A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING MIS AND MBA STUDENTS TO DEPLOY A SCALABLE DATABASEDRIVEN WEB ARCHITECTURE FOR


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A SYSTEM FOR TEACHING MIS AND MBA STUDENTSTO
DEPLOY A SCALABLE DATABASE-DRIVEN WEB
ARCHITECTURE FOR B2C E-COMMERCE

• Alexander Y. Yap Ph.D.
• Elon University North Carolina
• Claudia Loebbecke Ph.D.
• University of Cologne Germany

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Background

• IS Environment Five Years Teaching in two
  Business School Environments (MIS MBA students)
• A variety of B2C E-commerce systems solutions are
  available for different business needs
• But deciding on a particular systems solution can
  be a challenging process
• Putting things in perspective for students
• Choosing the appropriate IS strategy for Business
  Objectives
• Looking at Business Processes behind E-commerce
  systems
• Assessing how different solutions and systems
  address short term vs. long term strategies

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Objective

• Show students different solution paths
• We came up with four generic solutions models
• Show different architecture scalability
• Demonstrate the role of database in e-commerce
• Show how a web application server (middleware)
  shuttles data between the database and browser
• Discuss the importance of web interface and its
  usability (front-end design)
• Develop and Deploy an E-commerce application (one
  project for each student)

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Business Process Optimization Outsourcing
Content Development
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Stand Alone Model (Two-tier Architecture)
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E-Commerce Integrated with E-Business
Systems(Model 4 Three-tier Multi-tier
Architecture)
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Web Architectures
Two-tier Architecture
Three-tier Architecture
Multi-tier Architecture
Client Computer (Web Browser)
Client Computer (Web Browser)
Client Computer (Web Browser)
Web Server Stand Alone Database (Access)
Web Server
Web Server
Database Server
Database Server (Oracle SQL Server)
Email Server
File Server
Video Server
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E-Commerce A Two Component Course (Teaching the
Business Technology Components)

• Students taking MIS (Graduate Level) needed 2
  semesters to cover the business component (1) and
  the technology component (1)
• Three-tier architecture
• Oracle and SQL programming
• Customize the Application with a lot of hand
  coding
• Setting up the Application Server Web/HTTP
  Server
• MBA students learning E-commerce were limited to
  a one semester. Business component (half a
  semester) and technology component (half a
  semester)
• Two-tier architecture
• MS Access
• Use Rapid Application Development Methods for
  Coding (Wizards Drag and Drop coding reuse of
  existing components shopping cart)
• No Server set up required

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Student Feedback

• MBA students with no database background were
  more suited to learning Model 3 (just to see how
  technology manages the electronic process)
• MIS students preferred Model 4 because they know
  that high-end relational database management
  systems (like Oracle) work with other enterprise
  applications
• MBA students were able to see how different
  systems could be integrated with e-commerce
  systems enabling them to make technology
  acquisition decisions (Model 4)
• MIS students were able to set-up customized
  e-commerce applications with their own coding
  logic their choice of database and operating
  system (Linux)

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ApplicationDevelopment Environment
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TECHNOLOGIES USED

• SOFTWARE TOOLS
• Macromedia Homesite Dreamweaver (editors for
  coding)
• Cold Fusion Server (Application Server -
  middleware)
• MS Access Database or Oracle (relational
  database back-end)
• Macromedia Flash MX (animation)
• Others (Fireworks Photoshop Graphic editors)

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Application FeaturesWhen we decided to use CF
(2000-2001)
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RDBMS/Database Connectivity
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Cold Fusion Studio(now Macromedia Homesite )
RAD Features

• You can link the tables click and drag the
  primary key to the foreign key
• Then double click on the fields and they will
  appear automatically
• SQL Script appears automatically
• You can sort the order
• by a chosen field (e.g. date)

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RAD ToolsDrag and Drop Query Codes(Cold Fusion
Studio - Homesite Plus)
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RAP - Using Wizards to createForm and Action
Templates
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Select Table and Fieldsthat you want to include
in form
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Form Action Template Created(product_entryform.
cfm product_entryaction.cfm)
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Form TemplateDesign Code
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Action Template(CFINSERT)
Validation/Confirmation that data has been
inputted into the database
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First Step Create Database
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Second Step Show students how their data is
connected to the Server Creating the data
source using students name
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Data source

• MSAccess set up the path of the database file
  in the server
• Oracle create a schema name for each student
  (using Oracles userid and password)

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Third StepCreating the E-commerce
ApplicationSeparating Content and Web Design
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TheShopping Cart
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Handling Session Variables(Passing Data from
Catalog to Shopping Cart to Database)
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Passing Data Variables(Using different web
templates)
Online Product Catalog
Shopping Cart
Capture Order Info In Database
Product Table Info
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Form Variables Inserted into the Customer Table
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Fourth StepFlash Animation

• SPLASH PAGE
• Create layers
• Separate animated objects for each layer
• Different animation effects
• Timeline of the animated objects
• NAVIGATION BUTTONS
• (optional)

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Embedding Sound

• Drag the sound clip to the object
• If you successfully dragged the sound it will
• appear on the frame

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Conclusion

• Students taking MIS at the Graduate level with
  background in SQL and Oracle handled the
  three-tier architecture system very well.
• They all wanted to learn full scalability of the
  architecture (Model 4).
• MIS students mostly combined hand-coding and RAD
  functions
• MBA students learning E-commerce for the first
  time could handle the two-tier architecture
  without a problem.
• But they need to use RAD methods with minimal
  coding (drag drop wizards application server
  handled by someone else)
• MBA students felt they could make
  technology-related decisions better knowing the
  capabilities of web technologies to improve
  business process.
• Multi-tier architecture was only feasible if
  taught across several courses (logistics
  limitations cannot be compressed into 1 or 2
  semesters)

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CFGraph
Pie Chart Of Quantity Sold

• Create query
• You can use SUM to add
• Use an alias e.g as totalsum for the sum of a
  variable
• Define the graph as shown
• Sum (Quantity x Price)

Horizontal bar Chart of Sales Amount
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Dynamic Charts based on the Database (Sales Table)