Can a desktop app update your websites database? - database

This is a hypothetical question that I don't seem to be able to find an answer to. In theory, could you write a desktop program which allows you to alter the database of a personal website? A simple example would be a blog, where instead of having to go online and log into Admin section of your website, you would have a desktop app where you could write a blog offline and once you have internet it would automatically update your website?
Would this theoretically be possible?

Yes, it is possible. However, probably not recommended as you would have to allow direct connections to your database through the firewall unless your desktop application made the same http/https pots that the website does when updating the database. At that point, you're just creating a new UI that calls the old UI to do the same actions.

If you are running Windows you could use the free tool Microsoft Live Writer for that. I am sure you can find other free tools for other OS out there.
There is not also an Open Source version of it Open Live Writer

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Adobe Experience Manager WorkBench Check out/in Issue

Shortly I ve Windows Server 2012 R2, AEM Forms(6.2), SQLServer(2014) and Workbench(6.2) in same server. At first when i install and configure all of them, i can check out or in my applications from Workbench succesfully. However After my software team executes some scripts at Database, we can not check in/out from workbench. The worst thing when i click check out, workbench gives any error. any log. on event log or server application. It gives nothing and don't do my transaction. I saw at forums some people have same issue but nobody writes solution.
Please if any one knows the solution, share with us. What's wrong with my workbench? what to do fix this issue?
The query that your software team ran turns off security on every single LiveCycle service and makes them run as the system user. This includes the services used by Workbench and is very bad. Some of the services rely on knowing who is logged in to operate correctly. In particular, how can LiveCycle know who has checked in/out a resource if the service always runs as system?
Your best bet is to restore the LiveCycle database - or at least the tb_sc_service_configuration table to be where it was before you ran the script.
If you need to remove security on individual services, you should do it through the admin console, but only do it for your processes. Never do it for systems services unless the Adobe documentation says it is OK.
As JeremyP pointed out, modifying the Adobe database directly is a bad idea. The database should be treated as a black box that is only manipulated by Adobe code (either by doing things in the Adobe tools or making calls to Adobe APIs).
You can either make security changes manually through the adminui (as he indicates, which is the most common way of doing it) or programatically using the Adobe client APIs. See the following links for sample code that uses the APIs:
Removing Security - http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/10.0/ProgramLC/WS624e3cba99b79e12e69a9941333732bac8-7f35.html
Setting the runAs user - http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/10.0/ProgramLC/WS624e3cba99b79e12e69a9941333732bac8-7f38.html
My company, 4Point, offers AEM Forms consulting services. We have an in-house Apache Ant library that wraps the code above to automate this (and other) common tasks that are typically required when deploying (and redeploying) AEM Forms solutions. It can be included as part of a consulting engagement.

QuickBooks connection using asp

May not be the best place to ask sorry if that's true.
I have worked on SQL and while I never worked on QuickBooks I am hoping it is possible to connect to it and just use it similar to a SQL Database. I am wondering I am wondering if it is possible to connect to QuickBooks using ASP. My purpose is to create simple forms and insert the data into QuickBooks similar to what is done on SQL.Occasionally I would just generate reports as well using web pages. All I am wondering is does ASP have the capability to connect to Quick Books and if so can I also run query's similar to SQL and is there any sources or reference available for research ? And what my options are for setting this up. If I have to use asp.net as a last resort that is fine too, though I would prefer to have to be without it.
Thank you
Update #1
While i am working on getting the Version of Quick-Books here is what information I have.
I plan on using ASP-Classic, and I want to develop web forms so this would be a website that can be accessed. This will not be a desktop application I plan on making but various webpage's where you can view Quick-books data, and insert records into Quick-books using forms, similar to what I do for SQL. And the Version of our Quick-Books is 2013 Enterprise Windows Desktop USA edition.
All I am wondering is does ASP have the capability to connect to Quick Books
Yes.
can I also run query's similar to SQL
Maybe.
QuickBooks itself does not provide an SQL-based interface. Communication with QuickBooks is via XML. However, QuickBooks Enterprise comes with something called QODBC which provides an ODBC interface to the XML interface QuickBooks provides, which might get you what you need.
One problem you want to watch out for -- there are times when you won't be able to connect to QuickBooks. e.g. it is not an "always-on" solution like a typical SQL database is. If you're in single-user mode in QuickBooks, or someone closes QuickBooks, or someone is doing a QuickBooks backup, or someone is updating QuickBooks, then you won't be able to connect. You'll have to plan for this in your application.
A better solution might be to use the QuickBooks SDK (specifically the QuickBooks Web Connector). If you download and install the SDK there is example code included. The SDK install also includes about 600 pages of PDF documentation on topics which you are asking about.
Striking out the below stuff since you've provided more details now: But unfortunately you didn't provide anywhere near enough information for anyone to actually give you a decent answer.
How about providing some actual details so that people can actually help you? Like, maybe:
Is this QuickBooks ONLINE, or QuickBooks for WINDOWS, or QuickBooks for MAC? (they are three entirely separate products, with entirely separate sets of capabilities)
What version/year/edition/country of QuickBooks?
ASP classic or ASP.NET?
Is this a website you're connecting from, or is this a desktop application, or...?

How to access an Universal Worklist with mobile Devices?

first some context for the problem:
we are using SAP Netweaver Developer Studio to create business processes. Creating User Interfaces with WebDynpro Java.
A process will be controlled by the universal worklist (UWL) which can be accessed by its API as far as I know.
My Question is: Can anyone give me a hint how to access an UWL or parts of a process in a uwl via mobile devices? Any Experience with it? The first application is a process that got an approval step somewhere close to the end. For this approval a webdynpro application exists, but the approver should also be able to use his/her mobile device to approve something within an mobile app or something.
We would love to see that HTML5 is the One, but if there is a way using Netweaver Developer Studio or even Webdynpro for it thats quite cool, too.
If there is something we can use for our uwl that works for all devices and can be used by other SAP or non-SAP Applications too, that might even be the best solution.
I hope I explained everything sufficiently, thanks for reading.
Greetings
Gian-Marco
We are now using SAP Gateway and Sybase SUP to get this issue done. Let's see how this works out.

Deploy IPad application with its database

can any one tell me if I could deploy an IPad application with its pre-initialized database?
I'm using IOS developer Enterprise program account
Include the database as a resource in the bundle and clone it into the users document folder at launch.
The reason to clone is that you dont get write privileges on bundle resources.
Alternatively since this is not code you could download it from the corporate server at launch but since you are asking this question you probably dont want to do that.
Yes you can do it.
You can use sqlite in your ios application. You can create locally an prefilled sqlite database, and at this one to your xcode project.
In your project you must copy the sqlitedatabase from your resourcesfolder to the app's documents folder.
Depends on who's the developer of the app. If it's you, you can easily do so. Else, you won't be able (since apps are stored in a security sandbox).
If you really need to, you could consider jailbreaking them (you won't need a Enterprise Program though) so you can enter those sandboxes and add custom property lists to them.

Update a local/client Microsoft Access Database from a server (MS SQL Server2005)

I've got a website that runs on a shared hosting environment, using ASP.net 2.0 (C#) and MS SQL Server 2005. I've recently been asked if I can integrate my website with a piece of third party desktop software that uses the Access runtime as its database (transparent to the end user).
Primarily I want to be able to offer users of my website the option of exporting their data into the Access database on their local machine. The data schema's match sufficiently, the question is how to actually do this, and in the simplest way possible for the user.
Simply having a webpage update the local Access database isn't possible due to the obvious security restrictions. I've considered asking them to upload the Access database to the server, so I can migrate the data then allow them to download it again, however the competency of the users of this software is such that even locating the Access database, let alone uploading and downloading it from the website might be too complicated.
I've also considered if Adobe Air or Silverlight could help here, but don't know them well enough to know for sure. Similarly I'm assuming another exe could be written to perform this task that the user could simply download and run, however my experience is in web development, not program development, so this isn't a 100% certainty for me, or an ideal development option for me.
So, can this be done, and if so what technique can achieve this, with the stated aims being ease of use for the end user, followed by ease of development by someone with web development as their main skill. Many thanks!
You may find this answer of interest: Best way to stream files in ASP.NET
It is about transferring a file from the server. You could save Excel or CSV and use that to update Access.
Instead of trying to do this in a web page you might just expose some views from your sql server to some client specific logins.
Then within the Access application, allow them to tie to your sql server. You might even provide an access application for getting the data from your site and stuffing it in their local access database.
In my work we have done something similar that is transparent to the user by creating an ActiveX control. The problem is that you are limiting the users to use only Internet Explorer.
I think that the best way to achieve what you are trying to do is by installing a service in the client's computer. If creating a service is beyond your experience you can post a project in a place like oDesk and find somebody that can help you with the development for the money that you are willing to pay to complete your project.
Good Luck.

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