Step 2: Create or obtain the database or other data source

Using database tools, create the database and define the tables that will be used in the Web application. If you are using a Windows server and ASP, Microsoft Access is a good choice for a database on which to develop the application. If this is an application that will have a large user community, Access is not recommended as the database for the production site. If you are using PHP or JSP, MySQL is a good general purpose database system. Oracle, SQL Server, and other larger database systems are also candidates.

There are tools available for each of these database systems to help create the database tables. You may want to consider generating queries (in Access) or their equivalent in other database programs at this time, if necessary.

Be careful when defining tables and column names to avoid reserved words such as date or text. Use of these names makes it hard to move applications between database systems and can create difficult-to-diagnose problems.