Although it's still in it's Beta phase, the Alpha Five Web Application Server looks like it's going to be a tremendous product!

With help from the genius behind it, Lenny Forziati, I used it to create the Reader Survey (see New Technical Support Option in this issue).  To sum it up, it's basically Alpha Five combined with a web page. The web page has traditional HTML code, plus Xbasic code.

Lenny wrote a tutorial that took me through the process to create a sample page (the HTML form you see when registering to download the Beta), and I tried it on my own computer, and it worked!!  So, I modified the code and appearance, and came up with the survey.

In order to use the Web Application Server beta version successfully, you have to know how to write Xbasic (the final version will have genies to help with that) to do things such as opening a table, starting a new record, and inserting values into fields.  You also need to be familiar with HTML.¹  Finally, you need to do a few very simple things to set it up.

As a testament to how easy it is, I downloaded the Beta on Tuesday, and had the sample running the next day.  I finished the survey (which meant designing a new table, plus editing the HTML in the sample web page, and editing the script in that page) by Friday.

For those of you that might ask, "This sounds nice, but what can we use it for?", here are some examples (I'm sure there are many more potential applications):

•	Allow customers to check the status of an order that goes through several stages; you could also show prices and availability of parts.
•	Provide pre-registration for an event; allow potential members to submit inquiries (after which you can follow up with more info that might entice them to join).
•	Let customers find out if a rental item (video, car, tool) is available; let them check for available appointments (dental, repair, personal grooming), and even make a reservation for a given time slot.

Think of the Web Application Server as a way to allow people to access and/or manipulate your data or that of your customer) from different locations, without requiring them to use a specific program.  In other words, they get on the Internet, go to your site, and work with the form they see (which is the HTML page you created) on the screen.

I'm sure that, in the coming months, there will be lots more to tell you about this great product.  So stay tuned - we'll keep you informed.