Adobe Dreamweaver CC 2014 v.13 - Manual (Page 645)

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When the web server is running on your computer, you can replace the server name with localhost. For example, the following URLs open the
same page in a browser:
http://mer_noire/gamelan/soleil.html
http://localhost/gamelan/soleil.html
Note: .Another expression you can use instead of the server name or localhost is 127.0.0.1 (for example, http://127.0.0.1/gamelan/soleil.html).
Choosing a web server
To develop and test web applications, you can choose from a number of common web servers including Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
and Apache HTTP Server.
If you’re not using a web hosting service, choose a web server and install it on your local computer for development purposes. Windows and
Macintosh users who want to develop ColdFusion web applications can use the web server included in the developer edition of the ColdFusion 8
application server, which you can install and use for free.
Other Windows users can run a web server on their local computer by installing IIS. This web server may already be installed on your system.
Check your folder structure to see if it contains a C:\Inetpub or D:\Inetpub folder. IIS creates this folder during installation.
Mac OS users can use the local Apache web server installed with the operating system.
For information on installing and configuring other web servers, see the server vendor’s documentation or your system administrator.
Choosing an application server
An application server is software that helps a web server process dynamic pages. When choosing an application server, you should consider
several factors, including your budget, the server technology you want to use (ColdFusion, ASP, or PHP), and the type of web server.
Budget Some vendors sell high-end application servers that are expensive to buy and administer. Others vendors provide easier, more cost-
effective solutions (an example is ColdFusion). Some application servers are built into web servers (such as Microsoft IIS) and others can be
downloaded for free from the Internet (such as PHP).
Server technology Application servers use different technologies. Dreamweaver supports three server technologies: ColdFusion, ASP, and PHP.
The following table shows common application servers available for the server technologies supported by Dreamweaver:
Server technology Application server
ColdFusion Adobe ColdFusion 8
ASP Microsoft IIS
PHP PHP server
To learn more about ColdFusion, select ColdFusion Help from the Help menu.
To learn more about ASP, visit the Microsoft website at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-
us/dnanchor/html/activeservpages.asp .
To learn more about PHP, visit the PHP website at www.php.net/ .
Choosing a database
Databases come in many forms depending upon the amount and the complexity of the data they must store. When choosing a database, you
should consider several factors, including your budget and the number of users you anticipate will access the database.
Budget Some vendors produce high-end application database servers that are expensive to buy and administer. Others vendors provide easier,
more cost-effective solutions, such as Microsoft Access or the open-source database MySQL.
Users If you anticipate a large user community accessing the site, select a database designed to support your site’s intended user base. For
websites requiring greater flexibility in their data modeling, and the ability to support large, concurrent user communities, consider server-based
relational databases (typically referred to as RDBMS) like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.
Setting up a ColdFusion development environment
For detailed instructions on setting up a ColdFusion development environment for Dreamweaver on your Windows or Mac computer, see the
Adobe website at
www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/setup_cf.html .
Both Windows and Macintosh users can download and install a free, fully functional, developer edition of the ColdFusion application server from
the Adobe website at
www.adobe.com/go/coldfusion/ .
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