The project presented in this chapter creates an online bookstore that allows users to conduct a search of its inventory of book titles and make a purchase. This project uses the Internet Database Connector (IDC) to create a search engine that allows users to search for a book by subject, title, or author. Selections are returned to the user in a tabular format, and the user is also offered the option to order books online. Books that have special prices associated with them are marked with a unique image designating them as "special" purchases.
Because this project is intended to be a complete online solution, you will need to be familiar with Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Windows NT networks in general, and Microsoft Windows 95. We assume that you will be constructing the necessary files directly on the Windows NT server. However, it is possible to construct them on a computer with Windows 95 and then transfer them to a Windows NT server for final configuration and testing.