> I wish to install a smallish database (of names and addresses +) on the
> host, and allow it to be accessed over the internet (by a restricted number
> of people).
Two options, mainly:
Write the code for accessing the database in, say, PHP. Call
that from Apache running on your server. People would be using
a browser to connect to your database.
Write a specific client for your users. That client would
access PostgreSQL on your server directly, sending queries via
TCP/IP. We do this with GnuMed.
More options:
Let people have shell accounts on your server so they log in
and run a client on your server.
Write a specific client that talks to a middleware/ application
server on your machine. That app server in turn talks to your
database locally.
It really depends on what your needs are.
> Can I write an application which runs on my home computer, but sees its
> database file on a directory at the server?
No. In a real database you don't see (much less care about)
the actual data files. But you see the data - via SQL
commands.
But then, of course, you can write some application that sees
its "database" files in some directory on your server. You'd
want to be using Samba or NFS or something to mount that
directory on your client machine.
Karsten
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