MS SQL server algorithm into a usable application???

Caryatnid

Ok so maybe I am asking too much in this but I'll try my best to communicate properly what I want/need.

So I have a prototype of a MS SQL Server algorithm. I would like to create a website, where people can have an individual log in, upload data, and then have the algorithm run (it would need to rerun with each new upload - or maybe could do a full rerun every night, the algorithm compares each user's data to one another) - and display the results on the user's page.

I have an elec eng degree, and have a M.Sc., but what I would consider to be very basic programming knowledge.
I have (or at least had) basic knowledge in C, VB, Basic, html.

So my real big question is what I need to do to get the MS SQL Server prototype to interact with the uploaded data. I am told I need to write a computer application to do this - but what does that even mean? As far as I can tell, an application is something that does something . . . . I don't understand what I need to do to make my algorithm into an application.

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Cary.

ressem

By "a prototype of a MS SQL Server algorithm" you're referring to a SQL Server procedure I guess.

In a simple web application, you would create code which is run on the web server to generate the html which will be returned to the user's browser, and carry out checks for valid data, calculations, comparisons or interactions with the database and so on.

Which language used depends on the tools, friendly gurus and books available to you. Also how complex, secure and scalable the end result needs to be.
There's no end of options here. So I'll just suggest ASP.NET because they've got some nice and reliable tutorials
http://www.asp.net/learn/
If you have no resources you can download the free MS Visual Web Developer 2008 Express, and it works with minimum hassle with SQL server and IIS web server.


So in your case, you could have
1: an application which handles the user login. It checks that the user has not sent suspicious text, call a procedure on the database to see whether the login details are correct. If so it sends the user the html for another page where you can upload a file. If not, it returns the login page, with an "incorrect login" message added.

2: an application which is called when someone submits a file for upload. Their web browser sends the contents of the file. Your app must convert this data into a form suitable for inserting into the database, carry out checks to make sure that there is nothing that might compromise the database. It call a procedure on the database (probably repeatedly, in a loop) which inserts the data into the correct tables.

3: If the insert was successful, your application might then call the procedure that you have prototyped already, take the results or view generated and format it into a html page which can be sent to the user.
Depending on how complex this display is, it might be preferable to offload this job to something like crystal reports or SQL server reporting services. If you're in academia, you might have access to Visual studio Professional which makes this easier using templates and wizards.

So in addition to the database procedure you have written already,
you would create one procedure or more to insert the uploaded data into the database. One procedure to check the login details and return good or bad.
4 or 5 ASPX pages with codebehind which are programmed to provide HTML to the user, to switch from one page to another once conditions are met, to call the database procedures after the user presses the submit button.

stevenmu

When you say SQL Server Algorithm, do you mean a stored procedure that works on data in a database table? Also, when you say "upload data", do you mean the user will have a file full of data they need to upload, or do you want a data entry screen with fields that the user will have to fill in? Also, is this something that will be run internally within a LAN, or will it be published to the web for external users.

If your users will be internal and you want them to upload a file full of data, you can probably do this very simply without any programming at all. SQL Server contains a tool to let you do all of this, in SQL Server 2000 it is call DTS and in SQL Server 2005 it is called SSIS. Both will let you import a file from some specified location on the network (or local machine) into a table in your database, it can then execute your stored procedure for you. You can schedule this DTS or SSIS package to run at any interval you like, and I think you can also set it to scan for a new file being uploaded and run automatically then.

If not you will need to create some kind of application that will let the users enter their data. Like ressem I would recommend an ASP.Net application, using the wizards you can very very quickly create an application that will let your users enter the data in fields as needed, with little to no actual programming. This will then need to run on a web server somewhere, if it's only to be run internally you can just deploy it to a server with IIS on it, your SQL Server probably already has it if you check with your IT/DBA people. You could then either have your ASP.Net application kick off your stored procedure, or you could create a job in the SQL Server Agent to run it periodically, whichever suits your needs best.

KStaford

op

Your post is the equivelant of asking, "hey I need to do a bit of surgeory on my arm, I have a M.Sc in Geography so I should know a bit about it, but where do I start? what does the word surgeory even mean".

What you are asking is a complex question on a complex area, you either spend a few years learning it or get a professional to do it for you.

Caryatnid

To ressem and stevenvu - many thanks for taking the time to give such detailed answers. I really appreciated and already suspected ASP would be the best option. I have a couple of books here so will start digging into that. You both gave much more information and feedback than I even asked for. Thanks.

Stevenvu - the uploaded data would be in the form of a table - with two columns, averaging around 200 rows. The user would not have to fill in any fields.

KStaford wrote: »

op

Your post is the equivelant of asking, "hey I need to do a bit of surgeory on my arm, I have a M.Sc in Geography so I should know a bit about it, but where do I start? what does the word surgeory even mean".

What you are asking is a complex question on a complex area, you either spend a few years learning it or get a professional to do it for you.

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood my post - the reason for posting my qualifications was not to say 'I should know a bit about it' - it was to show that I don't have for example, a C.A. degree, but just so readers know what my background is.