Thread: Can I do this with Java?

I want to make a dynamic webpage that can pull information from a MySQL database based on a query from the end-user. I've already made a Java program that can query a MySQL database and also know how to make the GUI/form with buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, lists, etc.

I have an Excel spreadsheet and MS Access database that I created for a Collectible Card Game. The spreadsheet is just a list of all the cards, but is filterable so you can search for specific cards by their attributes. Here is a snippet of what the spreadsheet looks like...

temp.jpg

I want the website to be a searchable database. Basically, I want the user to be able to select query options from the GUI, click a "Search" button, and then have the results appear on screen in a table format, preferably with the same format (and images) as shown in my image above.

Is this something I can do with Java? I've looked into just putting the spreadsheet online with filters, but I'd prefer the end-user to be able to be able to filter it themselves via check boxes, drop down lists, etc.

Yes.

OK. I've made a few decent sized programs that can query MySQL without a problem. I also feel comfortable in building a Java GUI/form that will correctly query the MySQL database and return results to the console, but am not sure how to create a table and keep the formatting and how to get it online.

1) Can I access Excel and display individual records from the spreadsheet online?

2) Will a JTable be able to preserve all the formatting from the Excel spreadsheet? or do I have to do it differently?

3) How do I build it into a website? This is basically going to be the only function of the website. All the Java programs I've built in the past have been standalone. I've also built a website in the past using DreamWeaver. For a website, do I make a JApplet? or something else?

Thanks in advance.

Start studying JSP or Java Server Pages. There are also toolkits and frameworks that help build the web pages, but I'm not that familiar with them. I'm sure a search of Java web technologies, tools, development, etc. will be fruitful.

The questions about tables on web pages, preserving Excel formatting, etc. are separate, but those toolkits you learn about may provide that functionality. You might want to add that to your searches.

OK, thanks Greg!