Chapter 2 Getting Started with PowerDynamo

Overview

The tutorials in this chapter guide you through:

Inspecting the sample Web site included in PowerDynamo, using Sybase Central.
Creating a dynamic HTML page containing a SQL query and viewing the results of the query.
Creating a template containing a script.
Accessing the templates you have created from a Web client (browser) on your own machine. This tutorial introduces the PowerDynamo Personal Web Server.
Accessing the templates you have created from a Web client elsewhere on a network.

Topics covered in other chapters

This chapter does not include how to incorporate a PowerDynamo Web site into an existing Web site managed by a Web server - see "Configuring Web Servers and Web sites".

Also, this chapter does not cover development of a mobile intranet, although many of the concepts and tools you need are covered. For more information on mobile intranets and SQL Remote replication technology, see "Setting Up a Mobile Intranet".

Before you begin

Before you begin, note the following:

Most of these tutorials can be carried out on a single computer, as long as the sample database can be accessed from your machine.
If you are running PowerDynamo in a client/server environment against a database server on a different machine, you need a network connection to that machine.
Before running the tutorials, install the sample database. See "Installing the sample database".
For the tutorials involving a browser, you need a TCP/IP protocol stack, and for the final tutorial you need a connection to a network.

Installing the sample database

Installing the sample database is different whether you are using Adaptive Server Anywhere or Adaptive Server Enterprise.

Installing the sample database [Adaptive Server Enterprise]

The tutorials are based on a sample Web site, which is hosted in the Powersoft sample database. You must install the Powersoft sample database before you can run the tutorials.

The sample database is two SQL scripts with a controlling batch file, named psdemodb.bat. The psdemodb.bat file is installed into the PowerDynamo\psdemo directory.

The SQL scripts carry out the following tasks to create the sample database. Use command-line arguments to the batch file to control the settings.

Drops the psdemodb database from the server, if it exists.
Creates a 4MB device named tempdb_dev for the tempdb database on the server.
Adds a 4MB log to tempdb from the new tempdb_dev device.
Creates a 14MB device named psdemodb_dev.
Creates a database named psdemodb on the server, using the psdemodb_dev device, and fills it with data.

To install the sample database:

Ensure that you can connect to Adaptive Server Enterprise and have a valid user ID and password with permissions to create a database.
From an operating system command prompt, run the psdemodb batch file, using these arguments:
- The tempdb device location and file name.
- The tempdb device number. You should use the first free device number.
- The psdemodb device location and file name.
- The psdemodb device number. You should use the second free device number.
- The server name.
- The system administrator user ID.
- The system administrator password.
For new Adaptive Server Enterprise installations, you can use the default system administrator user ID, which is sa, and omit the password argument, as the default password is empty. The default name of the server is the name of the machine on which it is installed. For an Adaptive Server Enterprise newly installed on a machine named my_machine , a typical command line is (you should type this all on one line):
```
psdemodb c:\syb11\data\tempdb.dev 8 c:\syb11\data\psdemodb.dev 9 my_machine sa
```

Modify the installed ODBC data source

PowerDynamo is able to use an ODBC interface or an Open Client connection to access Adaptive Server Enterprise. The Adaptive Server Enterprise setup creates an ODBC data source for the sample database, but you must modify it to reflect the name of the installed server before you can access the data source.

To modify the ODBC data source for the sample database:

Start the ODBC Administrator and select Sybase System 11 Sample from the list of available data sources. Then click Setup.
Change the server name for the data source to the name of the server you have installed. By default the server name is the name of the machine.
Click OK on the Driver Setup window to create the data source.

For information on how to connect to the sample database using an Open Client connection see "Creating a connection profile for your Web site".

Installing the sample database [Adaptive Server Anywhere]

The Adaptive Server Anywhere Setup automatically installs a sample database named sademo.db, and creates an ODBC data source named ASA 6.0 Sample. No further preparation is required.

Starting Dynamo programs

The Dynamo programs are installed into the Start Menu for Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 95, and are installed into a Program Manager group for Windows NT 3.51.

For users of Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, the Dynamo programs are added to the Start Menu, under Programs | Sybase | PowerDynamo 3.5. For users of Windows NT 3.51, the programs are added to the PowerDynamo 3.5 program group.

Creating the sample Web site

In Sybase Central, when you connect PowerDynamo to a database that does not have a Web site stored for the user ID and database, Dynamo asks you if you wish to create a Web site for the supplied user ID.

To create the sample Web site:

Start Sybase Central, and select Tools | Connection Profiles.
Select the Dynamo Demo connection profile from the list.
Click Connect. Because no Web site exists on the sample database for the user ID you have specified, Dynamo prompts you to add a Web site. Click Yes to create a new Web site.

Check the boxes to load the documentation and samples and enter a name for the main document folder in the site. The documentation refers to this folder as "Site". Click OK to create the site.

Once you have created the sample Web site, you are ready to continue with the rest of the tutorials.