Using MS Access

Using Microsoft Access was easy as i have used it all my life in school and college to implement systems and create interfaces with running forms, so therefore i found using this software the easiest. Although i had to figure out what the differences were between Access 2005 and Access 2007, after that i could create forms and queries etc. There were a lot of guides for help using Microsoft Access provided by lecturers so therefore if i struggled at all with Access i could refer to these guides. The interent also included a variety of different helps to help with code errors or errors with relationships which i had at first. This was because i had a many to many relationship and this was not possible; so i had to find help on the interent to solve the problem. The interent did solve the problem.

Creating an interface was simple as everything is set out with great ease. I already knew where all of the buttons, text, formats were as i have used the software before, so i quickly created an interface for some data i had implemented. Complex code is difficult to generate as you need to use macros or write out the html for them, but if its a simple bit of code for an interface, then macros are really easy to use and are effective.

Overall i think this product is easy to use. I found Zoho Creator easy to use also, so when i implement my system for ClothKids Clothing Company, i will have to bare in mind these two applications. I will not, however, be using DabbleDb as i would not be able to implement a system with ease unlike the other two applications.

Sam x

Using DabbleDb

I thought DabbleDb was a difficult tool to use as there were no guides on the official DabbleDb website unlike Zoho Creator. This made the tool difficult to use as i didnt really know how to use the application in the first place so then it was a matter of figuring it out for myself. A good gadget on the tool was the map where all of the countries were added onto the form and it produced a world map to show where the most common countries were from the data i produced. I also reasearched on the interent to find tutorials to help me with starting with DabbleDb and there was no tutorials either. Therefore i was unable to get the full feel for the tool as i did not fully understand how to use the Application.

With me not knowing fully how to use the software, creating an interface was difficult. If some tutorials were created for help using the application for creating an interface, maybe i would find it with ease. Generating simple code was not too hard but overall i did not like the software so would not like to use it again.

Comparing the software to the previous Zoho creator is completely different. I found Zoho creator easy to use and DabbleDb difficult to use. Therefore i would rather choose Zoho creator over DabbleDb.

Sam x

Zoho Creator Review

I think Zoho Creator is a good tool as it just automatically sets the forms out like on Microsoft Access without having to manually place and work things out for yourself. It is very easy to use but i found the tutorials to follow through on Zoho very difficult to follow. Therefor Zoho need to change the tutorials to guide the clients through how to create the forms without giving a basic idea as people who haven't used the software before will struggle with these pointers.

I think it is easy to implement a data model once you know how to do it, but if you are a starter of Zoho you may struggle at first. Creating an interface was easy as it is all set out straight forward for you and all of the actions are either in the left hand side pane or on top of the form layout. Therefore everything is placed easy to find and easy to understand. Generating simple code is easy when you know what you are generating as it has basic function points down the left hand side pane for you to select to make the coding process a little easier. You can therefore see exactly what the code will do and it is alot easier to create the code than if you were using Microsoft Access.

Overall i thought Zoho was a good package to use and i will consider using it when coming to the creation of my application for ClothKids Clothing Company.

Sam x

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Lecture and Tutorial 6

The steps involved for prioritising the build are:

1. List all functions or features contained in the requirements
2. Associate each with a priority category
3. Sort the list into descending order of importance (ie. High to Low)
4. Agree final list with client
5. Group features into versions (ie. High = version 1, Medium = version 2)

A Few pointers on creating the documentation:

Requirements Document

• purpose = explain the purpose of the system you will create
• scope and description = describe application by listing function points
• user, entities and attributes = include your use case here
• entity list = include the entities and attributes you will use for the system
• functionality and processing = include your activity diagram here
• security policy = write any security issues you may encounter

Design Document

• purpose = copy from requirements document
• data model = include your ERD here
• data processing = any queries for editing, creating and deleting
• functional specification = include the table for high/medium/low priorities
• development method = include a Gantt Chart here
• user interface = include wire frames for your forms in the proposed system

Hope this helps!

Sam x

3 RAD Methods

Rapid Application Development - the three RAD methods

• Phased
• Prototyping
• Throwaway Prototyping

Phased

Prototyping

Throwaway Prototyping

Websites for Normalisation and ERDs

Here are a few websites which are helpful when dealing with Normalisation and ERDs.

Normalisation:
http://www.keithjbrown.co.uk/vworks/mysql/mysql_p7.php
This explains the termonology used when normalising data
http://db.grussell.org/section008.html
This website explains in more detail what 0NF, 2NF and 3NF are about and how to do them
http://db.grussell.org/section009.html
Example of normalisation in a row format

ERDs:
http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/er/er_intro.html
Example of an entity relationship diagram
http://www.getahead-direct.com/gwentrel.htm
Online tutorial of how to do an ERD
http://www.mia.org.my/handbook/guide/IMAP/imap7%20Example%20of%20an%20Entity-Relationship%20Diagram.jpg
Example of an entity relationship diagram (2 arrow heads mean 'to many', 1 arrow head means 'one')
http://www.kiwi-dreams.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/example-erd1.jpg
A simple example of an ERD (like the one in lecture)
http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/~mark/download/optdb_erd.pdf
Components of ERDs and Examples

Hope these links help!
Sam x