The FirstBase URL Management System (UMS) maintains information about Universal Resource Locators (URLs), also known as links. UMS provides a web interface for users to enter their own links, a web interface for administrators to browse and edit pending links, an extensive set of generated reference pages, and a search mechanism that provides separate pages of nicely formatted results.

Purchase UMS for $4995.

UMS consists of a Control database, a Category database, and a URL database. The Control database stores global information, like company name, font names and colors, and root directory name used for the generated links pages.

The Category database enumerates all of the Categories needed. This database is also used to generate a web support file of category names used in building forms where a Category is selected.

The URL database stores lots of information about links and URLs, including Site Name, Description, Email Address, City, State, Status, etc. These URL records can be created by anyone, and can be modified by using the Email Address, used at create time, as a password. In this manner the UMS system allows end users to maintain their own records of link information.

When a record is created or modified (by a non-administrator), many of the fields are examined for validity, like the URL itself, and the record is not added if any of the fields are invalid.

When a record is added or modified, UMS sets the Status of the record to Pending. Then, an administrator looks over the record, and changes the Status to either online or denied.

Only records that are online are used to generate the pseudo-static reference pages, and only online records are search-able using UMS search mechanisms.

In addition to data collection, the UMS system provides a web interface for database administration, allowing editing, correcting, and updating of URL records. From the admin screen, administrators can edit all pending records, all records from a selected category, or a single URL record.

A live use of the UMS system is available at Horseweb, along with the search mechanism and reference (link) pages, all generated by UMS.

This application uses the macro programming language from FirstBase. For example, here is FirstBase macro code that generates and populates a modify record form.

As mentioned, the UMS system also includes an HTML interface for some of the common administration tasks. For example, here is FirstBase macro code that generates an admin report that itself contains links that pop up single record edit sessions.

The FirstBase macro language can use a database to build forms, populate an HTML selection button, process and display a few lines from large text fields, verify fields, lock records, and much, much more.

Please feel free to try out the demonstration below, entering, modifying, and searching for URL records. The UMS application is included with FirstBase.

Jump to the Live Demonstration: URL Management System

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