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Q: What is a web server?
Q: Do I have to pay for a web server?
Q: What is an application server?
Q: Do I have to pay for an application server?
Q: What is J2EE?
Q: What is middleware?
Q: What is Java?
Q: Where do I start?
Q: What does it mean to host a web site in-house?
Q: Can I host my web site in-house (from my place of business)?
Q: What is an ISP?
Q: Does Impresa offer ISP (Internet Service Provider) services?
Q: Is Impresa an ISP (Internet Service Provider)?
Q: Can Impresa help me set up my e-mail server in-house too? If so, how much is the software?
Q: What is "web presence"?
Q: What are the benefits of placing your business on the web?
Q: Is placing your business on the web expensive?
Q: What is dynamic content?
Q: What is "Easy Webmastering Technology"?
Q: Is it hard to streamline your process into one application?
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Q: What is a web server?
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A: Every web site you visit has its web pages sent to you by a web server. Web servers are the unseen technology used to transport web pages from other computers anywhere in the world to your computer.
These web servers may be running on anything from a small personal computer to a powerful corporate system. Web servers form a major and critical part of the Internet.
When you are using a web browser it requests text and images that create a web page which are displayed on your computer screen. Common web browsers are Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Opera. These requests are sent over the Internet to computers running a web server. The web server software that runs on these computers receives the request sent from your browser, and sends back the files and data that
make up a page to display in your browser.
When requesting dynamic content such as product information, or when making purchases online, the computer that hosts the web server software also hosts an application server that runs web applications as a proxy to the web server to handle business transactions, taking the information output of these applications and sending it back to the browser. It is the web server software that provides the security technology that encrypts sensitive data like credit cards numbers, personal information, etc. common in many e-commerce transactions. These web applications are what Impresa specializes in developing.
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Q: Do I have to pay for a web server?
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A: No, Impresa uses Apache Web Server which is proven in it's stability. Apache web server is free of cost.
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Q: What is an application server?
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A: A webserver alone cannot run a software application. It needs an application server that it can delegate to. An application server is the software that runs the web applications that Impresa develops. An example of two of the finest application servers would be Tomcat or Jboss.
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Q: Do I have to pay for an application server?
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A: No, Impresa uses the Tomcat application server which is proven in it's stability. It integrates seamlessly with Apache web server and is free of cost. A combination of Apache and Tomcat can handle small businesses with low volume transactions to larger business with millions of transactions per day.
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Q: What is J2EE?
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A: J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) is a standard defined by Sun Microsystems for aiding in the developing of "middleware" (a custom developed software application running within an application server) that provide information for application front ends, such as JSPs, applets and Java applications. It is a seasoned and mature standard built on knowledge and experience gained over the years about middleware. This standard is followed by application servers such as Tomcat and Jboss.
The middleware that is developed to run on these application servers is written in a language also developed by Sun Microsystems called Java. Because of the complete API and stability of Java and J2EE, application development and deployment are rapid and cost effective. Impresa writes all of it's applications in Java and follows the J2EE standard.
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Q: What is middleware?
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A: Middleware is the software that runs within an application server and sits between the web server, the application server and a database of information. If you were to stack it up it up it would list out as:
As you can see, it is software that sits in the 'middle', thus 'middleware'. Impresa writes all of its middleware in a language called Java. Middleware modules can consist of servlets, Enterprise Java Beans or simple Java objects wrapped in transactions, etc.
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Q: What is Java?
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A: Java is an object-oriented programming language. It is efficently designed to allow rapid application development (RAD) to save time and money on projects.
To quote Sun Microsystems:
The JavaTM platform is based on the power of networks and the idea that the same software should run on many different kinds of computers, consumer gadgets, and other devices. Since its initial commercial release in 1995, Java technology has grown in popularity and usage
because of its true portability. The Java platform allows you to run the same Java application on lots of different kinds of computers.
Any Java application can easily be delivered over the Internet, or any network, without operating system or hardware platform compatibility issues. For example, you could run a Java technology based application on a PC, a Machintosh computer, a network computer, or even new technologies like Internet screen phones. Furthermore, the Java platform was designed to run programs securely on networks, which means that it integrates safely with the existing systems on your network.
You can read more about Java at Sun Microsystems' web site.
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Q: Where do I start?
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A: You can start on the trail of placing your business on the web and/or having it hosted in-house by requesting a free initial consultation with Impresa. Here we can answer questions or concerns you may have.
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Q: What does it mean to host a web site in-house?
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A: If your business is already on the web via a third party vendor, you already know what it means to out-source your web site. There are companies that will host your site on their premises for a fee. This can grow in expense depending on the services offered. Instead of out-sourcing your web site you can run your web site from your own business location on some fairly modest hardware at a low cost to eliminate out-sourcing costs, leases, monthly premiums, etc.
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Q: Can I host my web site in-house (from my place of business)?
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A: Yes. All you need is a DSL or cable connection from an ISP and then let Impresa design and develop a low cost in-house J2EE based web site for you.
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Q: What is an ISP?
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A: An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a company which provides a connection for companies or individuals who wish to access the internet. The fast and low-cost connections are usually cable or DSL connections. Once you have an internet connection, you can host your own web site right from your business. You can also browse the web from a desktop program like Netscape or Internet Explorer.
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Q: Does Impresa offer ISP (Internet Service Provider) services?
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A: Impresa is not an ISP. Impresa provides the ability to host your own dynamic web site from within your own business's walls at a low cost.
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Q: Is Impresa an ISP (Internet Service Provider)?
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A: Impresa is a custom web application development company and not an ISP. The customer chooses which ISP they want to use to bring an internet connection to their business.
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Q: Can Impresa help me set up my e-mail server in-house too? If so, how much is the software?
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A: Impresa uses the Linux operating system to host its applications. Linux also comes with e-mail server software which is free. Impresa can set up your system to host your e-mail in-house too.
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Q: What is "web presence"?
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A: A look, feel, and overall impression from your web site that causes your customer to visit again and again is web presence. Placing your business on the web is prerequisite to gaining web presence. It expands your customer base beyond traditional boundaries and gives businesses broad exposure on the Internet at a low cost. Exposure of this caliber attracts new customers and increases sales.
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Q: What are the benefits of placing your business on the web?
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A: Customers can find information they need at any time of the day no matter where they are in the world. After customers learn about your products they are more likely to place orders at your web site which reduces your sales staff work load. Once the web site is developed by Impresa, you can feature new products and services, add press releases, articles, and much more at any time without hiring a programmer.
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Q: Is placing your business on the web expensive?
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A: Not with Impresa.
The Operating System, Web Server, and Application Server we provide are full-featured and free of cost. In-house hosting (the ability to host the web site yourself and not hire an external hosting service) is free. The hardware to host your site can be a simple low-cost PC at your place of business. After the site is developed, maintenance and updates can be done by anyone because no programming skills are necessary. Custom interactive web sites can cost up to half a million dollars and more - An Impresa custom developed site costs a LOT less. Impresa can build your custom web application for about
what you'd pay for a prepackaged web application. A cable modem or DSL ISP is necessary to provide access to your web site. These generally cost less than a T1 connection. Initial consultation is free.
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Q: What is dynamic content?
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A: Simply put, 'dynamic content' is when your web pages have the ability to change content automatically at the time they are being served. Many web sites contain 'static content' which are regular html encoded pages that will never change unless an html programmer makes changes to them by hand. Dynamically served web pages can range from simple pages that use special codes to show the current date to pages that are tied to some type of service that retrieves and serves information from a data source. What content is retrieved is often based on a users input from a web browser.
The most scalable and enterprising web sites tie the front-end pages to a database using the Java 2 Enterprise Edition specification (J2EE). For the most part J2EE uses Java Server Pages (JSP) Servlets and Enterprise JavaBeans to do this. This tested and true technology is what Impresa uses to develop software for sites that have features like on-line purchasing, information gathering and more.
Impresa will use dynamic content to save you money. How? Once a web site is in place, no more programming will be needed. Articles, product information, press releases, product graphics, FAQs, pricing, shipping, etc. can all be changed or updated without the need for a programmer. In other words, a person with basic office skills can be a webmaster. Impresa calls this "Easy Webmastering Technology". And because Impresa uses J2EE technology the application also has the feature of being 'write once - run anywhere' so that your company is not dependent on the more expensive operating systems.
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Q: What is "Easy Webmastering Technology"?
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A: Impresa uses "Easy Webmastering Technology" to make the webmastering of a site simple. Once the web application is developed and deployed, no programmers will be needed to update the site. Updates and changes to things like articles, press releases, product information, product graphics, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), product pricing, shipping, etc. can be done by a non-programmer. Anybody with basic office and typing skills can be a web master. For example, a fully formatted technical article with strategicially placed graphics and word wrap can be created on the fly by simply adding the article text to a simple input form and then dragging and dropping the graphics into a folder on your workstation desktop. As this is done, it becomes immediately live on the web.
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Q: Is it hard to streamline your process into one application?
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A: Not really. You know the process that is needed to perform a particular task such as making sales quotes, doing customer relationship management, business to business communications and transactions, etc. The problem is the process may have complexities that require a suite of applications to accomplish it, like spreadsheets, word processors, e-mail, faxes, main frame/database entries, etc. This can be time consuming, clunky and error prone. A single streamlined, browser based application can be developed to replace all of these older tools. This brings a single point of reference to your task. What took hours out of a day before is now accomplished within a much shorter time and with accuracy. And because it is html browser based, it can be easily distributed to offices throughout the world via your corporate intranet.
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