2. ASPRunnerPro General questions
  3. Server requirements... and more...
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Server requirements... and more...

 		3/30/2004 8:46:53 PM
ASPRunnerPro General questions
J
 Joao author

Greetings,
I just joined these forums to clarify a few things. I am looking at ASPRunner and considering it for a project. I need to publish my book collection list as an e-library sort of card file, and I am wondering if ASPR is the tool for the job... or if db2html is... Being a designer, not a programmer, I need some help here, and TIA for your time:

  1. My website is on a UNIX server. Is this OK for ASP, or is ASPR only for Windows based servers? Or the Windows requirements are only on the publisher side, and then, one can publish it to any server... (I said it might be dumb... but I have never messed up with ASP, so I am not sure and I am totally ignorant of this...)
  2. Is there a limit in the number of database records that ASPR can handle and publish? (right now, my personal library has close to 10,000 books in it... would this choke ASPR? If yes, any solutions?)
  3. I will be using FrontPage to publish the .shtml resulting pages to the website, and this will be under a sub-folder off the www/ root folder where the homepage is... is this OK? It may be a couple of levels deep... something like:
    /www/index.shtml

    /www/eLib/index.shtml

    /www/eLib/BKcardFiles/
    for example...
    Would this be OK?
  4. I see that you have a Standard and a Pro version of ASPRunner, and I may go for the Pro version, for the added functionality... it's, however, quite a bit of money (not saying it is not worth it!, just that it's an investment, for a personal hobby...) From the feedback I see, not only the product is good, but support reliable... Nevertheless (and supposing I buy it), what are the chances of one not being able to handle ASPR (Pro) and what are your return/refund policies?
  5. I see you offer a 21 day full enabled trial of your software. Does this mean after 21 days it disables itself, or it's a try-before-you-buy trust thing, and people are required to buy a license for use over the 21 day trial period? (Asking this because if after 21 days it disables itself, then I have to make sure I can afford the time to fully explore after I install... else, I will be burning away days of the trial period, as right now I cannot spend too much time on it...)
  6. Does ASPR handle equally well databases in any format, or are there any specific requirements/preferences?... My library is at this moment in Excel. Is this OK, or should I import it into Access, for example?
  7. I have MySQL on my server, but use it only when a CGI or PHP script needs it, and the script does what it takes to create any tables, etc... as I do not know how to do that... Would it be advisable for this job to maybe create a MySQL back-end to my library, or is this something ASPRunner does automatically? If not, what do you recommend? Is there a utility you would suggest I use to do this, prior or concomitantly to using ASPRunner to get the job done?... (Oh, I also have phpMyAdmin for MySQL installed on the site, in case that is relevant...)
    I guess this covers my dummy questions for now... And I hope I am not taking too much of your time. If most of these are dumb questions, please excuse the ignorance...
    I appreciate your help and look forward to reading your reply to my posting.
    Kind regards,
    Joao
Sergey Kornilov admin 3/30/2004

Joao,
First of all I would like to thank you for your interest in ASPRunner!
I'll try to answer some of your questions that are most important and relevant.
ASPRunner (ASPRunnerPro) creates a set of Active Server Pages (ASP) which run smoothly on any Windows-based Web server. There are some third party ASP software for Linux around (ChilliSoft ASP) however it's not 100% compatible and some features won't work.
There is no actual limitation on number of records ASP can handle.
Excel is not recommended as a database backend especially considering you have thousands of records. You will need to convert your database to Access or MySQL before using it. You need to convert your database manually (you can use import feature in MS Access).
ASPRunner is "try before you buy" software which means it's fully functional for 21 days. After 21 days trial period it stops working. You will need to purchase a license to unlock software.
I hope it sheds some light on your questions.
J
 		Joao author 3/31/2004

Hi Sergey,
Thanks for your speedy reply! Much appreciated.
From what you say, it seems that I am out of luck... and ASPRunner will be of use only to those using a Windows Server?...
Is ChilliSoft ASP a similar program, like ASPRunner, that allows to do the same as ASPR does, but publishes to UNIX servers, or something that sort of piggybacks on UNIX, to allow 'NIX servers to do the same as Windows does, with ASP?
Clear as to the 21 day trial period, and also, Access and MySQL being better choices than Excel.
Thanks.
Joao
Sergey Kornilov admin 3/31/2004

ChilliSoft ASP is a Unix-based server-side software that can be installed on your Web server. You can check with your hosting company if they have it installed.