I am looking to make a small web application for my group. The issue is the IT team makes having a server etc... impossible. The application would be a custom searchable database web-app. I am restricted to just having a folder on a network drive. I cannot have any installation on the users' machines. I was reading that web-apps might work. I could have all the information on the network drive everyone has access to and users can just type the address in their browser and fire up the web-app. I came across stripes and I am wondering if it fits the bill. There cannot be any footprint other than files in a folder. And many users need to access the files also. I also want it not to require much beyond a Windows OS. Will this work? The application is not really complicated. IT is not helping me but would be a great time saver for the group.
Thanks in advance.
Stripes is a really good, lightweight Java web application framework.
However, it won't work without a sever. So, to answer your question, the simple answer is: no.
Your requirements are absolutely not a recommended scenario, especially in a corporate environment. I'd always opt for a simple DB-based solution.
You could, however, and if your corporate data security guidelines permit it, use a (free) Google App Engine account, to run your Stripes application. Of course, any other free or cheap platform will do.