| • Interactive
Database Site. At the risk of oversimplifying, let's start by
defining a database. At its root, a database is simply an organized
collection of information. Every business has one, in some form or
other. You have a customer database, a supplier database. If you're
shaking your head, pick up your yellow pages. It's a database.
Organized information, assembled in a fashion which makes it useful.
An interactive database site is one which collects information
input by the users or visitors of a site. This input
("data") is assembled automatically by the database engine
in a meaningful order. The information may serve a variety of
purposes: redirecting the visitor or customer to the most germaine
part of the site based on their personal information (e.g.:
educators through this portal, students over there); obtaining and
retaining "mission critical" information which is used by
the owner of the site to fulfill orders, answer requests and
questions, or provide a higher level of custom-tailored service to
the visitor.
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