Migrating Data from Excel to the Web Using a LAMP Stack

Abstract

Data held exclusively in a spreadsheet has limited accessibility. Delivering this data via a web application can allow for increased interaction from external users. We sought to expose a dataset collected by the Biology Department at Shepherd University. We speculated that an undergraduate data analytics major could implement a data migration from Excel to the web in the span of one semester. In close collaboration with the stakeholder, a MySQL database was created and normalized, and a prototype was developed using PHP to retrieve records at the request of the user and display the results. Although the application is not yet public, we hope to make it available within the semester. Provided success, we will have demonstrated one way in which research teams can expose their data with minimal investment.