• About the CAB Local Information System
  • Introduction
  • About the technology
  • Utilities
  • Version history
• Desktop version
  • Features
  • Enquiry
  • Maintenance
  • Downloads
  • Get the system
• Intranet version
  • Features
  • Try it now
  • Intranet tools
  • Free install service
  • Get the system

The Local Information System technology

The following sections describe the technology we use for:

• The desktop programs
• The intranet version
• Database and database access

All the software - apart from Windows itself - is available for free either as part of Windows or as a free Microsoft download.

The desktop programs

We developed the desktop programs using version 1.1 of Microsoft's .NET framework.

That means they run identically on all the following versions of Windows:

• Windows 10 (all versions)
• Windows 8 (all versions)
• Windows 7 (all versions)
• Windows Vista (all versions)
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Home Edition
• Windows 2000
• Windows NT 4.0 (Service pack 6a or later)
• Windows ME
• Windows 98
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2003

We expect they will continue to run on future versions of Windows for the foreseeable future. It runs happily on the preview version of Windows 10.

.NET version 1.1 is entirely separate from later versions of .NET. That means you can safely install it on your systems without disrupting anything else.

The desktop reader program also needs Internet Explorer to be installed. It is capable of running under IE 5.1 or later, but it runs best under one of the more recent versions.

The intranet version

We developed the intranet version to run under Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.1 or later using .NET 2 (which is also installed by .NET 3 and .NET 3.5).

That's the environment used by most .NET web sites running today. You can install and run the intranet version for free on any of the following versions of Windows:

• Windows 10 (all versions)
• Windows 8 (all versions)
• Windows 7 (all versions)
• Windows Vista (all versions)
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2003

Database and database access

We support two database technologies:

1. Microsoft Access
2. Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server is a complex product to set up and manage. We don't expect CABx to have that expertise. Instead, CABx normally use Access databases for locally-installed systems. We do, however, promote use of SQL Server when running the intranet version on the internet because:

• Few, if any, Internet Service Providers allow you to use Access databases on their servers
• The ISPs take away much of the complexity involved in setting up and managing SQL Server databases

Our installation procedures for Access use a template in Access '97 format. You do not need to install Access to use the system. Instead the system uses database access software you can download from Microsoft for free. Although the '97 format has been around a while, the data access software is modern and a 64-bit version is available. You can, if you want, upgrade the supplied database to a later version; the data access software we recommend works with all subsequent versions of Access.

We previously asked bureaux to install Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) version 2.7 to allow our programs to work with Access. That software is still supported if you want to continue to use it. We now recommend Microsoft Database Engine (MSDE) installed as part of Microsoft Office and available as a free download.

Our installation procedures for Microsoft SQL Server assume SQL Server 2008 or later. We can support earlier versions if necessary. You do not need to install any data access software to connect the intranet version with SQL Server. .NET includes SQL Server data access software as standard.

We provide a set of tools that allow you to work with the database used by the intranet version:

• A database backup tool
• A tool to synchronise the intranet database with the database maintained by the desktop version
• A tool to check whether web links held by the intranet are working

The tools work fine even if your system is hosted on the internet. They do not require you to take the system down.

Mail list

Click this icon to subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, the Local Information System mailing list.

RSS News Feed

This icon points to a page containing the latest Local Information System news. Add the page to an RSS news reader to stay up-to-date.

Try it now

We've put a copy of the Local Information System online for you to play with. There's nothing to install, it's just another web site.

Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server is a complete database environment capable of managing very large databases indeed. It has scope for considerable technical complexity.

Microsoft .NET framework

.NET is a layer of software that sits between Windows and our programs. It reduces the code we have to write, increases reliability and ensures our programs run across evolving versions of Windows.

Internet Information Server

IIS is Microsoft's web server software. It is supplied for free with most versions of Windows and closely integrates with the .NET framework. It is capable of running large, sophisticated sites but is simple to set up for small ones. IIS is the de facto standard for internet web sites hosted on WIndows servers.

Access

Access is a component of Microsoft's Office suite. It allows people to create, develop, run and manage databases. You do not need to buy a copy of Access, however, to use an Access database. Specifically, you don't need a copy of Microsoft Access to run the Local Information System.

Internet Service Provider

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that hosts a web site on the internet on your behalf.