INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SALES WEBSITE IN A FIRM, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

INTRODUCTION

This project deals with the most important ideas about HTTP servers and some tools (i.e. Data base or a good graphical interface) usually used with them. Besides, it considers the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of a sales website in a firm.

A HTTP is a program that implements HTTP protocol (HyperText Transfer Protocol). It is running continously on the computer while waiting for any user interacts with it through a web browser ( Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape...). Upon receiving a request, HTTP server replies through a HTML script where the website is coded. The code is interpreted by the browser and it is shown in the screen. HTML is a web language based in labels, easy to learn but tyring and inefficient in practice. However, there are some additional computer languages that help to create dynamic, interactive and intelligent websites such as PHP (based in C), Perl, Python, JSP (Java technology).

Apache (http://www.apache.org/) is a HTTP open code and multiplatform web sever that can be used in the most famous computer operating systems: Windows, Unix (GNU/Linux, BSD...), Machintosh.... It was created by Apache Software Foundation and initially based in the NCSA HTTPd code. It was and it still is one of the most used applications regarding HTTP servers, and it is highly appreciated among the users. Besides, it has several units which make optimun use of its resources, i.e, PHP.

We also should refer to database in this project. A database is a powerful tool where information can be stored, looked up or changed. This information can be arranged, for example, alphabetically. A database can store information about users who surf by the website or about the proper website.

In this project, MySQL will be the data base usually used. The greatest achievement of this database