Using FTP Server Access for Site Development with UltraDev

by Judy Fontanella

Part C - Creating a Recordset

Last month we set up our site and created a connection to our database. Now all that we have left is to create a recordset and display our dynamic data. A recordset is a collection of data that has been retrieved from the database. To create it, you will use an UltraDev dialog box that helps you compose a query. The query will tell the database what information you need. The database responds to the query by returning a recordset containing the data that you requested.

We will be creating a web site that lists links of interest to UltraDev users. People who visit this site will be able to click on a topic name and get a list of the sites associated with that topic. The list of topics will not be hard coded into the page. Instead, it will be generated from the Topics table. This will make it easier to expand the choice of topics later on. Adding a new topic to the list will be as simple as adding a new record to the Topics table.

These are the tables and fields that we will use for our application:

I have created a new Access database with these tables. You can download this links.mdb database file to use as you follow along with the tutorial. Follow the instructions in parts A and B of the tutorial to define your site and create a connection to the links database. Name your connection "connLinks."

Our minisite will consist of two ASP pages. On the first ASP page, the visitors will select a topic. We'll call this page "choose_topic.asp." On the second ASP page, they will see a list of sites that are associated with the topic they chose. We'll call this page, "see_sites.asp."

First ASP Page- choose_topics.asp

1. Start UltraDev and open a new page. Save it in your site folder as "choose_topics.asp". It's very important to save the file before you create a recordset.
    
2. Go to Window ->Data Bindings to bring up the Data Bindings Panel. Click the "+" in the upper left corner and select Recordset (Query).

3. The Recordset dialog box will open up. If your dialog box doesn't look like the one in the picture below, it means that you are in the Advanced mode. Click the Simple button to get to the dialog box pictured below. For this page, we want a list of all the site topics. Name the recordset rsTopics. For the connection, choose the connLinks connection that we set up for the links database.
    
   Now UltraDev will connect to the server, find the database and retrieve a list of tables and fields for us to choose from. Within a few seconds, you will see the table names appear in the Table: drop down menu. Choose the Topics table. The fields in the Topics table will appear under Columns:. We only need one field, TopicLabel, so click the Selected: button and then select TopicLabel. We want all of the records in this table, so we don't need to apply a filter. It would be nice to arrange the topic list alphabetically, however, so under Sort:, choose TopicLabel as the field to sort on, and leave the default, Ascending. You can click Test and then OK when you are satisfied with the result. You will see the rsTopics recordset appear in the Data Bindings panel.

4. Now it's time to put our dynamic data on the page. We want a list of topics that is generated by the data in our recordset. Drag the TopicLabel data source out of the Data Bindings panel on to the page where you would like the first topic to appear.

5. If you save and upload your file to the server, then visit it with your browser, you will see that you now have the first topic listed on the page. Cool. We actually have some dynamic data. However, we want ALL of the topics listed, not just one. Go back to UltraDev and select the entire paragraph that holds the {rsTopics.TopicLabel} data source. Click on the Server Behaviors tab and then the "+" sign. Choose Repeat Region.

6. The Repeat Region dialog box will look like the image below. Select the "All Records" option so that all of the topics will display on the same page.

7. Now when you save, upload and view your file with your browser, you will see the whole list of topics.

8. The last thing we have to do is to make our list of topics into links to the see_sites.asp page. Each topic link needs to carry a URL parameter that will inform the see_sites.asp page which topic the visitor has chosen. Go back to the choose_topics.asp page in the open UltraDev window. Select the {rsTopics.TopicLabel} data source in the document window. Click the browse folder icon in the Properties panel to open the Select File dialog box. Since we haven't created our see_sites.asp page, yet, we'll have to type that file name in the File Name: text box.

9. Click the Parameters button. Click the "+" to add a parameter. Name the parameter topic. The value is going to be the same as the topic label that the link is attached to. Under Value, click the lightening bolt to bring up a list of our Data Sources. Choose the TopicLabel field under the rsTopics recordset list. Click OK twice to complete the page.

10. Save, upload and test the page in your browser. You will see that each topic on the list is a link. Place your mouse over each link and observe the URL in the status bar of the browser window. Each link points to the see_sites.asp page, but the URL parameter changes for each topic to reflect the name of that topic. The ASP link says, "http://www.mysite.com/see_sites.asp?topic=ASP", the CSS link says, "http://www.mysite.com/see_sites.asp?topic=CSS", and so on. How exciting! Pat yourself on the back and let's go on to complete our last page, see_sites.asp.

Go on to the Second ASP Page

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