Understanding data sources

Data sources are server-side objects that tell your site how to access a database. The data source points to the database by specifying a connection to the database server and naming the database. It can also contain a username and password to access the database should the database require one. When you edit a data source in the Site Settings dialog box, the data source file is edited directly on the server. Thus, you must be online with the server to use the data source editors.

GoLive supports the following types of data sources:

ASP with .mdb (Microsoft Access Database):

As a shortcut, you can place a Microsoft Access database file directly in the config/datasources folder without creating an additional data source file, but only if the database does not need a username or password to access it.

ASP with .udl (Microsoft Data Link):

The UDL data source editor provides a simple interface for setting up a database access. Microsoft provides a complete properties dialog for these objects, but be sure to use it on the server, not the client where GoLive is running (unless they are the same).

JSP with .jdbc.sbs (JDBC data conntection):

Provides basic connection to a JDBC driver and database, including setting username and password if required.

PHP with .mysql.sbs (MySQL database):

Specifies the database server host, the name of the database, and optional username and password.

Any language with .xds (XML data source):

An XML data source represents a particular type of XML document. It defines the locations within the XML from which to pull out the data. It can also point to an XSLT source if it's needed to transform the XML source.

Any language with .ecp (Custom Merchant Provider):

A Custom Merchant e-commerce provider data source specifies the provider URL where transactions will be performed and your merchant ID.