Working in Web development every day is in general a blast. I love my job, I love the industry I work in, and I love having the chance to use my creativity to the fullest on a daily basis. It's often a challenge, but coming from a background like mine as a Marine, and then switching over the civilian life again (as we called it the CivDiv or Civilian Division), I need a good challenge to keep me interested in what I do. Although, one of the most damning parts of this job is the fact that unfortunately, sometimes people consider me too smart (I could've been an actor actually), and often want me to create things that border on cutting-edge and pure insanity. One of these particular things is ASP-based sites which are dynamically created from databases and ODBC data sources. Can I do it? Yeah, no sweat really. Do I want to do it? At the first mention of a new ASP project, the order seems to come down in a voice that is profoundly similar and as unbearable as the shriek of fingernails across a chalkboard.

Why? It's not that I don't enjoy showing my stuff when it comes to writing SQL queries and a whole bunch of VBScripting, but let's face it, even though ASP was created as a way to create dynamic sites which pretty much update themselves, by simply inserting new data into the linked database, the actual creation of these sites is about as fun as drinking shards of broken glass. Sure, when the site is done, all our clients need to do in order to change the content is to update the database, but getting to the point where the database can be updated, and works without returning one of those cryptic VBScript errors can be a real bruiser. What's more, if after you think you've finished the development work, but the client has other plans, you can be in for a load of mundane re-coding just to change even the smallest things within the design of the site.

How happy I was the day that a copy of Drumbeat 2.0 arrived in my mailbox, courtesy of Elemental Software and MIND magazine back in 1997, if memory serves me correctly. Quickly I learned that ASP development could take on a whole different perspective, and to my surprise, visual based development could actually be rewarding. Although, I was also aware that Drumbeat in that version had its own share of limitations. Aside from the very slow performance of it, it was also buggy to use at points (most noticeably during publishing) and the amount of tasks that could be accomplished was limited due to restricted direct access to coding and other site elements. I always thought though that Elemental's application had great promise, that just needed time to evolve into the application it had the potential to become.

Well, a short time ago, Elemental took further steps to bring Drumbeat closer to realizing that potential with the release of Drumbeat 2000 and its optional add-on, eStore Builder. Not long after the initial release of the bundled Drumbeat and eStore product, I was in receipt of a cool looking blue box with the Drumbeat logo emblazoned across all sides. Since I was already quite familiar with the Drumbeat legacy, I blew right through the evaluator's guide and headed off into real developer's land.

Of course, the first thing I noticed was that Drumbeat is still as cumbersome as ever for creating a new site, but on the bright side, Elemental has added a few helpful features to assist with the task. Two wizards - the new site wizard and the publishing settings wizard - will help you set the specific parameters of your new site, as well as exactly how it's to be published. For those who aren't aware, Drumbeat doesn't work like most site creation packages, directly writing HTML into separate files that can just be copied over immediately after they're created. Instead sites are created into a single EDF file, which is published when you are finished creating it. This has some advantages and disadvantages to it. For example, keeping track of what pages have been changed, removed, or in some other way modified is a simpler task than trying to synchronize files between a local directory and the files on the server. With Drumbeat 2000's increased level of flexibility, it is also easier to dictate exactly how you want the structure of the site to be created, in comparison to earlier versions.

The down-side of this though is that you can't directly access HTML or ASP source which is often necessary on any type of WYSIWYG application, without first publishing the site. This also means that if you did manually modify any part of the site after publishing it, that those modifications will not appear within the EDF file. So, get ready to make the changes each and every time something changes between the EDF file and the published version of the site. Another possible drawback, but one I haven't personally experienced a problem with yet is the fact that there is no manual way of saving the EDF files at a specific point, meaning you must rely on the auto-save features of the program to keep changes you've made. This can spell trouble, especially given the fact that all information is stored in one file. A corrupt file can mean needing to create a site from scratch if you didn't make a backup. Drumbeat does have a feature to make a snapshot of your site though when you feel that it is necessary. Just hope that something doesn't go wrong (such as the deletion of a certain directory that contains both the main and snapshot files of the site).

Drumbeat 2000 also includes a variety of site elements and contracts which help non-programmers implement what would normally be technically daunting ASP, dHTML, and other design-time features using a visual interface. This means you can take advantage of nearly everything offered within ASP and the other technologies, while never needing to understand the slightest bit of scripting or even basic HTML coding. For more advanced users though, given that there is no way to directly edit source, don't expect to customize these features without some work. In order to change the way any specific feature is implemented, you'll need to change the way that the site element is set up before it's inserted into the page(s). Custom site elements (such as Java applets) can also be imported in order to include them into sites.

Elemental also included a few more improvements to Drumbeat which help make it more practical to use while accomplishing common tasks in Web development. Previously, including page titles and meta tags was a basic pain in the rump, but Elemental has added improved access and ease when placing these at either page-level or even site-wide. One particular thing that I don't like about Drumbeat in the area of placing meta tags is the inclusion of what I've come to feel is free advertising for the software developer - the dreaded Generator tag which includes something to the effect of Elemental Software Drumbeat. in reference to the program which generated the code. Not only do I feel this mistakenly gives credit to the software developer, who merely developed the builder program, while in reality, there would have never been a site without the builder, but it also makes it easier for competitors to find out what we're using in our building activities. Not that we don't want to help promote the software, but we'd prefer to keep the basics of our building a bit more confidential. In addition, we always have to take into account that we've always, no doubt, gone in with text editors to make the site specifically customized to our own liking. Does this mean we have to add and notepad to each generator meta tag? Needless to say (if you've ever seen a site I've done, you'll notice it doesn't contain generator metas of any kind), I always go on SEAD (Search And Destroy) using a site-wide search and replace to remove the offending tag from a multi-document interface text editor, before the final site ever comes to the Net. Anyway enough on that topic, since I may have to use it for an up-coming article, and don't want to sound repetitive later on.

eStore Builder

Elemental has in the recent past also released an add-on for Drumbeat 2000 which is entitled eStore Builder. What the package basically contains is add-ons for the element collection and contracts found in the standard Drumbeat, that facilitate easy and rapid creation of e-commerce solutions that utilize ASP.

Combined with the rapid building ability of Drumbeat, eStore Builder is a nice addition for dealing with the specific area of e-commerce. It also makes it available to any Web builder without the need for programming, or even knowing anything about ASP. As the elemental documentation states, eStore Builder in contrast with many types of e-commerce packages that are available, is highly customizable and easy to deploy. It also handles most needs any e-retailer would need from a shopping cart to processing UPS shipping costs. Payment processing is handled through a CyberCash smart element and allows you to take anything from major credit card to US checks for payment (although you must have an account with CyberCash to use it).

Overall, I found most of what Elemental claimed within the documentation and press releases to be true about eStore Builder. It is as easy and flexible as they say, and does offer great advantage over having to create original e-commerce solutions. By using it, you can basically cut your e-commerce development time by half.

The one thought that kept nagging me though as I was reviewing the eStore Builder add-on was "Why though isn't this included as a standard part of Drumbeat?". It seems that what Elemental is offering, is so much along the lines of the original program, that I'm not sure if it even warrants an add-on pack. Some of the functionality of the eStore Builder add-on could actually be used beyond the scope of just e-commerce, and implemented into parallel solutions. It therefore doesn't seem like it should have been marketed as an additional accessory at all, but rather an integrated part of the main application. Then again, that's just hearsay, and who knows what the actual justification of Elemental's move was in distributing these two (or one combined) packages.

The Bottom Line

Drumbeat and eStore Builder? Yes, I liked them. I still maintain that if you want to build rapidly deployable ASP applications or generate the base boiler code to save a whole lot of time, in the development process that Drumbeat is the way to go. I am not aware of any other ASP development environment that offers so much, for so small of a price. Nor, am I aware of another application that is so easy to use for non-programmers. Should Drumbeat and eStore Builder really be one application? In my personal opinion, it would have been a nice move on Elemental's part. Would I recommend it for professional development usage? Yes again, and in fact, I'd only recommend it for professional use, as for the personal Web building hobbyist, Drumbeat would most definitely constitute overkill.

Web builders take note: For all those little bugs and irritations that came with the original release, current Drumbeat owners can pretty much eliminate the majority of them by downloading the Service Pack 1 patch available at the Drumbeat site. In fact, this will most likely be necessary as one of these problems concerned a Internet Information Server VBScript error that almost makes it impossible to deploy a site successfully if you're running the version of IIS that was in Option Pack 4 from Microsoft.