Well most of you would remember the “Genie and the Lamp." As a kid I was mesmerized by the power of Genie to change form and his ability to do things. My personal favourite was him coming out and going back to the lamp. Once genie moves back to his lamp there is no doubt where he is for the kids, it’s not in the bedroom or dining room it’s inside the "Magic Lamp."

Animations are the “Most Coolest” part when you use an application. Still remember the first time I was introduced to MAC OSX. That day I witnessed the magnificent welcome screen for OSX Leopard, "Welcome" coming out in different languages on screen, and it also gave me the feel of traveling through space. I fell for that OS, even before I started using it, but there were more to come. Creating a ripple on Dashboard while adding new widgets, the Genie effect on minimizing the app. the list goes on.

These are not only cool; they are a way of communicating to the user what just happened. 

Do you know where Genie is now? Yes, he is still inside the lamp. Do you know why you still remember it? Obviously, it’s because the genie didn't vanish into the thin air, instead he slowly moved in to the lamp. Likewise, animation should also be obvious, should tell its story.

Prolonged animations may not be suitable at all times. If you select a button, and it starts vibrating or make ripples it may initially gather a wow for the animation, but later when the user starts really using that stuff might irritate him.
There may be animations/ideas which are yet to be utilized. It maybe from cartoons, it maybe from what we see in our day to day life… their source is unknown, but my search still continues for these lost artefacts.

( Jackson Sunny Rodrigues is an extremely talented iOS Programmer at Software Associates. Follow him on twitter at @jaxsonrodrigues, or catch up with him on Facebook at Jackson Rodrigues. )

Safety of files while uploading to a web server has always been a headache for PHP developers. Because of lack of experience and expertise, I have seen many cases where naive developers, end up giving complete permissions for the files being uploaded on the PHP servers. Seldom do they realize that the consequences can be lethal, and a lot of things are on stake when they make this mistake.

If the security concerns during the file uploads are not properly dealt with, there is always a probability of someone snooping at it. It can be easily hacked. What more? You lose your data, money, time and effort. You lose trust of your client. Organization's reputation as a great web service provider is at stake. All because of immaturity of most of the PHP service providers, who seldom worry how much client's data is worth, and only worry about quantity of work not the quality of it.

Recently, we had a hands on experience with one of such situations, which I feel is worth sharing with you all.  In this case, the website was created long back by some naive PHP service providers, who certainly lacked maturity in understanding the security needs of the end client. After getting more insight over their website, it was very clear to our team that the website is in for the trouble and can be hacked at any instant, thanks to the way immature service providers, who lack experience and expertise and empathy to clients. Once our team, at software associates recognized this need for revamp, we readily jumped into it, so that our client could get a safe and secure manageable web site; the service that our client really deserves. 

From our experiences with these issues, I will really suggest that the both PHP service providers and the clients should take utmost care regarding this issue. Naive PHP service providers should never be trusted for your website development as they will never understand your needs for better safe and secure service. Only the service providers who understand the value of your information and work towards making your business successful should be trusted with this task.

(Jayan A is Operations and Resource Manager at Software Associates. He is a PHP guru and technology enthusiast.) 

Our Android smartphone and iPad CI teams recently came across an application ‘Hudson’ which made life a lot easier for them. Hudson manages the CI process by integrating changes to the project thereby providing the development team with a fresh build every time. The developer can configure Hudson to receive regular emails that capture the output on each build, alerting when something goes wrong.

Installing Hudson is easy enough; just execute hudson.war file or deploy it in a servlet container. Since the output is sent through email to the concerned accounts, it does not require a database. Accessing Hudson is as easy as accessing a website. Just type in http://localhost:8080/ (on local machine) or http://domain:portnumber/ (on remote machine), in a web browser and the user will be presented with the web GUI for Hudson. The GUI is simple and offers all the configuration details required for Hudson. Hence, the user is not exposed to intricate coding details.

To configure a new job for Hudson, a user has to authenticate himself to create a job, execute it etc. Select “New Job”, type in a unique Job Name and select "Build a free_style software project". On clicking on OK you will be moved to a page where you can specifically configure Hudson for a new job. One can also get to the configuration page by clicking on the job names listed in Hudson and by selecting Configure.

In the project configuration page, the following steps need to be followed,

1. Enter the Project name.

2. Source Code Management: Select radio button Subversion

          2.1 Select the path to Repository URL for SCM

                     Eg: https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/svn/platform/FolderName

          2.2 Select check-box "Use update".

                    If checked, Hudson will use 'svn update' whenever possible, making the build faster. But this causes the artifacts from  the previous build to remain when a new build starts.

3. Build Triggers:   Select check box Poll SCM

          3.1 Set schedule 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50… This sets HUDSON to poll SCM every 0th, 10th    20th, 30th …50th minute

4. Build :  Select drop-down "Add build step"

• select "Execute shell"
• fill "Command" section

          For the techie reader, check out the build configuration command examples,

          For iPhone,

                rm -rf $WORKSPACE/hudsonbld/*rmdir $WORKSPACE/hudsonbldmkdir $WORKSPACE/hudsonbldcd $WORKSPACE/Job Name/checker-240/scan-build -v -o $WORKSPACE/ScanBldOutput xcodebuild -project AppName.xcodeproj -target TargetAppName -configuration Debug -sdk iphonesimulator 3.1.3 TARGET_BUILD_DIR=$WORKSPACE/hudsonbld

          For Android,

                 cd $WORKSPACE/trunk  ant debug

5. Post-build Actions

• Select checkBox “E-mail Notification”. Fill in the recipients email addresses separated by comma.
• Select check-box "Send e-mail for every unstable build" which mails a report on every unstable build to the specified recipients.
• Select check-box "Send separate e-mails to individuals who broke the build"

6. Click Save and you are good to go.

Hudson can be used in any development platform, by changing the build configuration command accordingly. Investing in the CI infrastructure has turned out to be a good call for us, by allowing our development teams’ incremental code integration and well-timed code checks which makes the final integration manageable and also provides a robust copy of software at each stage of the development process.

To know more about Hudson,

• http://wiki.hudson-ci.org/display/HUDSON/Home
  

1. CruiseControl.Net [ Version: 1.5.0.6268]
2. Visual SVN Server [Version: 2.0.7]
3. MSBuild
4. Microsoft FXCop [Version: 1.36]
5. SourceMonitor [Version: 2.5.1.0]

CruiseControl .Net

CruiseControl.Net is an automated integration server that automates the integration process by monitoring the development team’s source control repository directly.

Visual SVN Server

Visual SVN Server can be used as the subversion repository.

MSBuild

MSBuild is a Microsoft build platform for Asp.Net projects which can be used to build our solutions in the continuous integration process.

Microsoft FXCop

MS FxCop is a tool used to check whether the code follows the custom guidelines designed by the developer for writing robust and maintainable code by using .Net framework.

SourceMonitor

SourceMonitor is a freeware, used to find out the extend/number of codes  included in the solution and also to find the complexity of modules.

Implementation

1. Installation

Before starting the implementation, setup two servers exclusively for the continuous integration process – a Continuous Integration Server and an Integrated Testing Server.

The Continuous Integration Server contains the above tools used for the integration process. The Integrated testing server is used to store the published source code after the integration process.

In the C.I process, the first step is the installation of CruiseControl.Net. With the installation of CruiseControl.Net, a virtual directory named “ccnet” will be created in the machine’s IIS webserver or this can be done by pointing a virtual directory to the “webdashboard” folder of the installed files.

Install all the tools mentioned above in the Continuous Integration server. MsBuild is a tool which is available with the installation of .Net framework.   

2. Configuration Files Setup

While  running, the CruiseControl.Net will search for  file named ccnet.config which is an XML file. So all the information needed by ccnet to access, what it is supposed to do and how it is supposed to do  must be placed in the ccnet.config file.

ccnet.config file contains a root element <cruisecontrol> and a child element <project>. So configuration settings for each project are included in their corresponding <project> tag.  

<cruisecontrol>
        <project name=" SampleProject” >
        </project>   
    </cruisecontrol>

Each project contains some child tags. They are explained below.

<workingDirectory></workingDirectory>
<artifactDirectory></artifactDirectory>

• <workingDirectory> contains the checked out version of the project under integration.
• <artifactDirectory> is meant to save the results of build such as build logs.

Security

The security tag is used to protect the system from unauthorized access and  to provide permission to authorized users.

<security type="defaultProjectSecurity" defaultRight="Deny">
                <permissions>                     
<rolePermission name="SampleProjectAdmin"      ref="SampleProjectAdmin" />
                </permissions>
          </security>
        <internalSecurity>
            <users>
                <passwordUser name="User1" password="12345"/>
</users>
<permissions>
<rolePermission name="SampleProjectAdmin" forceBuild="Allow" viewProject="Allow" startProject="Allow" viewConfiguration="Deny" viewSecurity="Deny">
                    <users>
                        <userName name="User1"/>
                    </users>
    </rolePermission>
</permissions>
</internalSecurity>

In the above security settings, this  will restrict permission for SampleProjectAdmin user group according to the authentication defined in the <rolePermission> tag.

Subversion Source Control Block

CruiseControl.Net provides basic support for subversion. It can check for changes, can be used for updating sources and can also automatically check out for source.

<sourcecontrol type="svn">
                <executable>C:\Program Files\VisualSVN Server\bin\svn.exe</executable>
                <trunkUrl>
                      https://server/svn/SampleProject
                </trunkUrl>
                <workingDirectory>
                      C:\ProjectWorkingDirectories\SampleProject
                </workingDirectory>
                <username>
                      username
                </username>
                <password>
                      password
                </password>
          </sourcecontrol>

• <trunkUrl> is the url of the repository for the project.
• <workingDirectory> is the locally checked out path for the project.
• <executable> is the location of the SVN executable.
• <username> is the username for authentication when connecting to repository.
• <password> is the password for authentication when connecting to repository.

Trigger Block

A trigger block is used to instruct the cruise control .net to perform the integration process periodically after a specified interval of time.

         <triggers>
                <intervalTrigger name="Subversion" seconds="1800" />
          </triggers>

Task Block

Tasks declared in the task block will be executed for each trigger. Here MsBuild can be used for building our project.

<tasks>  
              <msbuild>
                  <executable>
                        C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\MSBuild.exe
                  </executable>
                  <workingDirectory>
                        C:\ProjectWorkingDirectories\SampleProject
              </workingDirectory>
                  <projectFile> SampleProject.sln</projectFile>
                  <buildArgs>
                        /noconsolelogger
                    /p:Configuration=Debug
                  </buildArgs>
                  <targets>Build</targets>
              <timeout>900</timeout>
                  <logger>
C:\ProgramFiles\CruiseControl.NET\server\ThoughtWorks.CruiseControl.MsBuild.dll
</logger>
              </msbuild>
        </tasks>

• <executable> is the location of MSBuild.exe.
• <workingDirectory> is the directory containing our project source.
• <projectFile> is the name of the project to run which is relative to working directory.
• <buildArgs> is the extra arguments that pass to MSBuild command.
• <timeout> is the number of seconds to wait before assuming that the process has hung and should be killed.

Another MsBuild task can be used to publish the build source code. The second MsBuild uses another config file which publishes the build code to a folder in the integrated testing server. We use AspNetCompiler task to precompile our applications.

The second config file contains:

<Project  xmlns = "http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003"
                    name = "AspNetPreCompile"
                    DefaultTargets = "PrecompileWeb">
<Target Name = "PrecompileWeb">
                            <AspNetCompiler
                                        VirtualPath = "DeployTemp"
                                        PhysicalPath = "C:\ProjectWorkingDirectories\ SampleProject”
                                        TargetPath =”\\IntegratedTestingServer\SampleProject”
                                        Force = "true"
                                        Debug = "true"
                                        Updateable = "true"/>
                    </Target>
</Project>

It publishes the build code in the working directory to the integrated testing server. So in the second MSBuild the <projectFile> points to this new config file.

Executable Task

CCNet gives the opportunity to integrate any tool in the executable task. By integrating such tools we can generate more useful build results.

<tasks>
<exec>
                      <executable> </executable>
<baseDirectory> </baseDirectory>
                      <buildArgs> </buildArgs>
                      <buildTimeoutSeconds> </buildTimeoutSeconds>
                </exec>
         </tasks>

• <executable> is the path of the program to run.
• <baseDirectory> is the directory to run the program.
• <buildArgs> contains any command line arguments to pass while running the program.
• <buildTimeoutSeconds> is the number of seconds to wait before assuming that the process has hung and should be killed.

By using this executable task, Microsoft FXCop and SourceMonitor can be integrated to check the coding standards and to find the complexity of modules in our code.

We can integrate any new process to ccnet by using the <executable> task.

For example: Here we have integrated a web.config editor to change the debug mode to release mode.

<exec>
<executable>SampleProject\WebConfigEditor.bat</executable>
            </exec>

During each trigger, this batch file will execute and change the debug mode in the web.config to release mode before publishing the project into the integration testing server.

Publisher Block

The publisher block is used to merge the build reports.

<publishers>
<merge>
                      <files>
                            <file> </file>
                              </files>
                </merge>
                <xmllogger logDir="buildlogs" />
                <statistics />
        <modificationHistory />
</publishers>

• <file> contains the path of the reports that has to be shown in the dashboard.
• <xmllogger> is used to create the log files used by cruise control .net dashboard. logDir is the directory used to save log files. The path is relative to Artifact directory.

By setting the above config files, a sample project named Sampleproject can be displayed in the dashboard of ccnet. By forcing the project, it will build and publish to the integration testing server.

Sample screen shot for  the dashboard of ccnet appears as given below.

Information Architecture starts at sorting the pile of requirements in to different sections. These sections or classes become the backbone of the whole site .This backbone must get through

• Site content
• Interrelation and dependency of content
• The core structure/li>
• And finally, to the ultimate design.

In other words Information Architecture delivers what people want, by bringing together how people think and how the system works.                                                                       

The Principles: 

Précising over to the topic, Information Architecture is a systematic method of identifying, organizing and managing Information for a particular need. Rather than just viewing the pages, an Information Architect must have an insight of, how information must be arranged and connected for easy user access. On this basis we generally classify the principle aspects behind IA as,     

1) Organizing  

The first and foremost task of an information architect is to categorize the available data to fulfill the requirements of the client. This process is handled in the organizing phase in a vivid manner.

2) Labeling      

Labeling is merely a form of representation. They are used to represent larger chunks of information in our websites. Labels can include contextual links, heading, Internal navigation, Index term, Iconic labels.           

3) Navigation      

The navigation helps user in a website to know where the user is and where the user can go.The navigation system can be embedded, supplemental, or advanced.     

4) Searching      

Searching needs no explanation and we usually follow one of these 3 types                   

Simple browsing over data
Alphabetical search    
and search based on keyword.   

5) Metadata         

Metadata is machine understandable information about web resource or information about information. It helps us to group users according to keywords such as name, type etc. Metadata plays an important role in accessing websites through search engines and in ranking them. Metadata is otherwise called data of data.

The 9 step Methodology:

• The methodology of information of architecture deals with how the architecture is implemented in an effective manner. We can concise this into the following steps.

• To know what the requirements are. Information Architects must understand requirements precisely as they are the backbone builders.

• Card sorting: In card sorting method, we provide users with the contents written in different cards and allow them to arrange these contents in a manner with which they are familiar.

• Analyze the results of card sorting and check the possibility of developing an architecture, keeping their preferences in card sorting.

• Develop an architecture based on the above possibility and proceed to finalizing, grouping and labeling of content. We may go for number of iterations as the first grouping will definitely be far from perfect. Develop the sitemap that deals with data relations and content flow as main focus.

• Wire framing. It is the bridge between design-architecture and between planning-executing. After creating the sitemap, we mix it up with the rawest form of design together which results in the creation of wire frames. A typical example of wire frame is as shown below.

         Your browser may not support display of this image.

• Story boarding – is the technique of sketching webpage layouts on paper to define how the user will navigate through the site. It defines a number of common user tasks, such as finding out how to request and relate data. It explains the functions of each field or sections and what type of contents to be placed in these sections.

• Perfecting the outlook of the architecture so far, within the project members from top to bottom. It could give them a clear idea about what we have completed, and what we are expecting from them, over the superior client needs that we had sorted up.

• In the final step, we turn over to complete design implementation of the page layout by visual designers and further to the development side of the project.

References:

http://eduscapes.com/arch/ia/index.htm

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040719.html

• Critical Error
• Lack of Functionality / Logical Error
• Not Living up to Specification
• Spelling or Grammar Error
• Design Problem

• SQL injection
• Bot login prevention
• JavaScript loopholes
• Password protection
• Document privacy
• Reader privacy
• IP restrictions
• Credit card encryption

• W3C standards
• Web accessibility
• Section 508 compliance
• AAA compliance
• XHTML compliance

• Internet Explorer 6
• Internet Explorer 7
• IE 8
• Firefox 1.5 browser
• Safari browser for Mac and Windows XP
• IE 5.2 for Macintosh
• Netscape browser 7.x
• Opera 8.x
• Android and iPhone tablet browsers
  

• Portal development standards
• Web services testing
• Web load performance testing
• Automated web testing
• Web site optimization
• Website coder matrices

• Functional specification of the project
• Client / Admin login access on staging server

• Pay per bug
• Fixed hour testing
• Agile testing for large projects

Write to us to know about skill sets and the services that we can provide to you. 

India, with a large pool of skilled and talented manpower is the number one choice of most countries. This has led to the mushrooming of small outsourcing companies who are endeavoring to get their share of the pie. In this scenario, it has become a necessity for small companies who have the skills and the expertise to prove their capabilities to the clients worldwide.

The clients on the other hand are having difficulty recognising the chaff from the grain and has often ended up in unsuccessful sourcing relationship. eSCM-SP seems to be the ideal solution to both. It gives service providers the guidance to improving their capabilities through a set of 'best practices' standards and provides clients with an objective means of evaluating the capabilities of the service providers

It had become inevitable for us to stand out as a quality service provider to gain competitive advantage. eSCM-SP being a capability model seems different from other quality models which laid more emphasis on documenting the process, appears best suited and a feasibility study was conducted.

The study conducted at the Indian Institute of Management involved assessing the current processes of the capability area, relationship management against objectives defined. To gauge the success of the present sourcing relationships, a survey was conducted based on the practices in relationship management, using a semantic differential scale, and open-ended questions asking for suggestions for improvement if required.

The actual rating was compared with the desired rating to learn whether we have met our objective. The result of the study has proved that we have a fairly high capability in the area of relationship management and can be considered to be at Capability Level 3.

• Cut supervisory time by 50%
• Manage and track multiple activities / projects
• Never miss a task, information or event
• Simple and easy implementation
• Access information real time on SA-CM's web-based platform

Do you have a geographically distributed small service business ? Do you have to manage 'n' number of people to get your work done? Be it any network of clients, vendors, suppliers, distributors – Client Manager helps you efficiently collaborate your entire network and get your work done with significant time and cost savings.

How does SA-CM help you manage your business?

By performing the function of a collaborator, SA-CM integrates and brings every task under one umbrella. You can communicate, instruct and get tasks done through Client Manager. No tasks go unattended and no information is lost!

Here are some benefits that you can leverage:

• Migrate your entire project communication to one centralized platform
• Get rid of the hassles in searching for email communications
• Every task / activity is recorded
• Monitor and track progress
• Get detailed status reports, anywhere, anytime
• Draw immediate attention to urgent tasks
• Estimate accurate project billable time
• Simplify the approval process
• Increase user participation among the team members
• Access information real time on SA-CM's web-based platform

Eliminate the hassles of back and forth emails – Communicate and get all the info at SA-CM

Have you felt the difficulties in hunting for emails and missed emails? You cannot afford to have such state of affairs to affect the efficiency of your business. SA-CM completely eliminates the need for emails by automating the entire process. Every communication related to the project can be made through SA-CM cutting down on unnecessary email instructions, approvals and eventually improving efficiency.

Save time, stay informed

Smart communication is what Client Manager is all about. SA-CM brings in efficient time management which helps you cut supervisory time by almost 50%. Check out the robust features of Client Manager:

• Send and receive sms alerts on your mobile
• Send and receive requests as Tweets
• Import reports on to Excel sheets
• Get deadline alerts
• Perform quick searches with SA-CM's powerful search tool
• Enjoy information security with restricted access
• Implement the tool fast and simple
• Scalable and reliable hosted solution

You get all this with an easy to use simple interface. Also, you save on training costs as SA-CM does not require any kind of additional training. Anyone with basic computer skills can use SA-CM efficiently.

Increase your clientele and improve on your client management skills.

Get started with Client Manager!

Contact us to place an order for Client Manager. Wish to see a free demo? Write to us now or call Steve Roche @ 203 287 2635 and get started!