RDS Scenario
The Address Book application is a scenario that shows you how to use Remote Data Service (RDS) to build a simple, data-aware Web application—an online corporate address book. This scenario is useful for Microsoft Visual Basic, Scripting Edition (VBScript) and COM programmers who want to learn how to use data-aware ActiveX controls with RDS, and for more experienced application developers who want to build data-centric Web applications.
This scenario assumes you know how to use basic HTML layout tags, use DHTML data binding techniques, and program with ActiveX controls.
The complete source code for the Address Book sample application can be found at <drive>:\Platform SDK\samples\dataaccess\rds\AddrBook\AddrBook.asp if you have installed the Platform SDK. To view the Address Book scenario, in Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, type http://webserver/RDS/AddrBook/AddrBook.asp where webserver is the name given to your Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 Web server computer running Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.
Introduction to Address Book
The Address Book sample application provides a simple online address book that you can use to publish a searchable directory over an intranet. The address book is designed so that a user can enter a search string in one or more fields to request information about employees. To show you the basic features of Remote Data Service, the sample application is intentionally kept small, with a minimum number of objects and search fields.
The application interface consists of the following parts:
- A non-visual RDS.DataControl data-binding object utilized by the client to connect to the database.
- HTML text boxes that act as input fields for employee attribute search criteria.
- HTML command buttons to build queries, clear search fields, update the database with employee information, cancel pending changes, and navigate the rows of data displayed in the grid.
- DHTML data binding to display data returned from queries against a back-end database (through the RDS.DataControl data-binding object) in a table.
- VBScript routines that connect each of the elements above and allow them to interact. VBScript code is also used to initialize the RDS.DataControl object and dynamically create the column headings in the HTML table from the names of the RDS.DataControl recordset fields.
Follow the links from step to step to set up and run the scenario and to learn more about how the scenario works.