Internship Report

Advanced Database Application Development
Diploma Final-Year Project 2007/2008
Jeremy Foo Jie You (S10023782H)

Project Report • School of InfoComm Technology • January 14, 2008
Supervisor 2nd Marker

Lum Chee Fong, Victor Chang Bin Haw
Trenz Pruca • email: no_reply@apple.com • Elementary School! 1

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement! 5
Company’s Business! 6
Introduction! 6
Company Structure! 7
Location! 7
Tasks, Roles and Technologies! 8
Introduction! 8
Systems Builder (Hardware)! 8
Knowledge and Skill Requirement! 9
Problems and Management! 9
Project Manager! 9
Knowledge and Skills Requirement! 10
Problems Encountered and Management! 10
System Analyst! 11
Principal Software Developer! 12
Knowledge and Skills Requirements! 12
Trenz Pruca • email: no_reply@apple.com • Elementary School! 1

Documentation writer! 13
Trainer! 14
People and Communication Issues! 15
Introduction! 15
Work Affected! 15
Management! 15
Reflection! 16
Professional and Legal Issues! 17
Introduction! 17
Views! 17
Management! 17
Reflection! 18
Organisational and External Party Requirements! 19
Database Transfer! 20
Introduction! 20
Requirements! 20
Background! 20
Project Specification! 20
Approach! 21
Tools and Techniques used! 21
Problems or Challenges Encountered! 21
Design! 21
Features! 22
Interface! 23
Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 2

Evaluation! 23
Future! 23
Nishino Product Database! 24
Introduction! 24
Requirements Specification! 24
Background Information! 24
Client Requirements! 25
Objectives! 26
Functional Requirements! 26
Non-Functional Requirements! 26
Development! 27
Tools! 27
Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture! 27
Label printing! 28
User Interface! 29
Deployment! 30
Testing! 30
Evaluation! 30
Future! 31
Subsumption Architecture! 32
Introduction! 32
Software Robots! 32
Framework! 32
Evaluation! 33
Conclusion! 34
Learning Experience! 34
Conclusion! 35
References! 36

Appendix! 38
Use Case Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 39
ER Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 40
Label Printing Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 41
Companies Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 42
Ingredients Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 43
Products Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 44

Acknowledgement
Thank you for the fish
The internet is a wonderful place for information. Nothing of this project would be possible
without the contributions from the great minds of the subject matter experts in the areas of
the following,
• Object Orientated and design pattern methodologies
• C# Development in .Net technologies
• Business Objects
• Component Based Scalable Architecture
• Subsumption Architecture
• Microsoft SQL technologies
In particular, the publishers of the wonderful books on the topics that were essential to
making this internship interesting and a fruitful one.
I would like to especially thank my supervisor, Mr Yasuhiro Kawada for everything he has
done to help me adjust to the company and the work that I am to do for my internship. Also his
invaluable knowledge and insights into the industry has been wonderful advice in carving out
a career for myself.
Lastly, I would like to thank Mr Victor Lum for contacting me and convincing me to work on
this internship opportunity. It has been a most refreshing, surprising and rewarding
experience thus far.

Company’s Business
Its all about the ways to make the money
INTRODUCTION
Located in the heart of the CBD at Telok Ayer Street, Huminte is a small IT solutions
business that caters to the needs of her clients by providing a one stop shop for consulting,
implementation, execution and training for whatever IT services that the client needs.
The stairs to the office
Services provide can include and are not limited to the following,
• Custom software development work
• Maintenance and Repair
• Infrastructure planning and implementation
• Systems building
• Network administration

• Training
• Upgrades and updates
COMPANY STRUCTURE
The company currently employs 2 other employees
along with one intern from a polytechnic, this consists of
the company accountant and the managing director who
is also my supervisor. As such this firm is very agile and
able to handle clients with a single mindedness and
focus that larger companies lack.
However, the number of projects can be undertaken

would considerably be lesser than larger companies but
not at a risk to the revenue stream due to proper project
management.
LOCATION
Due to her location at the heart of the CBD, Huminte is well poised to handle the requests of
her clients as they are mostly located within the vicinity of the company.
The actual office is a rented space from FLP Singapore Pte Ltd, a one stop creative marketing
company. FLP occasionally outsources backend development of their web and interactive
design projects to Huminte.

Tasks, Roles and Technologies
Everything that happened during this short time
INTRODUCTION
Due to the versatility and the size of the company, no specific role was given. However, the
individual projects that were undertaken required different roles due to project requirements.
The following are a list of roles that arose from the different projects that were undertaken,
• Systems Builder (Hardware)
• Project Manager
• System Analyst
• Principal Software Developer
• Documentation Writer
• Trainer
The fact that all these roles were performed by the same individual, it is safe to assume that
there was no assumptions being made when certain roles had to transition between each
other. This made for a very agile development process.
SYSTEMS BUILDER (HARDWARE)

The task was to assemble a complete PC from the components that were purchased off the
shelf. This included assembling the different parts into the chassis of the new computer as
well as sorting out which wires where to go to which connectors on the motherboard of the
computer.
Further work was needed to ensure the system would have optimum airflow and ventilation
due to its ATX form factor1 that was to fit in a mini casing. This was to be achieved by proper
planning for cable management.
1 Advanced Technology Extended form factor is a standard in computer case and motherboard design that
was developed by Intel in 1995. Wikipedia, (2008, January 11). ATX. Retrieved January 11, 2008, Web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX
Knowledge and Skill Requirement
This role and its associated tasks required knowledge in the assembly of PCs from their
individual components. Also the ability to interpret manuals and follow instructions are a vital
skill. Additionally, experience helps a lot as there are certain nuances to system building that
cannot be learnt by just reading up or following manuals.
Most importantly would be the understanding of the individual components and how they fit
within the context of a computer system. Take for example the differences between SATA and
PATA interfaces and their required settings for Master or Slave modes for the individual
devices (Hard drives). Knowing the differences and being able to set the proper hardware
settings via the jumpers of the components would speed up the assembly time.
In addition, setup of the low level hardware via the BIOS2 settings to accommodate the
technicalities of the operating system to be installed required prior knowledge of the internals
of that operating system.
All in all, the knowledge and skill requirements for the assembly of a computer system relies
largely on the understanding of how hardware and software (operating system) work and co-
exist together.
Problems and Management
The only problem encountered was a computer casing design that was different from
traditional casings. Instead of having the power supply unit mounted at the top back corner of
the casing, it is mounted at the front and flush with the bottom of the system.
Management of such an interesting case design just warranted more careful cable
management to ensure the cables that are routed throughout the casing would not interfere
with airflow and ventilation of the system.
PROJECT MANAGER
Due to the structure of the company, there is no provision for individual roles for each
employee. As such, each employee handled every aspect of whichever project that they were
assigned.
The project manager’s role that each employee plays for their own projects basically requires
them to work on the following,
2 BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System and refers to firmware code that starts the individual
components of a computer at low level when the computer system is first booted. Wikipedia, (2008, January
12), BIOS. Retrieved January 11, 2008. Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS.
1. Prepare timeline for client and billing.
2. Ensuring milestones are reached.
3. Arrangement of meetings with clients.
4. Ensure deliverables are of quality and to client’s satisfaction.
Knowledge and Skills Requirement
Due once again to the structure of the company, the full knowledge and skills of a project
manager was not really required. This contributes greatly to how agile the company is as there
are not many processes to go through that might otherwise slow down a bigger company with
more human resources.
For the perusal of the person in charge of billing as well as for the client and the developer’s
reference, the only process and document really required would be the development of the
work breakdown structure. Even in this case, not the full features of the work breakdown
structure was to be used.
In essence, the WBS’ use was to calculate roughly how much time was needed to develop the
project. Broken down into individual components or milestones, it was then possible to
calculate how much time was exactly needed and what components were really large enough
to deem as milestones. The billing department will then used the time taken to calculate a rate
to bill the client. The developer will also then have the timetable and the deadlines for each
component.
For the purpose of fulfilling the school’s requirements of the internship, knowledge to create
the Terms of Reference and Project Proposal is also required.
Problems Encountered and Management
Having been educated that project management by a project manager was a certain way, it
took some time to get used to the style that the company worked. In particular, planning how
much time was needed within the work breakdown structure was different as all that the client
needed to know was how much time is needed to complete the development.
The person handling billing was the one that was concerned about the amount of time per
milestone as was the developer, but all these are internal to the company.

It took some getting used to but eventually the idea to present the work breakdown structure
as a to do list with a time required for each item that was a major component of the project that
either required learning, research or even actual development helped immensely.
It was an unorthodox approach compared to the one that was taught in school, but it got the
job done.
SYSTEM ANALYST
Proper planning for any project is essential to ensure that development work can be done as
efficiently as possible. This also helps to ensure that problems and changes can be easily
tracked down and managed. It also helps the people involved with the project to be able to
understand the processes that are related to the various aspects of the end product.
The task of the system analyst on this front is to do the initial planning and brainstorming of
the project. This includes coming up with documents to support the software developer. For
example,
• Use case
• Use case diagrams
• Objet relationships
• Database models
• Initial design sketches
The knowledge of the system analyst largely relate to the ability to understand the abstract
problem that the client has and translate it into something that software developers can work
on. In the case of this role during the internship, knowledge of the ways to translate what the
client wants from interviews into plausible use cases was very vital as the clients were mostly
not technical people.
Skill in understanding and getting people to put their requirements into a concrete form was
also highly vital. From there, translating those requirements into use cases and than into even
more technical data like object relationships or even database models was needed such that
the software developers could easily build a product.
Some knowledge in how relational databases work is also required as the projects that were
being handled all deal with databases on some level. Developing a database model from such
knowledge using information from the project requirements the clients specified is inclusive
of the role of the system analyst in this case.
Not many problems were encountered as prior usage of these knowledge and skills in
personal projects and school work helped. In addition, because the system analyst and the
software developer are the same person, it made the translation from abstract emotive data to
technical data related to development was not really a problem.
PRINCIPAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

The task of the software developer is simple. To create something out of nothing using his
skills at writing code and interpreting the information that the system analyst provides. This
includes building the prerequisites to the system.
Knowledge and Skills Requirements
The requirements for this role is rather technical and extensive due to the nature of the role.
As such, a list of the knowledge and skill requirements are as follows,
• Object Orientated Programming Methodologies
• C# Development Language
• Relational Databases
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• CSLA.Net (Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture) Framework
• .Net Technologies
• Rapid Application Development
• User Interface Design
• Windows Graphics Engine
• Print SDKs
• Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Architect
In addition to the above, general knowledge in the following will also be helpful although it is
not required of the software developer,

• VB.Net
• C++
• Regular Expressions
There were initial problems as prior knowledge requirements were not at a proficient enough
level that would warrant easy development of the projects. Some time had to be spent learning
and trying out the various aspects of the languages.
However, after much trying and extensive references to help files, examples and manuals,
these problems were fast over.
DOCUMENTATION WRITER
The task of the documentation writer is to create documentation for the projects. This
includes information not limited to the setup, usage and troubleshooting of the end product.
Updates to the documentation would also have to be made should the end product be updated
as well.
Understanding of the project as well as the features the software developer incorporated into
the end product is essential. A good command of english as well as a good eye for presentation
of information is important to ensure that the documentation is easily understood.
The ability to translate hard technical data into something laymen can understand is highly
important as well.
Most of the problems with the documentation arose from the ever changing nature of the
product being developed as additions to the requirements were made. As such, some features
and the relevant screenshots would keep changing and thus would require rewrites.
In addition, the design of the manual also created initial problems as one that was intuitive to
use was not a blank template of any word processor. Selection of the template was highly
important.
All these were manageable just that it took time to deal with them.

TRAINER
Not everyone likes to read manuals and documentation. So it was essential that training in
usage of the end product for the clients was conducted such that they understood the end
product and its usage.
Extensive knowledge in the documentation and the project is highly important. A skill in
helping people understand complex technicalities as well as an ability to use analogies to
explain them is essential as well.
Time was the major problem. From the time taken to setup the end product on the client’s
systems to the actual testing, there was very little time as these people also had their jobs to
do.
In order to deal with this problem, a run through of the end product’s features by virtue of
actually using it in a real life situation as an example was conducted to allow the client to
familiarise themselves.

People and Communication Issues
Social aspects of the job
INTRODUCTION
Huminte as her name suggest is a Japanese company. As such her employees are all Japanese
as well as her clients. This makes for a very interesting experience when dealing with them
due to the language barrier.
WORK AFFECTED
Initially, understanding what was to be done was a huge problem as the supervisor spoke in
heavily Japanese accented english. A consequence of this would be that for about the first 3
weeks, I did not know what time was my lunch break supposed to be.
In order to be polite, I did not venture out for lunch. However it was much later that I realised
that my supervisor was very liberal with the times that I actually went out to eat. This was
about 2 months in to the internship and by then I have made not having lunch a habit.
Consequently, I also could not answer the company phone as most of his clients were
Japanese.
MANAGEMENT
Eventually, I got used to his accent and would often ask my supervisor to repeat himself if I did
not understand what he was saying. This became most helpful as I would rely on him to
translate what his clients would say.
Should my supervisor not be around and I had to deal with his clients alone, I would often try
to understand what the client wanted by cues from their Singaporean colleagues.
Most of the time a lot of guesswork would be involved in figuring out what my supervisor was
trying to convey, but when things got really complicated, he would usually write down what he
wanted in english on a piece of paper.
Post It notes became the real helper to managing the language barrier from the start of the
internship.

REFLECTION
On hindsight, not much of my work was affected due to the working style I’m accustom to. My
supervisor will give me a general idea of what the solution should be like and I will figure out
the rest on my own through research as well as trial and error.
There is perhaps no other way to handle this language barrier than polite clarification on the
subject that is being discussed. Usage of language neutral medium to communicate would be
another alternative to handling this issue.
Perhaps the best solution would be to actually pick up the Japanese language. Given a chance,
this would have made a big difference as the barrier of communication will be removed from
the passage of learning. I would be able to learn more and understand immediately what was
requested of me.

Professional and Legal Issues
To do with the law and ethics
INTRODUCTION
Most of the professional and legal concerns for this internship mostly centered around the
software and other intellectual property that was used for the various projects that was worked
on during the internship period.
VIEWS
Work done during the internship period was mostly for clients and thus it was not proper to
use products that the company or the client did not have a license for. The legal ramifications
was too great no matter how obscure the eventual product’s usage would be.
Most of these intellectual property were actually controls and libraries that could be used to
assist in easing the development of the project.
MANAGEMENT
Initially, many problems were faced with trying to achieve certain design goals of the project
as the components that were available were written by other developers and sold as licensed
products. This included presentation of data in the user interface via a list view that was
similar to the one that Microsoft Outlook employs. A free print engine capable of printing
labels of a certain size with formatting capabilities was also lacking.
By dealing with the problem in an alternative way, sometimes by keeping it as simple as

possible, the desired effect could still be achieved. In conjunction, open source components

with almost similar functionality were modified and updated to fully achieve the desired effect
of the particular functionality.
REFLECTION
Since the desired effect for the project was achieved and there was no major complaints from
the client, there would not have been any other way that these problems be managed. Software
development is a creative process. There should be no fixed way to get something done the
way the developer wants if enough effort is put it.
On hindsight, there probably is not any other way to handle the problems properly other than
the course of action taken.

Organisational and External Party Requirements
External pressures
Prior to the beginning of the internship, the company already completed the move from its old
location to the current one at Telok Ayer Street. As such there was not many organisation
changes or issues that affected the internship on the whole.
The only issue that existed arose from the fact that the company is small. Hence, consultation
with the supervisor only came about when the person in question was actually around. Should
he be off dealing with his own clients and their projects, there no one around to coach in
whatever queries and questions there was about the project at hand.

Database Transfer
Migration of Access to MDF
INTRODUCTION
One of the initial applications that was written for this internship would be an experiment as
well as research into Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
The Database Transfer application was written as a precursor to the Nishino Product
Database project as the original database had to be migrated from Access 2000 format to the
new SQL 2005 format to take advantage of newer and more powerful features that the new
database server provides.
REQUIREMENTS
Background
The initial version of the Nishino Product Database that was previously developed Nishino
Pharmaceutical Pte Ltd. stored all information in an Access 2000 database. The database
itself was not normalised and not relational even though there was the capacity for that. It was
also developed using an early version of CSLA.Net.
With the move to the new version of CSLA, a better database storage engine was needed.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 was chosen due to the numerous performance and feature
improvements over the old Access 2000 format.
Project Specification
The primary goal of the Database Transfer application was to transfer schema as well as table
data from the source database (Access 2000) to the destination database (SQL 2005).
The secondary goals of the project include the following,
• Convert Autonumber identity field to GUID uniqueidentifier fields based upon selection.
This was to full utilise SQL 2005 features of a more unique identifying field.
• Drop table if it exists.
• Handle Access to Access as well as SQL2005 to SQL2005 transfers as well.

Since there was a chance the project might be used extensively, additional optional goals for
its initial inception were to include the following if possible,
• Easy to use intuitive interface
• Database Manager class to handle multiple database storage engine types
• Auto detect database engine type
Approach
Since this was a personal project as well as a premier to the main internship project, the
approach to this was flexible and used as learning platform to learn about C#, SQL 2005 as
well as .Net Framework 2.0 related components.
As much as possible, the goals were implemented as best as they could and sequentially. This
was to ensure that the end result would be a complete product as well as a good learning
experience.
Tools and Techniques used
All development work was done on Visual Studio 2005. This was also in preparation for the
main internship project as this was the IDE of choice. Since the transfer process had to be
achieved programatically, components that could achieve that effect were sourced and used in
the development of the project.
The traditional SQL engine components that the .Net Framework provides do not allow much
programatic control of SQL database except through query statements. But with a little
research on the internet turns out that there are additional components that come bundled
with the SQL Server 2005 that are management components that allow such programatic
control of the database. However it is only limited to SQL Server 2005.
Problems or Challenges Encountered
Mostly the challenges that arose from this project came from the fact that there was no prior
experience with the development language. Also there was no extensive use of SQL 2005
which resulted in extensive research necessary for the development of the application.
DESIGN

Features
The design goal of the application was a simple one and all it had to do was that one simple
goal. As such, the overall design of the application was also to be as simple as possible to
reflect that primary goal.
As such, the following were the features that were considered,
• Input of source and destination connection strings to allow easy passing into database
connection methods
• Auto checking if source and destination databases are valid based upon existence and type
• Allow selection of ID field to force conversion to uniqueidentifier
• Options to drop the existing table if it was detected to exist thereby replacing data and
schema
• Option to replace selcted ID field with uniqueidentifier fields
• User interface to be straightforward and simple

Interface
The application is very simple to use. The initial screen only shows the input fields for the
source and destination connection strings. Once the user has entered both and the system
checks its out as alright (denoted by a green tick icon), the rest of the options will be
presented.
From there, the user will be able to select additional options before they are transfered.
Transfers are done to the destination database on a table by table basis. Progress messages
will show in the status bar at the bottom of the application in the anticipation that a large
database needs to be transfered. The progress messages provide a way to keep track of the
process and assures the user that the application has not frozen up.
Due the flexibility in using the connection strings, it is also possible transfer the database into
an SQL 2005 Server or a SQL 2005 MDF file as well. And as much as the database manager
and translation class allows, other database storage engines as well.
EVALUATION
The application performed as expected, converting a Access 2000 database full of product
information into the SQL 2005 format in a MDF file. The identity field was also translated
into a uniqueidentifier field in anticipation of the main internship project.
Future
There is a lot of potential in such an application. So far the only other commercially available
application that does schema and data translation is bundled with SQL Server 2005 and only
supports the formats that are proprietary to Microsoft.
Should this application be further developed the following features could be included,
• Translation of individual fields
• Translation of data to a new schema and type
• Handle other database storage engines like Oracle, MySQL, etc.

Nishino Product Database
Pharmaceutical product information storage
INTRODUCTION
Nishino Pharmaceutical deals in the sale of pharmaceutical products that are sold locally as
well as imported goods, mainly from countries like Japan and Korea. These products cater
mainly for the health of the customers by means of acting as supplements. They are usually
sold as tonic and lotions although the company also sells many other common health
products.
REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION
Background Information
With the introduction of new Ministry of Health labeling requirements, any pharmaceutical
product is required to display the following fields of data,
1. Product Name & Function
2. Full Ingredient Listing

3. Instructions for Use
4. Country of Manufacture
5. Contents (weight/volume)
6. Batch Number
7. Manufacturing or Expiry Date (exp. date labeling is mandatory if durability < 30 months)
8. Name and address of company responsible for placing the product in the market in
Singapore
9. Special precautions (form the annexes or decided by company based on safety

assessment
Nishino Pharmaceutical already uses an early version of the NPD application that prints all of
the above except for the fields in bold. With the addition of such fields, there is a need to
change the label size as well as redesign the format of the printed label to allow for better
readability when so much data is presented.
The current user interface also lacks the places to enter the new fields required above.
Additionally, the user interface also features multiple avenues of entry to use the different
functions of the software that are not very obvious. Even though aesthetics are not a vital part
of the application, it helps with making the software enjoyable to use. This is also lacking.
Inspection of the product database store also shows that the storage format just deals with
product information.
The existing system is very simple. It is meant to store, retrieve, edit product information and
allow labels to printed based upon a format specified in a Word Document.
Client Requirements
The client stressed the importance of ensuring the format of the label to be printed met the
Ministry of Health Guidelines. Also, the printer should be able to print the contents on 2
different types of labels.
Apart from that, they expressed no other requirements and will go with the recommendation
of the developer.

Objectives
The primary objective of the project is to redesign the format of the label printing framework
to handle the new label size as well as the addition of new fields of data. This is to be in
compliance with the new Ministry of Health standards.
The secondary objective is rewrite the original label software using CSLA.Net Business
Object Framework to keep it more in line with object orientated programming practices. This
will facilitate easy future upgrades to the application as well as provide a certain level of
extensibility.
With these two objectives, the remaining general objective is also a redesign of the user
interface to make it more intuitive as well as aesthetically appealing. This will be achieved by
maintaining a close parallel with Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
Functional Requirements
• Print labels based upon Ministry of Health Guidelines
• Print 2 different types of label sizes
• Store pharmaceutical product information
• Store company information
• Store ingredient information
• Assign ingredient to product
• Assign importer to product
• Assign manufacture to product
• Run on Windows XP
Non-Functional Requirements
• Intuitive and easy to use
• As little clicks to get to desired function as possible
• Optimized Performance

DEVELOPMENT
Tools
Development of NPD was carried out on Visual Studio .Net 2005 using SQL Server 2005
Express as a database storage engine. In addition, creation of the database was done using the
SQL Server 2005 Management Studio Express.
Plotting of the use case diagram as well as project planning via the work breakdown structure
was all achieved using the applications OmniGraffle and OmniPlan respectively.
Documentation was written using Pages. These applications all run on the Mac OS X
platform.
Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture
The core of the application would be its database capabilities that is gain through the use of
CSLA.Net or Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture. CSLA is a framework created
by Rockford Lhotka that allows for object orientated business objects. Business objects are
objects that abstract business entities in an object orientated program. These entities can be
sales orders, employees, invoices and so on 3.
To put it simply, CSLA.Net allows for database records to be emulated as objects. With
individual fields being accessed like properties of an object. This ORM (Object Relation
Mapping) concept is further extended by the addition of capabilities such as business rules
tracking, validation and N-level undo.
Couple this with the .Net Framework’s ability to do data binding of its controls with objects, It
makes writing database applications much simpler.
To further simplify it, a code generator was used in conjunction to generate generic codes
that are applicable to every business objects. Small changes then could be made to each class
to give it more features.
Because of the way CSLA works and the ease of use of code generators, the traditional
workflow of creating the ER Diagram after the class diagrams has to be switched with the
design for the database attempted first.
CSLA is also most than just a simple ORM tool. Amongst its built in components to the
framework that allows for access control, security, and many other features, it also leverages
on .Net’s ability to send serialized objects across a transport (Object Remoting). This means
3 Wikipedia, (December 28, 2007), Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture. Retrieved January 12,
2008. Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component-based_Scalable_Logical_Architecture
that to convert an application from one that uses a local database to a remote one, all that is
required is one line of code to change.
The learning curve for such a framework is very steep, but the concept is learnt, the full
entirety of how powerful it is, is as simple as its usage.
Label printing
The traditional developer’s way of printing data would be to use Crystal Reports. However,
for this application, such an option was not exercised due to its complexity and huge
prerequisite list.
One option to consider was using Microsoft Office’s Interop package to send data to Office
applications to fit into a template. This was attempted in the initial version of NPD, but was
too ugly and difficult to extend.
Upon exploring options, an open source label printing engine was found. Extensive
modifications had to be made to the engine due to its limitations and the client’s
requirements. The list of changes include the following,
• Ability to print formatted text. (Heading, Subheadings are bold, while text was normal)
• Addition of page offset into coordinate calculation engine to account for different printer
offsets
• Allow coordinate engine to account for page offset and set padding for other margins to
ensure consistent look
• Addition of label sheet settings for the 2 types that the client requires
• Allow coordinate engine to accommodate label padding as well as individual margins
Being able to control the print process programatically helped in ensuring each label turned
out the way it should. The only problem is that printers that will be used to print from this
application would have to use Postscript drivers as PCL drivers are picky about the RAW data
it outputs.
One workaround would be to do low level control of the printer, but this would cause
problems because the commands are unique to each type of printer.

User Interface
To achieve a certain level of intuitiveness for the application, most of the important
information for the application was organized on its main screen. The UI was adopted from
Mac OS X’s Address Book application as it seemed to best fit the concept of what was to be
displayed.

The look and also the feel was mimicked as much as possible to ensure that the usability that
came naturally to the Address Book application was also present in NPD.
However, compared to Mac OS X form components, Windows has issues with its
Windows.Forms Component of .Net when it came to performance. The layout panels would
flicker whenever they bound data from the database.
One of the alternatives was to use the latest WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) which
was only present in Windows Vista. Since the client’s computer systems only ran Windows
XP, the other alternative was to subclass the form components affected and add in
performance tweaks.
Additional display performance tweaks were introduced to make the application more
responsive. This include having a timer to check if the filter text changes within a certain time
and bind data based upon that decision. Also having the controls data bind only when
necessary.
DEPLOYMENT
Deployment of the application was done via a setup program. Updates to the application and
its libraries were version controlled such that newer setup programs would overwrite the older
version applications.
The software was deployed to the client’s Orchard Road branch as well as their warehouse.
TESTING
Since the application was rapidly developed, most testing was done component by component
as it was developed. Further user testing was done by observing the client use the product
during their daily processes.
While software bugs and errors were fixed, additional improvements in terms of performance
and usability were also introduced and installed during updates.
EVALUATION
The objectives of the project have been fully met as evident by the satisfaction of the client.
Functions were completed according to the specification in the terms of reference, this
includes some of the optional components. The project was also completed ahead of schedule
allowing for more time to do performance fixes and optimisation. Request for changes were
handled with a short turn around due to the modular nature of the application.

However, the project could be further improved but was not as it was not economically
feasible on the budget that was set for the project. Still, there is a great sense of satisfaction
when using the product, even when testing which gives an idea of how complete the product is
to the client as well as the developer.
Future
The project of course could be further extended from its original parameters. Some of these
ideas could be as follows,
• More customizable print engine allowing user to select fields to display along with free form
text
• Addition of a logistics management module to handle the company’s inventory.
• Build in business rules for ingredients as there are certain criteria for restricted and
prohibited ingredients.
• More performance tweaks
• Concurrent database access fixes
• Barcode scanning
• Picture of products
• Update CSLA to 3.0 in preparation for Windows Vista-only features (WPF and WCF)

Subsumption Architecture
Layered reactive artificial intelligence
INTRODUCTION
The subsumption architecture mimics the way insects behave by having neural networks of
layers of simple components that handle a singular and often simple task. The sum of these
layers would produce a behavior that is intelligent enough to react to changes in the
environment.
This architecture is most often used in the field of behavior based robotics and was created by
Rodney Brooks.
The sum of the entire neural networks makes for a very reactive artificial intelligence. This
opens up a possibility for applications beyond the field of robots.
SOFTWARE ROBOTS
The only other application of subsumption architecture without the use for hardware was in
an experiment to use artificial intelligence on RoboCode, a simulated tank game where
developers write code for tanks to fight it out in an virtual arena.
It would be interesting to apply the idea of a behavior based software robot in the field of
perhaps generating newspaper layouts. This would enable templates to be generated based
upon the content that will be passed to the inputs of the software robot. The robot will
account for the content, advertisement placement and other considerations a layout editor in a
newspaper usually makes.
This will allow for multitude of different and interesting content layout to be generated for any
type of medium.
FRAMEWORK
There is currently no framework available for a high level language like C#. In the exploration
of the possibility of creating such a software robot to handled the generation of newspaper
layouts, it is imperative that such a framework that encompasses the philosophy of the
architecture be created.

This framework must embrace the following ideals,
• A state machine that handles a singular task
• These state machines are organised into layers
• Inputs follow a path through these layers by being passed along as messages between each
layer
• Messaging system to pass messages between layers either inhibiting the message or
suppressing the message.
• Layers run in parallel of each other eventually ending up at a layer that actually outputs
something that will make a change
For now, work has started on such a framework by trying to emulate the ideals by means
of .Net technologies as well as object orientated methodologies. Possible usage of the
Messaging Queue4 of Windows operating systems or the Chain-of-Responsibility5 design
pattern for inter layer communication will depend on whether the framework will be multi
threaded or linear.
EVALUATION
It is highly possible that such a framework can be created and fully implemented native to .Net
such that software robots can created. But since there has been no initial work at such high
level languages, it is mostly a proof of concept as well as a trial and error implementation.
Future
The possibilities are endless should the framework come to fruition. Considering .Net is able
to run on any platform that has the Common Language Runtime, it is highly possible to port
the software robots to work in a online or offline environment.
It could server numerous purposes apart from deciding whether a newspaper page is
supposed to look the way it is.
4Simplify Distributed System Design Using the Command Pattern, MSMQ, and .NET. Retrieved January 13,
2008, from http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/04/09/CommandPattern/
5 Wikipedia, (2007, November 24). Chain-of-responsibility pattern. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain-of-responsibility_pattern
Conclusion
At the end of it all
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
The internship experience was an invaluable experience that cannot be measured. The
amount of knowledge gleaned and the experienced gain was considerably more than any other
education.
The immersion into the industry taught also many practical lessons. Things that were taught
in school were not all used. Instead, the focus on more practical aspects of the Software
development life cycle had more play in the industry. Especially with a company as small as
Huminte, the agility that it needs to stay competitive would be removed should it follow
everything completely.
On a more personal note, this internship allowed for the education in new things, chief
amongst of which that,
• It is really a different world out there. School doesn’t really prepare you for everything
• Software frameworks are the way to go for the future
• C# is very much easy to pick up
• .Net technologies are really useful as long as you can read past all that documentation
• Object Orientation is most valuable to parallel what the system analysts comes up with and
what the software developer must do
• Visual Studio is a fantastic IDE just that it lacks third party version control
• The synergy of CSLA.Net along with .Net technologies really helps to reduce the
development time of any project. (A 3 month project can take 3 weeks)
• Test each component before moving on to the next
• Nothing beats observing the user using the application for insights on bugs
• Artificial Intelligence, Agent programming will probably be the next big thing

CONCLUSION
The industry is way ahead of what is being taught in school. As much as school tries to form
the basis for everything that the students will do when they head out into the workforce, they
will not be prepared unless they diligently read up, be inquisitive and hunger to learn.
Internship should be the only choice for a Final Year Project. It has been a most fruitful
experience and every other student should gain this valuable insight too.

References
Wikipedia, (2008, January 11). ATX. Wikipedia, (2007, November 24). Chain-of-
Retrieved January 11, 2008, Web site: responsibility pattern. Retrieved January 13,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Chain-of-responsibility_pattern
Lhotka, Rockford (2006). Expert C#
Business Objects Second Edition. Apress. Brad, King (2004). Simplify Distributed
System Design Using the Command
Wikipedia, (2008, January 12), BIOS.
Pattern, MSMQ, and .NET. Retrieved
Retrieved January 11, 2008. Web site:
January 13, 2008, from http://
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS
msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/
Wikipedia, (December 28, 2007), 04/09/CommandPattern/
Component-based Scalable Logical
Grant Fritchey, (2006, December 20). SQL
Architecture. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
Server 2005 Backups. Retrieved January 13,
Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
2008, from http://www.simple-talk.com/
Component-
sql/backup-and-recovery/sql-server-2005-
based_Scalable_Logical_Architecture
backups/
Pete, (2007). Address Label Printing API
Rick Strahl, (2005, May 18). Building a
for Windows. Retrieved January 13, 2008,
better .NET . Retrieved January 13, 2008,
from http://sourceforge.net/projects/
from http://www.west-wind.com/
labelprintapi/
presentations/configurationclass/
Boogie Woogie, (2006, February 26). configurationclass.asp
Printing C# Friends. Retrieved January 13,
David Hayden, (2006, January 15).
2008, from http://
GetSchema - DbConnection.GetSchema in
www.csharpfriends.com/Forums/
ADO.NET 2.0 - Retrieve Databases Tables
ShowPost.aspx?PostID=40107
Columns Views etc. from Database
Ryan Farley, (2004, July 13). Writing to Connection. Retrieved January 13, 2008,
Your .NET Application's Config File. from http://davidhayden.com/blog/dave/
Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http:// archive/2006/01/15/2734.aspx
ryanfarley.com/blog/archive/
Joydip Kanjilal, (2006, May 8).
2004/07/13/879.aspx
Implementing a Data Access Layer in C#.
Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://
aspalliance.com/837

David Hayden , (2006, January 27). Create
Table in SQL Server 2005 Using C# and
SQL Server Management Objects (SMO) -
Code Generation. Retrieved January 13,
2008, from http://www.davidhayden.com/
blog/dave/archive/2006/01/27/2775.aspx
Christian Nagel, Bill Evjen, Jay Glynn,

Morgan Skinner, Karli Watson, Allen Jones,
(2005). Professional C# 2005. Wrox.
R. A. Brooks (1986) "A Robust Layered

Control System For A Mobile Robot", IEEE
Journal Of Robotics And Automation, RA-2,
April. pp. 14-23.
David P. Anderson, (2007, March 26),

SUBSUMPTION FOR THE SR04 AND
JBOT ROBOTS. Retrieved January 13,
2008, from http://dprg.org/articles/
2007-03a/
Eisenstein, J.: Evolving robocode tank

fighters. Technical Report AIM-2003-023,
AI Lab, Massachusetts Institute Of
Technology (2003) citeseer.ist.psu.edu/
647963.html.
Wikipedia, (2007, Octoboer 21),

Subsumption Architecture. Retrieved on
January 13, 2008 from http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Subsumption_architecture

Appendix
Everything else

USE CASE DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE
NPD
Add Product
Print Label
Delete Product
List Products
Assign Ingredient
to Product
Edit Product
Delete Ingredient
Staff
Add Ingredient Database
List Ingredients
Assign Importer
Assign Manufacturer
Edit Company
Add Company List Company
Delete Company

ER DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE

LABEL PRINTING CLASS DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE

COMPANIES CLASS DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE

INGREDIENTS CLASS DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE

PRODUCTS CLASS DIAGRAM FOR NISHINO PRODUCT DATABASE

Terms of Reference
Project Title
Product Database with Label Printing Capability (NPD)
Name of Company
Nishino Pharmaceutical Pte. Ltd.
Nature of Business
Nishino Pharmaceutical deals in the sale of pharmaceutical products that are sold locally as well as imported
goods, mainly from countries like Japan and Korea. These products cater mainly for the health of the
customers by means of acting as supplements. They are usually sold as tonic and lotions although the
company also sells many other common health products.
Their place of business is at the level 2 basement of Takashimaya shopping centre.
Introduction
With the introduction of new Ministry of Health labeling requirements, any pharmaceutical product is
required to display the following fields of data,
1. Product Name & Function
2. Full Ingredient Listing
3. Instructions for Use
4. Country of Manufacture
5. Contents (weight/volume)
6. Batch Number
7. Manufacturing or Expiry Date (exp. date labeling is mandatory if durability < 30 months)
8. Name and address of company responsible for placing the product in the market in
Singapore
9. Special precautions (form the annexes or decided by company based on safety

assessment
Nishino Pharmaceutical already uses an early version of the NPD application that prints all of the above
except for the fields in bold. With the addition of such fields, there is a need to change the label size as well
as redesign the format of the printed label to allow for better readability when so much data is presented.
The current user interface also lacks the places to enter the new fields required above. Additionally, the user
interface also features multiple avenues of entry to use the different functions of the software that are not
!
1
very obvious. Even though aesthetics are not a vital part of the application, it helps with making the software
enjoyable to use. This is also lacking.
Inspection of the product database store also shows that the storage format just deals with product
information.
The existing system is very simple. It is meant to store, retrieve, edit product information and allow labels to
printed based upon a format specified in a Word Document.
The project aims to deal with the problem of different label sizes as well as the introduction of the new
compulsory fields. Improvements on the user interface to make it more intuitive along with restructuring of
the fields to accommodate the new data to be stored. Normalization of the database to better fit the idea of
each table as business entity would also help with easing the development and future upgrades of the
application.
Project Objectives
The primary objective of the project is to redesign the format of the label printing framework to handle the
new label size as well as the addition of new fields of data. This is to be in compliance with the new Ministry
of Health standards.
The secondary objective is re write the original label software using CSLA.Net Business Object Framework
to keep it more in line with object orientated programming practices. This will facilitate easy future upgrades
to the application as well as provide a certain level of extensibility.
With these two objectives, the remaining general objective is also a redesign of the user interface to make it
more intuitive as well as aesthetically appealing. This will be achieved by maintaining a close parallel with
Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
In short these objectives are as follows.
Requirements Definition
• To research existing NPD software and its operation.
• To gather requirements of end users and potential operating environment of the software.
• To familiarize with the label type to be used for printing.
Design and analysis
• To analyze and specify requirements of system.
• Learn C# and CSLA.Net Business Objects Framework.
• Understand development process and code of existing NPD application.
• Design interface for new application
• Design and add improvements to existing application
!
2
Development and Testing
• To develop and design new NPD application.
• Develop testing criteria.
• Ensure a smooth transition to new software.
• Produce necessary documentation and report associated with development of system.
Project Scope
The project will develop the system to upgrade the existing version of the Pharmaceutical Product Database
adding support for a different label type as well as reformatting the output to be in compliance with the
Ministry of Health guidelines. Additionally, the application will be rewritten using CSLA.Net Business Objects
to use more Object Orientated methodology to facilitate future upgrades and modules.
Specifically, the the system will provide for the following functions
• Intuitive User Interface for easy usage.
• Add/Remove/Modify
• Product Details
• Importer
• Manufacturer
• Ingredients
• Search or Filter based upon general query strings or specific fields
• Print labels
• (Optional) Allow selection of different label size (formats)
• Allow selection of fields for printing
• (Optional) Control printer directly for printing so that content will fit size of label
• (Optional) Export to Access/Excel.
Project Work Environment
Software Resources
1. Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2005
2. Microsoft SQL Server Express 2005

!
3
3. Microsoft Office 2003
4. Microsoft Windows XP
5. Mac OS X
6. OmniGraffle
7. OmniPlan
8. Pages
9. Adobe Photoshop CS3
Hardware Resources
1. AMD PC running Windows XP with 1GB of RAM.
2. Vacuum tube amp with speakers.
3. Canon LBP3360 Laser Printer.
4. Server running Windows 2003 Server.
5. Photocopying Machine.
6. PowerBook G4 12” 1.5Ghz Running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Constraints
• 2 weeks (full time) to prepare terms of reference and project proposal.
• 4 days for testing of system.
• Keep within planned timeline with financial consequences if not.
• Application to be written in C# and implemented using CSLA.Net Business Objects

Framework.
• Lack of prior experience with C# and CSLA.Net.
• Lack of prior experience with printing engines/frameworks.
!
4
Schedule
The following schedule runs linearly one after the other. There is no overlap.
Effort Task
4 days Prepare Terms of Reference
4 days Prepare Project Proposal
1 week Develop Business Objects using CSLA.Net
1 week Develop GUI to work with Business Objects
1 week Develop Printing framework
1 week Do adjustments on printing framework to fit labels.
4 days Testing
Total Effort amounts to 1 week 3 days.
!
5
!
6
User Guide
Nishino Product Database
huminte pte ltd

155B Telok Ayer Street
!
Singapore 068611
7
Tel: (65) 6220-6474
Fax: (65) 6220-6475
Contents
Preface About this Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started
Requirements
Installation
Chapter 2 System Overview
Chapter 3 Usage
Deleting a product
Printing product label
Searching for a product
Chapter 4 Modifying or Adding products
Generic Product Details
Ingredients
Companies
Chapter 5 Configuration
Database
Printing
Companies
Ingredients
Application Configuration File
Appendix Troubleshooting
About this Guide
This user’s guide shows you how to install,

configure and use the Nishino Product
Database.
Some information you might find useful.

• Installation of NPD components and prerequisites,in Chapter 1
• NPD components, features and controls overview as well as how
to use some of the basic functionality,in Chapter 2
• Creation and modification of the products,in Chapter 3.
• Configuration of various options available to the users,in
Chapter 4.
• Some troubleshooting messages to aid in correcting problems
with the application, in the Appendix
Working with the Nishino Product Database

NPD tries to be the most intuitive system for product management
that requires little reference to the manual as possible. It was
designed to encourage users to just go ahead and use the system
in order to learn how it works.
1
Getting Started
This chapter covers setting up and installation of the

application and her prerequisites. It is recommended for
new as well as experienced users of the system.
In this chapter you will find information on the following
• Brief summary of the whole system

• Application Requirements
• Setting up of prerequisites
• Application installation
2
Welcome to the Nishino Product Database
Changing the way pharmaceutical product information is

stored and providing a way for the printing of
pharmaceutical labels.
NPD provides a system of organization for cataloging pharmaceutical

products. Along with that, its secondary purpose is to print labels of the
products that it stores. As such, this manual will cover all the basis of the
application from installation, to usage, to printing.
Conventions
To easy the usage of this manual, certain conventions will be used to
simplify the understanding of the processes described.
Addition of Item
Usually used to associate with addition of information to

root items. This icon also appears along sections of the
manual that has to do with addition of data.
Removal of Item
This icon will precede sections that has to do with removal or

deletion of data.
3
Filter or searching
Sections on filtering of the data lists or searching for

information.
The correct way
Signifies that the following process is the correct way to get

things done.
The wrong way
The opposite of the correct way.
4
Requirements
NPD does not have many requirements, but there are some that are
critical to its operation.
Critical Requirements
These are requirements that have to be satisfied in order for NPD to even
run.
• Microsoft Windows XP
• .Net Framework 2.0
• SQL Server 2005 (Express or Server)
Recommended Requirements
These requirements ensure smooth operation of the NPD application.
• PC running at at least 2.4Ghz

• 512MB of RAM
• Printer with borderless printing capabilities
Installation
Prerequisite setup
NPD’s installation system only ensures that the components that it
requires for its smooth operation are present in the system. The user still
has to make sure that they are downloaded from Microsoft and installed
should they not be present.
The prerequisite installation files can be found on the installation CD

under the Prerequisites folder.
The following are the setup instructions for these prerequisites.

5
.Net Framework 2.0
Go into the prerequisite folders and run the file dotnetfx.exe. After the
files have been extracted you should be presented with the following
screen.
Click through the to the next EULA screen.
The installer should automatically go through the installation procedures

as shown in the next screen.
6
Once this is done, .Net Framework 2.0 should be installed on your
system.
SQL Server 2005 Express

Run sqlexpr.exe from the prerequisites folder.
Click through the EULA screen to the next one.
7
Wait for the setup system to complete configuration of the support files
and other components. After clicking next again, SQL Server 2005
Express setup will do a system configuration check.
Click next after the system configuration check is completed and

successful.
8
Enter your name and company (if any). The name field is compulsory.
Ensure that the Database Services and Connectivity Components

have been selected for installation.
9
Ensure the authentication mode is set to Windows Authentication
Mode.
Check your installation options.
10
Let the setup system do its thing.
And everything is now done. Proceed to installation of NPD.
11
Nishino Product Database Setup
The setup application for NPD can be found in the Setup folder. Select
the file Setup.exe to begin installation. Run Setup.msi if you intend to
use SQL Server 2005 as the database engine.
Click through to the next screen.
Select the installation location and if the application is to be installed for

all users.
12
Confirm the installation and let the thing run. You should be ready to use
the application when you are done.
13
System Overview
This chapter explains the basics of the application and

the many different aspects of the application. Expect a
summary of the features of each application window
which would serve as a guide to using them.
14
System overview
Main Window
NPD is designed as a system where there would be very little navigation

to get to the features you want. The main window here basically shows
every aspect of the application, from searching, to printing, to
management and adding of products.
NPD features a searching system based on the idea of a filter. Typing on

the main window itself will bring focus to the textbox for the filter
system. Clicking on the X icon will reset the filter text and the filter itself.
The filter system searches for matches in the database based upon the
following fields,
• Id
• Product Number
• Name
• Description
• Usage
• Contents
• Volume
• Weight
Matches will refresh the listing and the currently selected product will be
displayed on the display area on the right as shown.
15
The left pane also contains a button to toggle the addition of products
to the database. Clicking on this button will actually cause the display
area on the right to go into edit mode and clear the fields for the
addition of a new product to the database.
As shown above, the display pane shows the product details of the
currently selected product of the product listing.
The display pane gives context to the options available for that particular
product. The user is able to print the product as a label set, remove the
product from the database and edit.
16
As shown above, this is the display panel when its edit option activated.
New options are available for the saving and canceling of the edit. In
addition, Printing is disabled.
The fields that can be edited in the display pane will put on a more
visible colour and become editable. The user can actually edit the
individual fields to modify the details. As certain rules for the options will
be applied, the user will be given a visible prompt should the data
entered be not fitting of the rule.
The buttons in the display pane allow for the modification of the child
attributes of the product. Namely the companies and ingredients
associated with the product. Clicking on them are as the pictures depict.
A plus will add new attributes, a negative is for deletion of the attribute.
In addition, the not allowed icon also serves as a delete button for lists
within the display panel like those demonstrated for the ingredients.
The user can also edit the quantity of the particular ingredient by double
clicking on the quantity that is shown.
17
Ingredients
The add ingredients inspector is called when the user clicks the plus icon
when they are editing the product.
The inspector works on the same principle of the product listing.
The user is able to filter the ingredients available select the one to be
added, fill in the quantity and add the ingredient to the product.
Some shortcuts are built into the system name the ability to add new
ingredients as well as a way to aid data entry personnel.
As shown, should the filter result in only on result, the option is auto
selected. The user then only needs to fill in the quantity and hit the Add
to Product button or hit enter.
18
Should the user fill in a completely new item into the filter, cues to add
the item as a new ingredient to the database will be shown. The filter
icon will be changed to an addition icon.
Should the user click the Add to Product button or hit enter, the system
will ask if the ingredient is to be added to the database before
associating with the product.
The system also makes provision that the filter might filter results before
the ingredient is added. Should such an event be detected, an Add New
button will be shown to allow the user to manually add the ingredient
the database.
Thereafter, the ingredients list will refresh and the user can associate it
with the product.
19
Companies
The add company inspector that is called when the user wants to add
either an importer or a manufacturer to the product is fundamentally the
same as the ingredients inspector.
The only difference is that it does not allow addition of new companies
to the database to be later associated. The addition, management or
removal has to be done via the database control system.
Printing
The print options is displayed when the user clicks the print icon of the
display panel. The settings for the label that is to be printed as well as the
paper information is loaded and additional options for the user to fill in.
The number of labels to print along with which fonts to use are allowed
as options for the user to configure the settings. The Skip also allows the
user to reuse label sheets that have already labels used up by skipping
that specific number of labels from the start of the sheet.
20
The print engine is able to check if the contents that is to be printed can
fit on the label and will resize the default font to allow the contents to all
fit the label dimensions specified.
Upon clicking on the print button, the user can select the printer to be
used and will be shown a print preview screen.
From here, clicking on the printer button will send the print job to the
printer.
Ingredients Database Control
21
The ingredients database controls allows the user to remove ingredients
from the database as well as add or rename ingredients. It functions
exactly the same as the ingredients inspector.
In order for changes to the database to be fully commit, the user has to
click the save button. Otherwise clicking the close button will revert the
changes and exit the database control.
Companies Database Control
The database control resembles the main window due to the complexity
that it has to manage. It has similar functionality in the context of the
addition of new companies, removal and editing.
The user is allowed to specific one owner company which is the

company that is using application by checking against the companies
listed.
Searching is done by the company name.
Addition of companies are done by clicking the same icon that

resembles addition of products in the main window.
22
The details panel will only be activated for editing when the panel is in
edit mode or during the addition of new companies.
Preferences
The preferences system allows for the configuration of the database that
is used for the application as well as printing options.
The configuration is pretty straight forward.
Server instance selects the database server engine as well as the

database that is used.
23
MDF File should be filled in should a SQL Server 2005 database file be
used. Otherwise, the system is able to read from a SQL Server by
specifying the database within the server instance textbox and leaving
the MDF File textbox blank.
Clearing of all data within the existing database is also another option
to reset the database and start afresh.
All modification of preferences will cause the application to restart to re

read the application configuration files.
The printing preferences govern the label printing engine complete. All
measurements here are in millimeters.
Loading of label presets from the defaults that are specified in the
system will automatically populate the textboxes with values.
Paper
The user is able to specify the paper name and dimensions that is sent to
the printer under this section. In addition, the orientation that the printer
prints in can also be selected.
Paper Offset
This is a fix for printers that do not do borderless printing and have a
predefined offset from the paper. This tells the print engine to fit the
labels such that the space on the paper is full utilized.
Paper Margins
The margins are measurable margins that is visible on the label sheet
that the print engine has to correct for in addition to the paper offset to
start the printing of each label correctly.
Label
24
Here the user can select the attributes of each label, things like the
width, height and how many rows and columns of labels are there. This is
in respect to the orientation that is selected under the paper settings.
The spacings between each column and row is a measurable width

between these columns or rows.
Label Padding
This tells the print engine how much space from the edges of the label
that the system is allowed to print.
Label margins
This is an additional option to allow for weird labels that have a specific
shape between each of the labels.
25
Usage
Basic usage of the system and step by step instructions to

achieve the specific processes can be found in this
chapter. These include,
• Removal of products
• Printing
• Searching
26
Removal of Products
Removal of products is perhaps the easiest of all the processes. To delete

a product, make sure it is selected in the product list and appears in the
details panel.
Click the remove button to remove the product.
The system will display a confirmation dialog for you to confirm your
action in the event that this was an accident.
Upon confirmation, the record of the product will be automatically

completely removed from the database.
Printing of Product
Similar to the removal of a product, ensure the product that is to be

printed is the currently selected item.
27
Click the Print button to print the product.
The print options dialog will be displayed with options loaded from the
application configuration.
As explained in the system overview, the user can select the labels to be
printed, the amount to skip front the start of the label set and the fonts
to be used.
Upon clicking the print button, the printer can be selected and a print
preview will be shown.
28
The user can then print the labels or take a closer look at them or close
the window if its a mistake.
Searching
Searching is the most simple thing in the application. Its the same for the
inspectors as well as the database control dialogs.
Typing on the main window itself will bring focus to the textbox for the
filter system. Clicking on the X icon will reset the filter text and the filter
itself.
The filter system searches for matches in the database based upon the
following fields,
• Id
• Product Number
• Name
• Description
• Usage
• Contents
• Volume
• Weight
Matches will refresh the listing and the currently selected product will be
displayed on the display area on the right as shown.
29
Modifying or
Adding Products
This chapter explains the main components of the system

which are the product details.
Topics covered here include,

• Product generic details
• Ingredients
• Companies
30
Generic Product Details
Adding and modification of products will activate the details panel to

allow editing. As shown above, this is an example of the addition of a
new product. The editing of products is the same except that data will
already be there.
Clicking the add button will open the details panel up for editing and
the fields set with default values.
Since there are now inputs at all, the validation systems flag the fields
that need to satisfy rules with the error icon.
Upon filling these fields with correct data, the error icon will disappear.
Ingredients
In addition to generic product details, attributes can be associated with
the product by clicking the plus sign icon to add attributes.
31
As shown, the add ingredients inspector allows for association of
ingredients with products with the additional attribute of quantity.
The add ingredients inspector is called when the user clicks the plus icon
when they are editing the product.
The inspector works on the same principle of the product listing.
The user is able to filter the ingredients available select the one to be
added, fill in the quantity and add the ingredient to the product.
Some shortcuts are built into the system name the ability to add new
ingredients as well as a way to aid data entry personnel.
32
As shown, should the filter result in only on result, the option is auto
selected. The user then only needs to fill in the quantity and hit the Add
to Product button or hit enter.
Should the user fill in a completely new item into the filter, cues to add
the item as a new ingredient to the database will be shown. The filter
icon will be changed to an addition icon.
Should the user click the Add to Product button or hit enter, the system
will ask if the ingredient is to be added to the database before
associating with the product.
33
The system also makes provision that the filter might filter results before
the ingredient is added. Should such an event be detected, an Add New
button will be shown to allow the user to manually add the ingredient
the database.
Thereafter, the ingredients list will refresh and the user can associate it
with the product.
Companies
The companies inspector works the same as the ingredients inspector.
34
The add company inspector that is called when the user wants to add
either an importer or a manufacturer to the product is fundamentally the
same as the ingredients inspector.
The only difference is that it does not allow addition of new companies
to the database to be later associated. The addition, management or
removal has to be done via the database control system.
35
Configuration
This section covers all the configuration that is available

for the application. In addition, it covers advanced
configuration of the application via the Application
Configuration file.
36
Configuration
Database
Refer to system overview for database preferences (page 23)
Printing
Refer to system overview for printing preferences (page 24)
Companies
Refer to system overview for companies database control (page 22)
Ingredients
Refer to system overview for ingredients database control (page 21)
Application Configuration File

The application configuration file is located in the installation directory
of the application.
It is usually at C:\Program Files\Huminte\Nishino Product Database\.
The file name is the name of the executable with .config appended. In
this case, it is NPD.exe.config.
Hence the full path is C:\Program Files\Huminte\Nishino Product Database

\NPD.exe.config.
37
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="CslaAuthentication" value="Csla" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseMDFFile" value="|DataDirectory|
\Nishino.mdf" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseProviderName"
value="System.Data.SqlClient" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseServerInstance" value=".\SQLEXPRESS" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseDataSourceOptions" value="" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseIntegratedSecurity" value="true" />
<add key="PrefsDatabaseUserInstance" value="true" />
<add key="PrefsPaperName" value="A4" />
<add key="PrefsPaperHeight" value="297" />
<add key="PrefsPaperWidth" value="211" />
<add key="PrefsPaperMarginRight" value="21" />
<add key="PrefsPaperMarginBottom" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsPaperMarginLeft" value="21" />
<add key="PrefsPaperMarginTop" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsPaperOffsetRight" value="4" />
<add key="PrefsPaperOffsetBottom" value="4" />
<add key="PrefsPaperOffsetLeft" value="4" />
<add key="PrefsPaperOffsetTop" value="6" />
<add key="PrefsLabelHeight" value="70" />
<add key="PrefsLabelWidth" value="51" />
<add key="PrefsLabelColumnSpacing" value="5" />
<add key="PrefsLabelRowSpacing" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelColumns" value="5" />
<add key="PrefsLabelRows" value="3" />
<add key="PrefsLabelMarginRight" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelMarginBottom" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelMarginLeft" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelMarginTop" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelPaddingRight" value="1" />
<add key="PrefsLabelPaddingBottom" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsLabelPaddingLeft" value="1" />
<add key="PrefsLabelPaddingTop" value="0" />
<add key="PrefsPaperLandscape" value="true" />
</appSettings>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="NishinoMDF" connectionString="Data Source=.
\SQLEXPRESS;AttachDbFilename=|DataDirectory|\Nishino.mdf;Integrated
Security=True;User Instance=True"
providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
</configuration>
As shown, this file is very vital to the NPD system. In event of a

configuration problem that might cause the application to crash, this is
the file to edit to solve the problem.
The options are all editable and correspond to the preferences dialog
settings.
They are all related to the options in the format of Prefs[Section][Option].
38
Appendix
Troubleshooting for application problems or crashes.
39
Troubleshooting
I am using SQL Server 2005 as my database engine and the

application crashes on startup.
The default configuration of NPD is designed for SQL Server 2005
Express which allows the flag User Instance. Edit the NPD.exe.config and
change the value for User Instance to false.
The application still crashes on startup.

Are you sure the SQL Server 2005 process has been started?
Yes, the server is running and the application is still

crashing on startup.
Check to see if you have all the pre requisites.
Yes, the server is running, I have the prerequisites and the

application is still crashing on startup.
Contact the developer.
I want to edit the default label settings.

The default label settings are hardcoded into the print engine and
cannot be edited. The alternative is to load a preset and edit the options
to suit your configuration.
Contact the developer if this is a must have feature.
How do I back up the database?

Check your configuration for the location of the MDF file. Make a copy of
the MDF file as well as its log file (*.ldf). The default location of the MDF
file should be at
C:\Program Files\Huminte\Nishino Product Database\Nishino.mdf
C:\Program Files\Huminte\Nishino Product Database\Nishino_log.ldf
40

Internship Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Internship Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Advanced Database Application Development

Diploma Final-Year Project 2007/2008

Jeremy Foo Jie You (S10023782H)

Supervisor 2nd Marker

Trenz Pruca • email: no_reply@apple.com • Elementary School! 1

Tasks, Roles and Technologies! 8

Systems Builder (Hardware)! 8

Knowledge and Skill Requirement! 9

Problems and Management! 9

Knowledge and Skills Requirement! 10

Problems Encountered and Management! 10

Knowledge and Skills Requirement! 11

Problems Encountered and Management! 12

Principal Software Developer! 12

Knowledge and Skills Requirements! 12

Problems Encountered and Management! 13

Trenz Pruca • email: no_reply@apple.com • Elementary School! 1

Knowledge and Skills Requirement! 13

Problems Encountered and Management! 13

Knowledge and Skills Requirement! 14

Problems Encountered and Management! 14

People and Communication Issues! 15

Professional and Legal Issues! 17

Organisational and External Party Requirements! 19

Tools and Techniques used! 21

Problems or Challenges Encountered! 21

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 2

Nishino Product Database! 24

Component-based Scalable Logical Architecture! 27

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 3

Use Case Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 39

ER Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 40

Label Printing Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 41

Companies Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 42

Ingredients Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 43

Products Class Diagram for Nishino Product Database! 44

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 4

• Object Orientated and design pattern methodologies

• C# Development in .Net technologies

• Component Based Scalable Architecture

• Microsoft SQL technologies

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 5

The stairs to the office

• Custom software development work

• Maintenance and Repair

• Infrastructure planning and implementation

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 6

• Upgrades and updates

However, the number of projects can be undertaken

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 7

• Systems Builder (Hardware)

• Principal Software Developer

SYSTEMS BUILDER (HARDWARE)

Problems and Management

2. Ensuring milestones are reached.

3. Arrangement of meetings with clients.

4. Ensure deliverables are of quality and to client’s satisfaction.

Knowledge and Skills Requirement

Problems Encountered and Management

Jeremy Foo Jie You • jeremyfoo@gmail.com • Ngee Ann Polytechnic! 10

• Use case diagrams

• Initial design sketches

Knowledge and Skills Requirement