Mitrol : Solutions : Internet gateway

Internet gateway

Following the growing interest in Intranet and Internet technology, Teamco is developing solutions to open Mitrol to the Internet.

The strategy is two folds :

First, an Internet Gateway was developed that allows access to Mitrol database content from HTML pages using batch transactions and pseudo-HTML tags using the Mitrol2000 Client/Server technology.
Second, the porting of Mitrol interactive transaction handling from Windows-based Systems to Java-based Systems. This will result in the development of a Java applet capable to use files created with Mitrol Visual Screen Designer (VSD). Therefore all the work invested in the creation of screens can be used either as a Windows program or as an Intranet/Internet applet embedded in HTML pages. These Intranet/Internet solutions heavily depend on the Mitrol2000 Client/Server architecture. Therefore, its development is closely tied to the evolution of the Mitrol2000 Client/Server. Consequently, the second step will be completed once VSD is operational. As soon as the Windows-based solution is proving stable enough in beta test, further developments will provide Java-based systems with access to Mitrol databases.

Today the Mitrol Internet Gateway relies on batch transactions, which can be created manually using batch handler extension or visually, using Mitrol Visual Dupd Editor extension. Provided that a batch transaction is defined and saved in Mitrol Studio, it can be made available to the Mitrol Internet Gateway, which behaves as a client of the Client/Server architecture. Available in the form of an ISAPI DLL, Mitrol Internet Gateway is only compatible for Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Future developments will be undertaken to provide for an NSAPI DLL, compatible with Netscape Server.

Once installed on IIS, Mitrol Internet Gateway must be properly setup to communicate with the Mitrol File Server containing batch transactions for use in HTML Template pages. These HTML template pages consist of conventional HTML pages, to which Mitrol-specific tags are added to perform specific tasks such as submitting a transaction, collecting data in a Hierarchical Data Container (a data structure that allows easy storage and disposal of data output) and disposing of the data collected. Contrary to SQL-specific solutions, which are bound to a relational view of database management, the Mitrol Internet Gateway offers Mitrol users a full support of the hierarchical output produced by multiple FOR-clause transactions. The Hierarchical Data Container together with Mitrol pseudo-HTML tags allows easy access to hierarchical data output.

Still in its first Release, Mitrol Internet Gateway already offers the core functionality to provide Intranet or Internet sites with dynamic content using Mitrol databases. In future releases, data retrieval and input will be made even simpler with the addition of tools to visually populate HTML pages with the Mitrol-specific tags. This will allow Mitrol Database Administrator or Webmasters to faster produce and check dynamic pages.

DBMS ACCESS