Thursday, September 6, 2007
Everyday we get calls from staffing companies asking about web based systems. My response is always "Why web based?" Most often, the caller does not have a firm answer. Typical responses are "Isn't that what everybody's doing?" or "I don't want to make a large investment" or "I don't want to be responsible for my own network." This underscores the general misunderstanding of the platform, and what its relative strengths and weaknesses happen to be. When choosing a staffing software system it's important to understand how the system is going to be used and to select a platform that will deliver the best and most cost efficient results. The following is a discussion of some of the main benefits that web based systems tout, some of the compromises one has to live with in order to use them and a review of the principal alternative.
Web based systems can be run from anywhere that has access to the internet.
This is true, but it is not the exclusive domain of web based systems. Pretty much any system can be run using the internet as a connection conduit. Microsoft has included a capability in their Windows operating system called Terminal Services that enables users to access applications on the Windows network via the internet. Conclusion: No clear cut advantage.
I won't have to maintain my own network.
This is only true if every user has a personal internet connection. In most offices, many users connect to the same line. In order for everyone to access the shared resource, a network must exist. Most likely they will need file sharing, e-mail and print services locally. Therefore, some network administration will be required. Firewalls, virus protection and some kind of local expertise are crucial. Most importantly, a back-up routine is still required. Conclusion: No advantage. You still have to do all the network admin stuff anyway. In addition, there's someone between you and your most valuable asset (your data). Should a dispute ever arise, someone would be in position to cut your company off from its life's blood.
The user interface is easier to learn since it's like a web page.
With any system the designer has to create the methods and workflows. They will be forced to use conventions, abbreviations, icons and other devices as they attempt to get the most functionality per inch of screen space possible. The user will still have to learn how the system works and get used to its specific rhythms. And while it is true that many people are familiar with how to navigate web pages, the same can be said of Windows applications. In fact, Windows programs generally adhere more rigorously to a set of standards than web based programs tend to. Conclusion: No advantage. There will still be a learning curve and a training requirement to effectively use these softwares.
What they're not telling you:
Web based systems run through a web browser. This means that the user interface is constrained by the limits of the browser itself. The browser will limit the number of records that can be open at a time, will force more data integrity responsibility on the user and often experience long repainting delays.Web based systems, or just about any system delivered through an ASP are significantly more expensive. This is a classic rent vs. buy decision. If your company has 10 system users and you have to pay $199 per month per user, that's a $1,990 per month outlay. This is the equivalent of purchasing a $60,000 system (based on a 36 month, $1 buyout lease). There aren't many systems that charge $6,000 per user. This is exorbitantly expensive.The best alternative:
This is easy. Windows based (client/server) systems answer all of the questions raised above. These systems can be delivered to diverse and remote users via the web; run on the same basic network (with the addition of SQL Server) that satisfies the rest of our needs; have exceeding rich user interfaces – generally offering many more features; are easy to learn and usually out perform systems running through a web browser. They also provide a much more bang for the buck. Having your database in your office isn't necessarily bad, as it remains under your control. What's more, these systems are generally more mature and therefore offer a far greater range of features and are typically more stable. All this translates into a better, more cost effective computing experience for your company. After all, you're not in this to support the technology; you expect the technology to support you.
More about Column- and Table Constraints
If a constraint is de~ned within the create table command or added using the alter table command, the constraint is automatically enabled. A constraint can be disabled using the command
alter table disable
constraint j primary key j unique[] [cascade];
To disable a primary key, one must disable all foreign key constraints that depend on this primary key. The clause cascade automatically disables foreign key constraints that depend on the (disabled) primary key.
Example: Disable the primary key of the table DEPT and disable the foreign key constraint in the table EMP:
alter table DEPT disable primary key cascade;
In order to enable an integrity constraint, the clause enable is used instead of disable. A constraint can only be enabled successfully if no tuple in the table violates the constraint. Otherwise an error message is displayed. Note that for enabling/disabling an integrity constraint it is important that you have named the constraints.
In order to identify those tuples that violate an integrity constraint whose activation failed, one can use the clause exceptions into EXCEPTIONS with the alter table statement. EXCEPTIONS is a table that stores information about violating tuples.3 Each tuple in this table is identi~ed by the attribute ROWID. Every tuple in a database has a pseudo-column ROWID that is used to identify tuples. Besides the rowid, the name of the table, the table owner as well as the name of the violated constraint are stored.
Example: Assume we want to add an integrity constraint to our table EMP which requires that each manager must earn more than 4000:
alter table EMP add constraint managersal
check(JOB != 'MANAGER' or SAL >= 4000) exceptions into EXCEPTIONS;
If the table EMP already contains tuples that violate the constraint, the constraint cannot be activated and information about violating tuples is automatically inserted into the table
EXCEPTIONS.
Detailed information about the violating tuples can be obtained by joining the tables EMP and EXCEPTIONS, based on the join attribute ROWID:
select EMP.~, CONSTRAINT from EMP, EXCEPTIONS where EMP.ROWID = EXCEPTIONS.ROWID;
3Before this table can be used, it must be created using the SQL script utlexcept.sql which can be found in the directory $ORACLEHOME/rdbms/admin.
Tuples contained in the query result now can be modi~ed (e.g., by increasing the salary of managers) such that adding the constraint can be performed successfully. Note that it is important to delete old" violations from the relation EXCEPTIONS before it is used again.
If a table is used as a reference of a foreign key, this table can only be dropped using the command drop table cascade constraints;. All other database objects that refer to this table (e.g., triggers, see Section 5.2) remain in the database system, but they are not valid.
Information about integrity constraints, their status (enabled, disabled) etc. is stored in the data dictionary, more precisely, in the tables USERCONSTRAINTS and USERCONSCONSTRAINTS.
We're talking about your business
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YOUR NAME
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