The World Wide Web is largely descended from the Unix world, where the reigning philosophy is to break down tasks so that they can be fulfilled by a series of disparate tools. Therefore, when Web developers have looked to deploy applications on their Web sites, they've had to deal with a series of smaller design tools that featured minimal integration.
This philosophy is challenged by HAHTSite from HAHT Software. Billed as an Internet application builder, HAHTSite provides all the tools you'd need to create robust Internet and Intranet database applications, from page-design capabilities to a data engine that works in conjunction with a Web server.
Perhaps the best way to think of HAHTSite is as an application builder ´ la Borland's Delphi -- the difference being that HAHTSite applications are meant solely for deployment on the World Wide Web. To that end, there's a certain level of integration among HAHTSite's tools, because they're organized (mostly) around a common user interface. These tools include:
On the downside, database integration is a mixed bag with HAHTSite 1.0: The only practical links are between Web pages and ODBC data sources -- a trait that's shared with Web servers from Microsoft, Netscape, Oracle, and others. (See Figure 1.) You could use freely available Microsoft tools, such as Internet Database Connector (IDC), and match the functionality of HAHTSite. HAHTSite includes a full set of ODBC access calls (including queries, inserts, and updates). HAHTSite comes with its own implementation of Basic (called HAHTtalk), which could also be used for database integration, but that usage would require writing your own calls from scratch. HAHT Software argues that with this method you could use the native API of the datasource to import data, and although this practice is fine in theory, an in-depth knowledge of both HAHTtalk and the server API will be needed to pull it off. This is a dead-end approach to Web database development, and your time will be better spent staying with "open" environments such as ODBC.
One nice feature of HAHTSite that directly benefits database work is its support for "states." Put simply, states allow database connections to remain open between a Web server and a Web browser, even if the Web-browser user moves to different pages within the same Web site. (By definition, Web connections are stateless -- a Web server whips out a page to a Web browser, and then the connection basically ends.) This advanced feature is not found in most Web servers, except for those from Oracle.
You'll want a more advanced Web server from Netscape, Microsoft, or even Oracle. On a practical level, integration with the actual Web server isn't as smooth as it should be. The installation process failed to sniff out the fact that the software was being installed on an Internet server running Microsoft Internet Information Server 2.0; instead, there was a mandatory installation of Quarterdeck's WebStar Web server. Although this isn't harmful to an existing server setup, it does present a nuisance factor, because you must spend time purging WebStar from your system. In addition, you need to perform a lot of manual setup before your HAHTSite data is available to users. This work isn't any more than you usually find in your average Web server setup, but the HAHT folks could have done a better job in tailoring setup procedures for sites with existing server installations.
HAHTSite is a complex development environment. You may find that it's a little too intimidating (as is the case when you're looking at almost any advanced client/server design tool), and to be honest, only the most advanced Web designers should consider HAHTSite. But if your Web site is a growing behemoth that could benefit from a development tool that supports multiple platforms, then HAHTSite is definitely worth a look.
| HAHTSite 2.0 |
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| Just before the HAHTSite 1.0 review went to press, HAHT Software informed DBMS that HAHTSite 2.0 would be released in late 1996. The new version appears to have several significant enhancements. The following describes the new features but is not based on a hands-on evaluation.
The HAHTSite IDE can now display a project using two views. The structural site view shows the pages in a hierarchical format. The link dependency view shows the relationships among objects (pages, graphics, and so on) on a site. ,P> The IDE now creates frame-based pages. It also lets developers drag and drop ActiveX, Java, JavaScript, and VBScript code and objects onto a page. HAHTSite 1.0 supported server-side JavaScript and VBScript, and version 2.0 now supports coding client-side events using these scripting languages. Developers can use the new HAHTSite SDK to create widgets for use on HTML pages. The SDK provides 15 prebuilt widgets, and 10 of these support database access. The SDK also lets developers access DLL functions, OLE objects, the Clipboard, and DDE services. To aid reusability, developers can also define and use "HAHTbits" -- groups of related HTML form controls, text, images, and other widgets. HAHT Software recently announced that it has licensed Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, which it will incorporate into a future version of HAHTSite. A new debugger lets developers log into a server and debug applications remotely or locally. The IDE also lets developers access and use other Web development tools from within the IDE. The HAHTSite Application Server is now called the HAHTSite Engine. It sports new interfaces to Netscape's NSAPI and Microsoft's ISAPI. (CGI has been supported since version 1.0.) By using Web server profiles, HAHTSite lets developers deploy the HAHTSite engine on an ISAPI, NSAPI, or CGI Web server by changing a profile value; no additional code needs to be written by the developer. New security features include the use of cookies to store state IDs and the ability to insert a TCP/IP address in a session ID or a state ID. In addition to Windows NT, the HAHTSite Engine will run on Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, and HP-UX Unix platforms. A new tool supports remote administration of the server using a Web browser. HAHTSite still relies on ODBC for database connectivity. (The founders of HAHT Software previously founded Q+E Software, a leading ODBC driver vendor that was acquired by Intersolv.) HAHTSite does not yet directly support native drivers, but developers can access native drivers if they write the code to do so. For more information, see http://www.haht.com. |