Michael S. Hansen, Kristoffer W. Larsen, Jens Dorup
Section for Health Informatics, University of Aarhus, Denmark

ABSTRACT:

Most web based educational resources available today are based on server side technology for generating web pages with dynamic contents. There are several ways to implement such solutions and choosing the right one is often difficult for the inexperienced programmer or educator.

The present project presents a resource for educators who want to create data-driven web applications. A standardized test application, including components essential for educational applications, was defined and implemented with four different server-side scripting languages (Perl, ColdFusion, PHP and Active Server Pages). ColdFusion and ASP solutions were implemented on a Windows based server while Perl and PHP were implemented on a server running a free open source operating system (Linux). Experience and test results from using the four methods were collected to form a resource for others. The following components were included: a) instructions for setting up servers, b) instructions for installing necessary components on the server, c) tutorials with sample code, d) evaluation of the usability of each solution, e) preliminary performance comparison through load testing.

Our results show that data-driven web applications can be implemented using free, open source software as well as with commercial products. With the instructions collected in this project, educators, and developers should be able to establish a web-server for delivering dynamic web pages for educational purposes. The resource will be made available on the URL: http://www.intermed.dk/datadriven. Fellow educators and programmers are encouraged to contribute. In the future we hope to provide tutorials in a wider variety of programming languages.

Educators who want to get started with data-driven web pages will get an introduction to using this resource. Educators and programmers who are already experts in this field will be encouraged to contribute to the resource in the sharing spirit of Slice of Life. Users of one of the technologies will be able to compare advantages and disadvantages of one technology with the others.

Michael Schacht Hansen
Section for Health Informatics
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Aarhus
Denmark
Phone: +45 89426123
Email: msh@hi.au.dk

CO-AUTHORS:

Kristoffer W. Larsen
Jens Dorup
Section for Health Informatics
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Aarhus
Denmark
Phone: +45 89426123
Email: medicinmanden@dadlnet.dk
jd@hi.au.dk