System and method for creating integrated web form and database applications

Abstract

A system and method for creating integrated web form and database applications. One or more embodiments of the invention enable a system and method for creating integrated web form and database applications. The system enables click-and-drag form creation and automatically codes the markup, validation script and database schema. The system does not require programming to create forms or a database schema to associate form data with. In addition, the system does not require programming for integrating forms and a database. By generating the schema to implement a form, a non-database programmer such as a designer can create web forms that store and display data to and from a database without programming any software. In this manner, designers can perform tasks that heretofore have required software engineers. A system and method for creating integrated web form and database applications. One or more embodiments of the invention enable a system and method for creating integrated web form and database applications. The system enables click-and-drag form creation and automatically codes the markup, validation script and database schema. The system does not require programming to create forms or a database schema to associate form data with. In addition, the system does not require programming for integrating forms and a database. By generating the schema to implement a form, a non-database programmer such as a designer can create web forms that store and display data to and from a database without programming any software. In this manner, designers can perform tasks that heretofore have required software engineers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for creating integrated web form and database applications comprising:
 a form module configured to present a form interface with a visual WYSIWYG representation and a drag-and-move functionality to a user to create a form definition for at least one web form, wherein said form definition comprises a plurality of form elements;   a code generation module configured to generate PHP code for said at least one web form to present with a code generation interface; and   a publish module configured to publish said PHP code and said database schema to make said at least one web form available, wherein said web form has a visual appearance based on said visual WYSIWYG representation, wherein said publish module is further configured to send said database schema to a database server configured to implement said form definition using said schema,   wherein said form module is configured to automatically generate a database schema for said at least one web form based on said plurality of form elements and to create backend database structures to support said at least one web form and generate an SQL file to implement said form definition and said schema, and wherein said database schema is automatically modified and new SQL statements generated based on changes to said web form through said form interface,   wherein said code generation module is further configured to generate database commands based on at least one of said plurality of form elements, wherein said database commands are configured to communicate data between said at least one web forms and said database server based on said form definition and said schema.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said schema comprises DDL. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said database commands comprise DML. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said PHP code is embedded in HTML. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said PHP code is embedded in WML. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said PHP code is embedded in XML. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said code generation module further generates CSS code. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said code generation module is further configured to generate script comprising validation code configured to validate said form definition by limiting values that are allowed in particular form elements. 
     
     
         9 . A method for creating integrated web form and database applications comprising:
 accepting a form definition based on a plurality of form elements from a form interface, wherein said form interface is configured to provide a user interface with a visual WYSIWYG representation and a drag-and-move functionality to create at least one web form comprising said plurality of form elements;   presenting a code generation interface configured to generate PHP code and database commands based on said form definition, wherein said code generation interface allows said user to review and manually edit said PHP code, wherein said PHP code associates with a visual appearance based on said visual WYSIWYG representation;   creating said PHP code to implement said form definition;   generating a database schema for said at least one web form based on said plurality of form elements;   generating a SQL file to implement said form definition and said schema based on said PHP code, wherein said database schema is automatically modified and new SQL statements generated based on changes to said web form through said form interface;   creating backend database structures to support said at least one web form;   publishing said PHP code and said SQL file to a server associated with said database; and   executing said SQL file on said server associated with said database.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said generating said SQL file comprises utilization of preexisting schemas associated with commonly used forms. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said presenting said schema interface comprises presenting a list of schemas associated with commonly used forms to a user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 accepting a selection of a schema from a list of schemas associated with commonly used forms.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said generating said SQL file comprises generating a schema comprising each user interface element in said form definition. 
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions for providing integrated web form and database applications, wherein execution of said computer-readable instructions by one or more processors causes said one or more processors to:
 accept a form definition based on a plurality of form elements from a form interface, wherein said form interface is configured to provide a user interface with a visual WYSIWYG representation and a drag-and-move functionality to create at least one web form comprising said plurality of form elements;   present a code generation interface configured to generate PHP code and database commands based on said form definition, wherein said code generation interface allows said user to review and manually edit said PHP code, wherein said PHP code associates with a visual appearance based on said visual WYSIWYG representation;   create said PHP code to implement said form definition;   generate a database schema for said at least one web form based on said plurality of form elements;   generate a SQL file to implement said form definition and said schema based on said PHP code, wherein said database schema is automatically modified and new SQL statements generated based on changes to said web form through said form interface;   create backend database structures to support said at least one web form;   publish said PHP code and said SQL file to a server associated with said database; and   execute said SQL file on said server associated with said database.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein said form input interface comprises a click-and-drag interface for form creation.