Home > Fluid Dynamics Search Engine > Help > 1171

Using FDSE to search a database or database-driven content

From time to time, people inquire about using FDSE as the primary search engine for a database or for database-driven content.

FDSE is not the right tool for this job.

For managing databases or database-driven content, it is best to create a custom, integrated web application that supports data entry, data display, searching and browsing. Such a custom application will cost a little more up front, but it is worth it.

Because each database is different, there are rarely pre-built applications that you can use. However, there is always a chance that someone has created a special-case product and mass-marketed it. You could check www.cgi-resources.com for such a product. It is less expensive and faster to buy a pre-built application, and they usually run better too.

Another way to keep costs down and to quickly get your hands on proven code is to talk to websites that already have something similar. You could ask to license their code, or ask for a referral to their developer.

Note that I am not available for any custom coding projects. This help file exists only to warn users away from using FDSE to search highly structured database-driven content.

    "Using FDSE to search a database or database-driven content"