|
|
|
|
This first section of this tutorial helps you create all the files and database tables needed for the application.
Before you start building this application, make sure you have a correctly configured Dreamweaver site and a working database connection. For more instructions regarding these actions, consult the Getting started help file, which can be found in Help -> InterAKT -> Getting Started.
Through the tutorial, you will have to create several files in your site's root. You can create them at the very beginning, so that you will not waste time with this operation again. To create files and folders in the site's root, use the corresponding options in the Files tab of the Files panel.
The file structure will look as in the example below and you can create
it easily by unpacking the zip file corresponding
to your server model from \tutorials\Orders Management\
in your site root:
The use of each file will be explained when building its content.
Besides the files and folders seen in the image above, the final application will contain some more, generated by Dreamweaver and MX Kollection. For example, the forgot_password and activate pages will be generated automatically by the user authentication system, while the connection folder is created by Dreamweaver.
After having created the files for your pages, it is time to set up the database that will hold the information to display. For this tutorial you will use several tables containing various data regarding the ads and users. The database structure is as displayed in the image below:
Note: The database diagram in the image above was built with MX Query Builder (also referred as QuB) to better illustrate the database structure. You do not need to build it in order to complete this tutorial.
Each table and column's importance will be detailed in what follows:
The user_usr table stores information regarding the user. Its fields are used for:
id_usr - primary key, provides the unique identifier for each record.
name_usr - the name and surname for each registered user.
password_usr - the password chosen at registration, stored encrypted.
active_usr - stores 1 or 0, to determine if the account was activated by the user. It is used to prevent creating fake accounts, as it uses the e-mail address to send the activation link.
level_usr - stores
the access level for users. For this application, only 2 user levels will
be defined:
0 - corresponds to regular shoppers.
1 - for site administrators.
randomkey_usr - stores a randomly generated key, used for account activation, to prevent activating other accounts.
email_usr - stores the user e-mail address. It is also used as the username.
address_usr - stores the user's address. This will be used as shipping and billing address.
The product_prd table stores information regarding the available products:
id_prd - primary key, uniquely identifies a product.
name_prd - the product denomination.
price_prd - the product price. The amount of money the user will have to pay for one unit of the item.
quantity_prd - the number of items available on stock. This decreases when users purchase items, and increases when new stock is received.
The status_sta table stores the possible states of an order:
id_sta - the status identifier.
name_sta - the status label (e.g. initiated, pending).
The order_ord table stores information that relates directly to an order:
id_ord -the order unique identifier.
idusr_ord - the identifier of the user that completed (or at least started the order).
date_ord - the date when the order was submitted.
idsta_ord - stores the order state, as a foreign key to the status_sta table.
sesid_ord - stores the session id in effect when the user started the order. It is a unique value, used to link the user's session to the order, and in the acknowledgement and delete order process, to avoid security issues (instead of passing the order ID, the session ID is passed. It is much more difficult to fake).
The order_product_orp table is a linking table for the order and product tables, replacing a many-to-many relation. It contains the following fields:
id_opr - the primary key and unique identifier.
idord_opr - stores the order identifier.
idprd_opr - stores the ID of the products added to the order.
quantity_opr - stores the ordered quantity of a certain product.
The scripts necessary to create this table structure are provided inside the downloaded package, in the \tutorials\Orders Management\db\ folder, as an sql or mdb file. Use the one that suits your particular database server. You can either create a new database or use an existing one, and import the contents of the scripts to create the table structure, together with the sample data: usernames and products.
The existing accounts are:
Username: John Doe; E-mail: johndoe@domain.org; password: root; active: yes; level: administrator.
Username: Jane; E-mail: jane@domain.org; password: root; active: yes; level: purchaser.
You can use these accounts to test the application, as you build it, without having to register your own account.
Once the database and files have been set up, you have to connect your
application to the database server. To do so, open the index
file of your new application and define a new Dreamweaver
connection. If using the files from the zip
package and a connection is already available, you will have to edit the
connection and provide your particular connection settings:
When all prerequisites for the site have been met, you can move on and start creating the site's pages.