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Databases
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Introduction
Databases are an important tool for managing information, keeping track of contacts and projects, sharing information with remote users, and even automating the updating of your web site. The resources listed below should assist you in choosing a database system and planning a structure which meets your organization's needs.
A good starting point is TechSoup's Database Page, which offers articles, case studies and worksheets on databases for not-for-profits. If you are planning to develop a database-driven web site, the ItrainOnline section on Web Programming includes additional resources to help you.
Database planning guide
Developed by: CompuMentor
Type of resource: MS Word document
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
This guide from CompuMentor is designed to help small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations develop a database plan and purchase or build a database that meets their needs. The guide includes planning worksheets and tools for evaluating different database products.
Dhttp://www.techsoup.org/products/downdetails.cfm?d
ownloadid=67
Free Access Tutorial
Developed by: BrainBell
Type of resource: web guide
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
This series of nine web-based tutorials covers the basics of using Microsoft Access, including understanding what a database is, developing queries, working with forms and formulating reports and macros. Each tutorial covers a series of specific topics and ends with a review of content and a quiz to test your knowledge. Though there is no download option or printer-friendly version, the tutorial´s clear writing makes the clicking worthwhile.
Dhttp://www.brainbell.com/tutorials/ms-office/Acces
s_2003/
Introduction to Databases and MS Access
Developed by: APC
Type of resource: MS Word files
Target audience: General, Trainers
Cost: Free access
This workshop kit for trainers includes an introduction to databases and MS Access. Part of the Multimedia Training Kit.
Dhttp://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/mmtk/data
bases.shtml
OpenICDL
Developed by: Go-Open Campaign / ICDL Foundation Africa
Type of resource: Web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
"OpenICDL is an open source project that aims to develop and maintain a Free/Open Source version of the training materials used to ready students for the International Computer Driving License certification.\" Materials cover Basic Concepts of IT, Using a Computer and Managing Files (K Desktop Environment), Word Processing (OpenOffice.org Writer), Spreadsheets (OpenOffice.org Calc), Databases (OpenOffice DB), Presentations (OpenOffice.org Impress) and Information and Communications (Mozilla 1.4 and Ximian Evolution 1.4). Materials are available in HTML and PDF versions.
Dhttp://icdl.tsf.org.za/courseware.html
A review of open source content management systems
Developed by: Open Advantage / Elliot Smith
Type of resource: web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
Open Advantage's Elliot Smith evaluated six content management systems (Drupal, Exponent CMS, Lenya, Mambo, Plone and Silva) at length. Rather than comparing features for each system, he opted to take a web developer's point of view and examined system flexibility from four vantage points: the default installation capabilities and features; additional features available and ease of installation for such features; template flexibility allowing for easy changes in the look and feel of a site; and "elegant" code - code that may have design patterns for future modular development and is well-commented. The resulting evaluations are quite detailed, and readers will have a clear view of capabilities, which CMS is suited for which "type" of site, and a contrasting of strengths and weaknesses of the different systems.
Dhttp://www.openadvantage.org/articles/oadocument.2
005-04-19.0329097790
20 Point CMS Test
Developed by: Open Advantage / Elliot Smith
Type of resource: web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
This test was developed by Elliot Smith of Open Advantage in order to carry out a systematic evaluation for content management systems. However, the 20 tasks laid out in the test are a useful resource on their own, because they allow website developers to consider different aspects of CMS flexibility, including areas that frequently are unexplored until the site grows: for example, how easy is it for users to self-register, the ability to restrict access to different information types, testing roll-back or reinstalls, easy construction and determination of within-site links, accessible event archiving, making printed versions from dynamic pages, and if site appearance can be changed via cascading style sheets. A useful tool for anyone contemplating an interactive website.
Dhttp://www.openadvantage.org/articles/oadocument.2
005-04-20.2420944763
Open Source CMS
Developed by: Open Source CMS
Type of resource: web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
As it states, this site encourages you "try before you install" by allowing administrator access to multiple PHP-based free and open source software content management systems, in their default installations. The long list of installations to choose from includes what the site terms as "portal" CMS such as Drupal, Joomla, Civic Space, PostNuke (and dozens more) as well as blogs, wikis, e-learning, e-commerce and group ware systems. To see which system best suits your needs, you can explore the look and feel of the CMS backend for two hours, before the systems are automatically reinstalled. The site includes forums for each CMS as well as FAQ's.
Dhttp://www.opensourcecms.com/
Planning a Database-Driven Web Site
Developed by: Tech Soup
Type of resource: website
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
This article offers the steps you need to follow to go from the idea of a database-driven Web site to actual design, development, and implementation, in step-by-step format.
Dhttp://www.techsoup.org/howto/articlepage.cfm?Arti
cleId=375&topicid=13
Commissioning an open source content management system
Developed by: Steve Cowie
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
Steve Cowie looks at key issues to take into account when adopting an open source content management system, and offers an overview of some of the most popular systems.
Dhttp://www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/commissionin
ganopensourcecms
Comparing Open Source CMSes: Joomla, Drupal and Plone
Developed by: idealware
Type of resource: Web article
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
"Open source content management systems can make creating and managing your website a lot easier - and there's no licensing fee involved. But which should you use? We look carefully at Joomla, Drupal, and Plone to compare their strengths and weaknesses."
Dhttp://www.idealware.org/articles/joomla_drupal_pl
one.php
Content Management Problems and Open Source Solutions
Developed by: Optaros
Type of resource: PDF
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
This white paper explores content management systems (CMS) available from the open source community to fulfill a variety of information scenarios: the online brochure, the news periodical, collaborative spaces, wikis, and online communities. The paper also examines support solutions and why one would want to chose an open source CMS. One big advantage of open source CMS is that the offer the opportunity to deliver tailored content management solutions without the high licensing or management fees associated with commercially-licensed or hosted software. This paper from Optaros White Papers and Reports, available in PDF format, provides an excellent basis for choosing the most appropriate CMS for your needs.
Dhttp://www.optaros.com/pdf/optaros_cmsReport_01220
6_sgg.pdf
Drupal
Developed by: Drupal
Type of resource: Software tool
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
Drupal is an open-source platform and content management system for building dynamic web sites offering a broad range of features and services including user administration, publishing workflow, discussion capabilities, news aggregation, metadata functionalities using controlled vocabularies and XML publishing for content sharing purposes.
Dhttp://drupal.org/project/drupal
How to Evaluate a Content Management System
Developed by: Step Two Designs / James Robertson
Type of resource: web site
Target audience: General
Cost: Free access
A comprehensive document from Step Two Designs detailing all angles of content management considerations: technical specifications, authoring needs, content management, publication and presentation, and more. The article does not suggest a particular CMS, and is written for organisations or businesses who might be hiring a developer or vendor for their specific CMS needs. It's objective is to help organisations assess CMS needs in a systematic way, before approaching vendors or adopting a system that will not grow with them, or does not prioritise the content creation needs.
Dhttp://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_evaluate/
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