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Partner TechTip: Moving Web Development In-House

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You'd like to have your staff build and maintain your Web site, but where are they going to learn the necessary skills?

 

Suppose you decide to buy a new widget. If you are like most people, the first thing you will do is to look up "widgets" on the Web. The harsh reality of today's marketplace is that, if a company is not on the Web, it does not exist to most potential customers. As a result, it is now almost impossible to find an organization that does not have at least a basic Web presence.

 

Many small and medium-sized businesses established their first Web presence by using an outside Web development service. The competition among vendors means that it is relatively cheap to create a simple site that provides basic information about your organization. In most industries, however, a basic Web site is no longer satisfactory. Customers want to be able to order products online, check inventories and delivery dates, choose options, receive support, and perform all the other tasks that they used to perform in brick-and-mortar stores.

 

Supporting such user services requires that an organization integrate its Web site with its production server. Product queries will need access to the database. Shipping and pricing queries might need business logic that's already available in existing applications. Organizations that decide to implement such Web applications are faced with a quandary. Should they continue to use outside Web developers, who know nothing about their existing applications, or bring the Web development job in-house? And, if they decide to bring the job in-house, should they hire experienced Web developers or train their existing developers in Web technologies?

 

There are no simple answers to these questions. Each organization must find the solution that best meets its own requirements and capabilities. Factors to be considered include the following:

 

  • Do you have developers with the time and ability to learn new technologies?
  • Do you have access to copy writers, artists, and graphic designers to develop the contents of the Web site?
  • Does your current system have the capacity to take on the extra work?
  • Do you have an experienced administrator who can perform the network security and capacity-planning tasks involved in setting up a Web server?

 

The good news is that it is quite possible to host a complex Web site using the IBM HTTP Server for i (powered by Apache), which comes with IBM i. This server can be used to invoke server-side programs written in RPG, COBOL, C, CL, or REXX. It also supports PHP and Net.Data. If you prefer Java, you can use the Integrated Application Server, which is also a free component of IBM i.

 

Given that you already have the hardware and software needed to support a Web site, how do you bring your staff up to speed? At the very least, Web development requires a working knowledge of HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript. Assuming that your programmers already know some language, like RPG, they need to learn how to receive data from the HTTP server and return data in the form of HTML pages. This involves the use of APIs that implement the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Alternatively, the interface between the HTTP server and your production applications can be handled using a server-side scripting language such as PHP.  For more dynamic, user-friendly Web pages, AJAX programming techniques are also recommended.

 

One place to get the training required is from Manta Technologies Inc. The training your staff needs is offered in two forms:

  • If you prefer instructor-led sessions, the Web Development Bootcamp is an intense, four-day workshop that covers HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and AJAX programming. It also covers how to set up the IBM HTTP Server for i.
  • If you would prefer to train employees in-house on their own schedules, I recommend using MantaNow, the Web-based training delivery system. The Manta Web Development Combination Pack covers everything in the workshop. It also includes related courses on TCP/IP, SQL, RDP/RDi/WDSc, and Java. 

 

In either case, the Manta courses can provide your staff with the skills they need to create a dynamic Web site and to run it using the IBM HTTP Server for i (powered by Apache). Need proof? Check out www.mantatech.com, the Web site that was developed using the skills taught in these courses.

as/400, os/400, iseries, system i, i5/os, ibm i, power systems, 6.1, 7.1, V7,

 

BILL HANSEN

Throughout his career, William A. Hansen, Ph.D., has rarely been able to do only one thing at a time. While a math graduate student at Northwestern, he also worked full time as a computer operator, making him the only algebraic topologist capable of running a System/360. His 1974 Ph.D. thesis, "A Computer Calculation of the Homology of the Lambda Algebra," applied Fortran to an algebra problem. This mixed background led to a college appointment teaching both mathematics and computer science.

 

Dr. Hansen was an early advocate of multimedia training, spending his free time developing MVS operator courses that used text, video, audio, and scripted lab sessions. The freedom to devote weeks of time to perfect an hour of self-study training led to a permanent position with Deltak, Inc., one of the first companies to produce media-based courses for computer professionals. At Deltak, Bill established the job of quality assurance manager while also serving as the product manager for all operating system courses. His interest in applying educational technologies to computer training led to dozens of magazine articles and the creation (with Auerbach Publishers) of DP Training, the first subscription publication devoted to the art of training computer professionals.

 

Bill founded Hansen Training Systems, Inc. in 1980. HTS specializes in media-based training for IBM midrange and mainframe systems. HTS has been a leader in the use of personal computers to simulate larger systems since its first CBT course in 1985. Bill's courses have included simulators of MVS, JES2, VM, VSE, the ES/900 hardware console, and OS/400 (now IBM i). With his business partner, John Todd, Bill designed EasyTutor, a PC-based authoring system that includes native facilities for the simulation of both green-screen and GUI applications. Seeing the benefits of EasyTutor for AS/400 training, Bill and John founded Manta in 1994. Manta's 120 courses push Bill's lifetime total to over 300 courses that he has written, designed, edited, and/or updated.

 

Bill is the current Education Manager for COMMON, the Power Systems users' group. He and his wife, Sandy, have four children and four grandchildren, who enjoy watching him feed the sharks, eels, and rays in his position as a volunteer diver at the Denver Aquarium.

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