Remote database access over Internet in Windows environment

This thesis deals with remote database access over the Internet. Three different approaches to remote database access, the CGI-based approach, the Oracle Webserver-based approach and the CORBA-based approach, are discussed. Experiments are conducted to compare the pros and cons of each approach. The Oracle database and Microsoft Access database are utilized as the target database systems. For the CGI-based approach, the CGI programs are coded with ProC, Oracle's SQL-embedded C language, in Microsoft Visual C++ developer's studio, and a Student Record example is demonstrated. For the Oracle Webserver-based approach, the Oracle Webserver 1.1 has been setup and an Online Shopping Club example is demonstrated. For the CORBA-based approach, Orbix Web 2.0.1 and JDK 1.1.1 are utilized as the CORBA system and the development language, respectively, and several examples including single server, multiple servers and multiple databases are presented. An extended SQL syntax is proposed to manipulate data from multiple database systems residing on different hosts in one SQL statement. The implementation of extended SQL statements in CORBA's server/client application is also suggested. With the help of extended SQL syntax and CORBA's multiple server access feature, an example of the client application accessing two databases at a time is illustrated. The pros and cons are discussed of the three remote database access approaches studied in the thesis: (I) The CGI-based approach, which is the most generic and widely used approach. (II) The Oracle Webserver approach, which is a relatively simplified way of the CGI approach, easy to apply but limited in applications. (III) The CORBA-based approach, which is the most powerful and sophisticated approach for remote database access.