Database-Driven

Database-Driven web pages are, as the name implies, connected to databases. They are programmed to retrieve organized information from a database (think: computerized filing cabinet) somewhere in hyperspace and display the most current data to the viewer on a webpage. It's like magic. Never rebuild a page again. Ha-Ha. But, seriously Database-Driven web pages do offer a lot of benefits.

Databases are used for e-commerce and shopping, online banking, auction websites, and online libraries of reference materials. Database driven websites offer changing content (or data) that is pulled from the databases they're connected to.

Database Driven websites are different from standard "static" websites because standard website pages always show the same content on each page (unless a page is changed or rewritten by the programmer). The content is included into the coding, and the page displays the same stuff every time it's loaded.

Database driven pages, on the other hand, are changeable. Depending on what a viewer selects, a single page can display different types of information. And, because it's dynamic, changes and additions to the data are automatically incorporated into the Database-Driven Web Page.

Think of an online banking website. Your account information is pulled from a database and displayed on the "Account Information" template. Nobody built a special webpage just for your account information. You have the same page as millions of other bank customers, yet it shows your individual information. And every time you make a purchase or a deposit, it automatically updates. The bank doesn't need to employ millions of coders to constantly update all their customers' banking information.

Database Driven web pages can display the latest information because they are programmed to pull select pieces of organized information from an ever-changing database (such as a list of products, your most recent bank account activity, or the bidding history on an item for sale at an online auction). This updated data is automatically flowed into the webpage layout and displayed for the viewer.

So, if you're searching a clothing website and click on "Men's Shirts," the applicable products in that category will come up on the screen.

The database is easily changed, reorganized, and added to (it's "dynamic"). So, if one shirt is sold out on a company's website, a note will automatically appear saying this item has been sold out. A human employee of the company doesn't need to keep checking the inventory of each item; the database will automatically update and show the correct information. And when customers want to place an order on an item, the database will automatically display the number of items currently available

Database-Driven Websites are the most common type of dynamic web pages or dynamic websites.