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General Discussion

Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points
Posted by Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points

Data analysis software (web app)

Hi,

just started a database intern ship and they've said they now want a web based app that allows them to update members/volunteers and run reports and exports them to excel with graphs and a user management side to it (e.g. staff can access only certain types of data and not all of it, others can access all of it and so on) .

its a small charity in the UK so they don't have money to spend on developers or expensive software.

does anyone know of any software out there that'll fit these needs? every time i Google something i get database management software for data engineers and not for end users.

any help would be great thanks :)

4 Answers

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points
Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

Hi Gary,

Congrats on your internship. Let's get you on your way. It sounds like you are working with either SQL Server or MS Access, is this correct? If so, your task isn't as hard as you might think. Do you have a version of Visual Studio?

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

So If you don't have Visual Studio, you can grab the free edition here, the install is pretty easy to walk through. http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-express-vs.aspx . While that is installing, it might be good to draft out your plan of the steps your going to take to accomplish this task.

Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points
Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points

@JeffreyPavlov i have access to visual studio via dream spark (got the unlimited edition or something like that)

and thanks just started it last week completely thrown in the deep end haha

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

Great! The deep end is sometimes the best place to start. Are you familiar with ADO.Net, it is what we are going to use to establish your connection to the database.

Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points
Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points

Im not familiar with it no, guess i have some reading to-do over the weekend, where would i go from there?

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points
Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

So I would start off with this, it looks like a good first step. There is a lot of information in here, you will cover the DB side of things, creating stored procedures, and building the web interface to connect. Give it a try.

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/852205/Insert-select-update-delete-in-asp-net-with-Simple

Grab a book on ASP.Net, this will help you along. Look for something that is at a beginner level and focuses on the MVC pattern, preferably 4.0 and up. The MVC pattern will future-proof you in your career.

Also, I am a .Net Developer, so when you do run into troubles, reach out to me. I can put something together and post it on github, to help you get on your way.

Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points
Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points

that'd be great thanks for your help @jeffreypavlov

Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points
Gary Mclean
Gary Mclean
5,756 Points

just logged into the server provider and its a linux mysql and php server they are using,

do you know anything about them?

but thanks for your help anyway

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points
Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

Gary, take a look at the PHP courses on here. It will cover the front-end stuff along with interacting with a database. After the course, apply it to your project, the sound very similar. As always, feel free to reach out to me directly and continue to use these forums. People here, love to help.

Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points
Jeffrey Pavlov
Jeffrey Pavlov
16,191 Points

Gary, take a look at the PHP courses on here. It will cover the front-end stuff along with interacting with a database. After the course, apply it to your project, the sound very similar. As always, feel free to reach out to me directly and continue to use these forums. People here, love to help.