PERFECT "TABLE MANNERS" - MAKING SURE YOUR DATA IS CORRECT

Posted 11/16/05

EXTERNAL LINK FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC: http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC061183261033

So you want a website that is easy to manage, update, and actually communicates the correct information? You will need to use some of the very powerful "dynamic" web page technologies that allow you to display, input, and update information from a database. Some web technologies are easier than others, but they all need one thing: the right data in that database.

A database can be anything from a simple line of text and numbers to a gargantuan beast of a program running on multiple servers across the world -- e.g. a major airlines reservations database. We use a database which can be purchased inexpensively through TechSoup's non-profit program - Microsoft Access.

Access is a smaller-scale "relational" database. A "relational" database creates relations between segments of data, or tables, which, when used correctly, helps to eliminate errors and inconsistencies.

By redesigning our database structure and properly hooking it up to our web pages, we have been able to add some functionality to our web pages, including making sure you find all the Centers you were looking for in each state or region on our main Directory search page.

Think of a simple database like an Excel spreadsheet. Maybe you have data like this in there:

First Name	Last Name	Center	State
Michael	Fouquette	The Center OC	CA
Terry	Stone	Center Orange County	California
Delores	Jacobs	The Center San Diego	CA

Michael and Terry work in the same place, right? Wrong. They don't even work in the same state, really. When a computer looks at raw data, "The Center OC" and "Center Orange County" are two very different things - they don't even have the same number of letters, how could they be the same to a computer? This is where a relational database comes in.

A relational database builds relationships between tables and uses important "keys" (usually just a special type of number) to represent those relationships. Here's how that looks:

First, make a table (like an excel sheet) that holds information about the different centers:

Centers Table
Center ID	Name	City	State
100	The Center Orange County	Garden Grove	CA
101	The LA Gay and Lesbian Center	Los Angeles	CA
102	The Center San Diego	San Diego	CA
...	...	...	...

Next, create a table of employee's names and relate them to the appropriate center:

Employees Table
First Name	Last Name	Center ID
Michael	Fouquette	100
Terry	Stone	100
Delores	Jacobs	102
Lorri	Jean	101

Now, when you need to look up the name of the Center where Michael or Terry work, you find "The Center Orange County." The time you save in typing alone can be worth using a relational database!

I fear this has gone to the geeky side, so I refer you now to a decent resource for managing your data tables in MS Access: http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC061183261033

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