Active server pages for dynamic database Web access

Library users expect to find an increasing array of information resources on the Web, and libraries have been using that medium. However, much of what they supply on the Web is static data such as bibliographies, pathfinders, instructions, and schedules. Providing dynamic data on the Web, especially from a relational database, can be a daunting task because HTML is a markup language that has little processing power. This paper will discuss the steps necessary to provide dynamic Web access to local databases using active server pages (ASP) technology. ASP is easier to use than other methods because it imbeds scripting statements directly into the Web page, rather than relying on separate, complicated programs. Software necessary to make it work resides on the server, and the end‐user does not have to worry about it. Several working examples will illustrate techniques for searching and displaying data from a Microsoft Access database using ASP.