and receive e-mail, and check browser type so browserspecific content can be returned.

ABSTRACT

The Internet provides an excellent framework for learning, communication, information exchange, and collaboration in engineering education. This existing electronic infrastructure was integrated into an undergraduate environmental engineering course in atmospheric physics and chemistry to foster discussion of course topics, peer evaluation, and collaborative learning. Four major Internet-based learning tools were utilized to accomplish these objectives: 1) electronic copies of partial notes allowed students to remain engaged during class, 2) an electronic bulletin board enabled interactive discussion and peer evaluation of work, 3) multimedia assignments required students to retrieve information and direct their learning, 4) publicly accessible and peer-reviewed Internetbased term project reports provided motivation for quality and creative work. Student response to these new approaches was overwhelmingly positive, although preferences vary with learning style. While students assess many Internet-based learning approaches as useful, conventional educational approaches are still viewed as important components to successful learning.

I. INTRODUCTION

While the Internet has provided an information infrastructure for decades, primarily at universities, the more recent multimedia Internet interface, the World Wide Web, has connected the Internet to desktops everywhere. Universities are well equipped to utilize the web as an educational resource. The Internet infrastructure exists, computer networks are commonplace, and the software tools are abundant and easy-to-use. It is not surprising that many university faculty have begun to utilize the Internet as a medium for instruction.1,2 On-line syllabi, lecture notes, and assignments are becoming more common, as faculty learn to adapt traditional paperbound techniques to this new electronic format. Unfortunately, most of these efforts are simply a new way of doing old educational approaches. The Internet provides unique capabilities for multimedia, interactive, collaborative, and distance learning. Engineering education would benefit from appropriate implementation of such capabilities.While the Internet has provided an information infrastructure for decades, primarily at universities, the more recent multimedia Internet interface, the World Wide Web, has connected the Internet to desktops everywhere. Universities are well equipped to utilize the web as an educational resource. The Internet infrastructure exists, computer networks are commonplace, and the software tools are abundant and easy-to-use. It is not surprising that many university faculty have begun to utilize the Internet as a medium for instruction.1,2 On-line syllabi, lecture notes, and assignments are becoming more common, as faculty learn to adapt traditional paperbound techniques to this new electronic format. Unfortunately, most of these efforts are simply a new way of doing old educational approaches. The Internet provides unique capabilities for multimedia, interactive, collaborative, and distance learning. Engineering education would benefit from appropriate implementation of such capabilities.

TCP & IP are splitsville

In the contest for dominion over the wireless Web, a new competitor is emerging, and it has already become the darling of mobile phone, handheld, and PDA OEMs. The Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP, has come on so strong and so suddenly that key companies in all major wireless device markets are lining up to participate. Many are hailing it as the revolutionary roaming access protocol that will bring the Web where it’s destined to go: over the airwaves.

But what’s truly exciting about WAP is its combination of new and existing Web technologies used in new ways to solve old problems, among them the performance and display limitations of handhelds, the shortcomings of HTML, and the wireless deficiencies of TCP/IP.

While WAP has been around for more than a year, technical hurdles–particularly the slow adoption of XML–a lack of WAP-enabled content, and a scarcity of devices have resulted in a low profile. But with the release of version 1.1 (July), which incorporates fixes and feedback from users and vendors, reliable WAP-enabled devices and data services are finally becoming available. In this discussion, we take a look at how the elegant WAP is designed, the technical problems it hopes to solve, how it will work, and how wireless users can benefit.

WAP Session

At its essence, WAP is simple: it is a new protocol developed to deliver Internet content to wireless, portable devices. However, the problems associated with this seemingly basic service are numerous. For one thing, wireless devices have strict power, processing, and display requirement which limit the kinds of information they can display–and the duration that they can display it.

Take just one basic example. Wireless communication is prone to service interruptions and lost data, which translates into dropped connections, static, or fade-out. HTTP and TCP are optimized for devices that are constantly connected and can send multiple, repeated requests for data. These protocols are not designed for the long latencies associated with wireless communications, nor are their transmissions optimized for low bandwidth (just try browsing on a slow modem over a noisy phone line).

Business Editors & High Tech WritersROCHESTER HILLS, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 12, 2001

Supports all scripting languages - including ASP, JSP,

Perl, and Cold Fusion

Unibar, Inc. today announced e-BARZ Pro 2.0, a major upgrade of its popular web bar code printing software for UNIX and Linux, and NT. e-BARZ Pro 2.0 offers a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) capability, enabling web designers to easily embed bar codes dynamically on a web page. In addition, e-BARZ Pro 2.0 is easy to use with all scripting languages including ASP (Active Server Pages), JSP (Java Server Pages), Perl and Cold Fusion.. e-BARZ Pro 2.0 also enables customers to rotate bar codes 90, 180, and 270 degrees on the web page.

“This version of e-BARZ is much more designer-friendly, with CGI and HTML support,” said Ted Kruse, president of Unibar. “For instance, with CGI, customers can design their web page, decide the parameters, and within 15 minutes creates a web page with bar code capabilities.”

e-BARZ Pro 2.0 features include:

-- CGI Support: Common Gateway Interface is a standard way of passing
parameters and executing a program module;

-- HTML support: No programming is required to imbed a bar code image in a HTML
page;

-- Supports all Scripting Languages;

-- Bar code rotation: bar codes can be rotated 90, 180, and 270 degrees on the
web page.

More e-BARZ Pro 2.0 Features:

As with other versions of e-BARZ, e-BARZ Pro 2.0 supports 2D (PDF417) and all major 1D and symbologies including: Code 128, Code 3 of 9, UPC-A, UPC-E, POSTNET, and Codabar, EAN-13, and EAN-8 for international requests.

e-BARZ(TM) also offers the following features:

Supports, 3 of 9, Code 128, Interleaved 2 of 5,
Extended 3 of 9, POSTNET, UPC-A, UPC-E
EAN-13, EAN-8, Codabar, PDF417
Easily change bar code sizes and symbologies
Bar code height ranges from .05" to 12" high
Vertical and horizontal bar code rotation
Option to print bar coded text above/below bars
Option to print bar coded text right/left of vertical bars.
Option to print various densities  - set Ratio & mils

ABSTRACT

Web publication is increasingly utilized in education. This paper is written to contribute a basic yet versatile software, with illustration, for creating interactive web-based modules for tests with immediate feedback. Each module assists students in learning new material by offering “tips,”without providing answers right away, when wrong answers are chosen. The software is segmented into five program files, where the first two are subject specific while the other three are general. Being independent of web sites, the three general program files need no changes by users and are included, with ample comments, in the appendices. Beginning instructors can readily create web-based modules by directly modifying the two subject specific program files.

I. INTRODUCTION

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a very powerful tool for communication. Generally, the WWW is an environment where the information created is accessible on demand, anytime, and anywhere. It has been used by organizations and individuals for various purposes. In education, it is capable of allowing on-demand access to any information and material for a given course or for tutoring, which an instructor provides at a web site. In particular, the WWW can be used to great advantage in teaching high enrollment courses as well as distance education. Increasing efforts to create web-based educational material on the WWW clearly point to the trend of using web publication as an alternative mode in modern education.1-6

It is the purpose of this paper to present a basic yet versatile software that uses Practical Extraction and Report Language (PERL) and Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting7-8 to manipulate data files to readily create modules for interactive on-line testing with immediate feedback It allows as well as promotes learning because appropriate “tips” are offered, without providing answers right away, when wrong answers are chosen by students. Note that PERL is a programming language like C or FORTRAN.