E-Business Technology : Web-Based Tools for Electronic Commerce Mr. Seree Chinoom Department of...

E-Business Technology :Web-Based Tools for Electronic

CommerceMr. Seree Chinoom

Department of Computer ScienceBurapha University

E-mail : [email protected]

Web-Based Tools for E-Commerce 2

Learning ObjectivesComputer that support Web ServersMeasuring the performance of Web server hardwareFundamental duties of a Web serverThe way that individual computers are combined to provide large-scale Web servicesWeb server software, including Apache, Microsoft Internet Information Server, and Netscape Enterprise ServerAdvanced Web server tools


Web Page Delivery

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules for delivering Web pages over the InternetHTTP uses the client/server modelThe combination of the protocol name and the domain name is called a uniform resource locator (URL).


SMTP, POP, MIME, and IMAP

E-mail sent across the Internet must also be formatted to a common set of rules, otherwise e-mail created by one company (or Web site) could not be read by a person at another company.Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) specifies the exact format of a mail message and describes how mail is to be administered at the Internet and network level.


SMTP, POP, MIME, and IMAP (cont.)

An e-mail program running on a user’s computer can request mail from the company’s main e-mail computer using the Post Office Protocol (POP).Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) allow the user to attach binary files to e-mail.The Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) performs additional features.


Internet Applications

Electronic MailE-mail is the most popular form of business communication – surpassing the telephone, conventional mail, and fax in volume.One benefit is the ability to send documents and other information as attachments.The drawbacks of email include such things as Spam (or bulk mail) and computer virus delivered to your computer as email attachments.


Internet Applications (Email – POP)


Internet Application (Email – IMAP)


Internet Applications (Telnet)

TelnetTelnet is an application that allows you to log on to a remote computer that is attached to the Internet.It allows the user to run software that doesn’t have a Web interface on a remote computer.As more companies place information on Web pages (accessible through any Web browser), the use of Telnet will continue to decrease.


Internet Applications (Telnet)


Internet Applications (FTP)

FTPFile Transfer Protocol (FTP) defines the formats used to transfer files between TCP/IP-connected computers.FTP transfers both binary data and ASCII text.Full privilege FTP allows remote uploading and downloading of files.Anonymous FTP allows you to log on to a remote computer as a guest.


Internet Applications (FTP)


Markup Languages and the Web

Web pages are marked with tags to indicate the display and formatting of page elements.SGML is a meta language, which is a language that can be used to define other languages.HTML and XML are both derivatives of SGML


Standard Generalized Markup Language

SGML offers a system of marking up documents that is independent of any software application.Advantages of SGML include its long-term viability, it is nonproprietary and platform-independent, and it supports user-defined tags and architectures.Disadvantages of SGML include a costly and complicated set up, expensive tools, creating document-type definitions that are time consuming, and extensive learning time.


Hypertext Markup Language

HTML is a simplified subset of SGML that includes tags defining the format and style of text elements in a document.HTML is an instance of one particular SGML document type – Document Type Definition (DTD).HTML now includes tags for tables, frames, and other features that help Web designers create more complex page layouts.


Extensible Markup LanguageUnlike HTML, XML uses markup tags to describe the meaning of the text rather than its display characteristics.XML uses paired start and stop tags in much the same way as database software defines a record structure.An XML document can be embedded within an HTML document.XML allows a user to ‘extend’ the language by creating their own tags.


HTML Tags

An HTML document contains both document text and elements.Tags are codes that are used to define where an HTML element starts and (if necessary) where it ends.In an HTML document, each tag is enclosed in brackets (<>).A two-sided tag set has an opening tag and a closing tag.


HTML Tags


HTML LinksHyperlinks are bits of text that connect the current document to:

Another location in the same documentAnother document on the same host machineAnother document on the Internet

Hyperlinks are created using the HTML anchor tag.Two popular link structures are:

Linear hyperlink structureHierarchical hyperlink structure


Scripting Language and Style Sheet Capabilities

Web designers can use the OBJECT tag to embed scripting language codes in HTML pages (this is also called client-side scripting).Scripts can execute program on computers that display those pages.Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) let designers define formatting styles that can be reapplied to multiple Web pages.


HTML EditorsHTML documents can be created in any general purpose text editor or word processor.Sophisticated editors can create full-scale, commercial-grade Web sites with database access, graphics, fill-in forms, and display the Web page along with the HTML code.Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver are examples of Web site builders.


HTML Editors


Web Server Hardware and Performance Evaluation

Today a Web site may be the first place customers go to conduct business with traditional companies, while electronic commerce sites have become the main business focus for many organizations.The two main ingredients in a Web server are its hardware and it Web server software.


Types of Web SitesAn important first step in planning a Web server is to determine what the company wants to accomplish with the server.The company must estimate how many visitors will be connecting to the Web site and what types of files will be delivered through the site.Companies create Web sites in a wide variety of forms including simple development sites, intranets, information-only sites for customers, business-to-business portals, storefronts, or content-delivery.


Development Sites

The simplest Web site and the least costly to implement is a development site.A development site can reside on an existing PC and can be developed with low-cost Web site building tools, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.Testers can access the site through their PCs on the existing LAN.


Intranets

Corporate intranets house internal memos, corporate policy handbooks, expense account worksheets, budgets, newsletters, and a variety of other corporate documents.Intranets are shielded from the Internet, they do not require additional security software to protect them against threats from outside the company.


Transaction-Processing SitesTransaction-processing sites, such as business-to-business and business-to-consumer electronic commerce sites must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; that is, they must be high reliability servers.Transaction-processing sites must also have spare server computers to handles high traffic volumes.Transaction-processing sites must also run security software.


Content Delivery Sites

Content delivery sites, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and C-Net, sell and deliver content, such as news, histories, summaries, and other digital information.Content must be presented rapidly on the visitor’s screen.Visitors must be able to locate articles quickly with a fast and precise search engine.


Web Hosting Choices

The company must decide whether to run servers in-house or through third-party Web and e-commerce providers.Companies should consider:

Scalability of e-commerceBandwidth of the Web siteA local third-party ISP

Contact Web Host Guild (WHG) for help.


Web Hosting Choices


Web Hosting ChoicesWhen making Web server hosting decisions, a company should ask whether the hardware, or platform and software combination, can be upgraded when the traffic on its site increases.Using a service provider’s shared or dedicated hosting services instead of building an in-house server or using a co-location service means that the staffing burden shifts from the company to the Web host.


Web Hosting Choices


Operating Systems for Web Servers

Hardware decisions go hand in hand with operating system and application server software choices.Companies should consider:

Speed – A fast server is better than a slower one Internal and external traffic to occur on the serverScalability of the server hardware


Test Reports on Various Web Servers (Mindcraft.com)


Building a Scalable E-commerce Systems

Three layers in E-commerce systems:Web server layerMiddle-tier layerBackend layer

An application server is a middle-tier software and hardware combination that lies between the Internet and a corporate backend server.


Web Server Performance Evaluation

Benchmarking is a form of testing used to compare the performance of hardware and software.Hardware and operating systems are key areas for benchmarking.The speed of its connection can affect a Web server’s performance.Throughput and response time can be used to measure a server’s Web page delivery capability.


Web Server Benchmark Software

Web server benchmark software types are listed below:

NetBenchServerBenchSPEC SFS97SPECweb99WCATWebBenchWebStone


Desirable Features of Web Servers

Web servers are located on the Internet or intranets, usually behind firewalls.The duties and features of Web servers differ depending on whether they are publicly accessible.Web server software features depend on the software package being used.


Core Capabilities

The most fundamental duty of a Web server is to process and respond to Web client requests that are sent using the HTTP protocol.For dynamic pages, the server uses an architecture with three or more tiers that invokes other programs.


Indexing and Searching

Search engine and indexing programs are important elements of many Web servers.Search engines, or search tools, search either a specific site or the entire Web for requested documents.An indexing program can provide full-text indexing that generates an index for all documents stored on a server.


Data Analysis

Web servers can capture visitor information, including data about who is visiting a Web site, how long the visitor’s Web browser viewed the site, the date and time of each visit, and which pages were displayed.Two of the most popular Web log file analysis programs are the Analog Web server log file analyzer and the WebTrends Web server log file analyzer.


Data Analysis


Site Management Tools

FrontPage has some site management capabilities.HomeSite is a site management tool that validates graphic, computes page-download times for modem connection, validates links, and validates HTML codes.


Site Management Tools

Application construction uses Web editors and extensions to produce Web pages.Some Web development systems provide simple tools to create Web pages.Some tools can be used to create dynamic features without the need to know CGI or use API coding.


Link CheckingA link checking examines each page on the site and reports on any URLs that are broken, that seem to be broken, or that are in some way incorrect.An orphan file is a file on a Web site that is not linked to any page.Other important site management features include scripts checking an HTML validation.A dead link, when clicked, displays an error message rather than a Web page.


Link Checking

Free link-checking and Web site validation programs, such as Elsop Linkscan, can be launched by entering the address of a Web site’s home page and checking a few boxes.Commercial site checkers, such as Big Brother software from Watchfire, produce more comprehensive results and more detailed site analyses than do the free products.


Link Checking


Remote Server Administration

With remote server administration, a Web site administration can control a Web site from any Internet-connected computer.Although all Web sites provide administrative controls, it is convenient for an administrator to be able to fix the server from wherever he or she happens to be.


Remote Server Administration Tool


Dynamic Content

Dynamic content is nonstatic information constructed in response to a Web client’s request.Using Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC), the Web server can assemble information from disparate database systems.Active server pages (ASP) is a server-side scripting mechanism to build dynamics sites and Web applications.


Dynamic ContentMost Web sites today provide dynamic Web pages using an approach called server-side scripting.In server-side scripting, programs running on the Web server create Web pages before sending them back to the requesting Web clients as parts of response messages.Microsoft uses Active server pages (ASP).Sun uses Java server pages (JSP).Apache developed Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP).


Web Server Software

There are two distinct Web servers in the market: intranet servers and public Web servers.Three of the most popular Web server programs are:

Apache HTTP ServerMicrosoft Internet Information ServeriPlanet (Netscape) Enterprise Server


Apache HTTP Server

The Apache HTTP Server is free and performs efficiently.Apache runs on many operating systems and the hardware that supports them.Apache has a built-in search engine and HTML authoring tools and supports FTP.


Apache HTTP Server

Apache can be managed from either a server console or a Web server.Apache supports Server Side Includes (SSI), Active server pages and Java Servlets.


Apache HTTP Server


Microsoft Internet Information Server

IIS comes bundled with Microsoft’s Windows NT Server and 2000 Server operating systems.IIS includes an integrated search engine.IIS supports FTP, permits administration from a remote browser.IIS combines HTML pages, ActiveX components, and scripts to produce dynamic pages.


Microsoft Internet Information Server


iPlanet Enterprise Server (Netscape)

The iPlanet enterprise server runs on such operating systems as AIX, Digital UNIX, HP-UX, Irix, Solaris, and Windows NT.iPlanet Web server provides a powerful development environment that supports development of Web-based applications that can run on the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet.iPlanet Web server’s management tools allow administrators to manage users and monitor server activity interactively.


iPlanet Enterprise Server


Sun One Software Page


Sun ONE Web ServerSun ONE Web Server

Build multiplatform,e-commerce web application, Java Servlet and Java Server Pages

Sun ONE Active Server PageDeploy Web site and Application based on Active Server Page (ASP) using the Apache, Sun ONE and Zeus Web servers

Sun ONE Web Proxy ServerActs as a traffic network manager by collecting data from the network, determining where the data should be routed, and distributing it appropriately


Determining Web Server Hardware and Software Information

You can determine the type of hardware and software most Web sites are running by visiting Netcraft.Netcraft software examines the designated Web site and returns both the Web server hardware and software information.


Determining Web Server Hardware and Software Information


Server Architectures and Server Utilities

Companies that operate more than one Web server must decide how to configure their servers to provide site visitors with the best service possible.The different ways that servers can be connected to each other and to related hardware, such as routers and switches, is called server architecture.


Web Server Architectures

Large electronic commerce Web sites must deliver millions of individual Web pages every day.They must also process thousands of customer and vendor transactions each day.The large collection of servers that these sites have are called server farms.


Web Server Architectures

One approach to Web server architecture is called a centralized architecture, which uses a few very large and very fast computers.Another approach is a decentralized architecture, which uses a large number of servers.Most large decentralized sites use load-balancing systems.


Load-Balancing SystemsA load-balancing switch is a piece of network hardware that monitors the workloads of the servers attached it and assigns incoming Web traffic to the server that has the most available capacity.In a simple load-balancing system, the traffic that enters the site from the Internet, encounters the load-balancing switch, which then directs the traffic to the Web server best able to handle the traffic.


Load-Balancing System Architecture


Complex Load-Balancing


Search Engines

A search engine is a special kind of Web page software that finds other Web pages that match a word or phrase you entered.A Web directory is a listing of hyperlinks to Web pages that is organized into hierarchical categories.Search engines contain three major parts: spider, index, and utility.


Intelligent AgentsSoftware agents have been in use for a number of years.An intelligent agent is a program that performs functions, such as information gathering, information filtering, or mediation running, in the background on behalf of a person or entity.Research reveals that software agents will become extremely important in the electronic commerce field sooner than later.


Intelligent Agents

Because software agents are always running in the background they can help reduce the workload that people normally take on in locating, thinking about, negotiating, and purchasing goods and services.Examples of agent systems include Best Web and MySimon.

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