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| RECURSIVE
APPLICATIONS |
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| Our client required a business application
development tool which could generate applications in VB.NET.
Initially our client had their own proprietary operating system
which was widely implemented within Japanese IT organizations
- a native scripting language was used by software engineers
for developing applications. With the introduction of the Windows
operating system and its increasing popularity, our client recognized
a need for a platform wherein developers could input local scripting
code resulting in its automated conversion to a VB 6.0 applications,
compatible with the Windows O/S. Our team developed a platform
for this conversion but after the introduction of VB.NET they
felt a need to upgrade their existing platform. This led to
the outsourcing of this solution requirement to Icreon and after
analyzing the aspects and countering all the challenges Icreon
successfully delivered the Business Application Development
Tool. |
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| Customer Profile |
| Our client is a Fortune 500 company based
in Japan. They are one of the leading electronic appliances
producing company; catering to domestic as well as international
audiences. Their products are being deployed by some of the
major sectors of the economy. To manage business at such a large
scale our client has deployed their own in-house software development
team. Their self developed applications help in managing their
other ancillary hardware producing units. |
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| Business Requirements |
| Our client is an electrical appliance
producing company supplying their products globally. They provide
electrical appliances for the following sections:
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Industrial |
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Commercial |
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Residential |
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| Our client’s main requisite was for an upgraded business
application development tool that would be able to cater to
the dynamic and highly recognized, VB .NET technology. The tool
was intended to be able to enhance their application’s
scalability. They required a productive solution with a very
systematic development approach. Icreon identified the following
core requirements for the tool: |
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The tool had to be developed in a way to
bridge the gap between VB 6.0 and VB .NET technology. |
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A Source Code Generator to generate and compile VB.NET
code simultaneously. |
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| Upgrading
dated to the latest technology |
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| Languages used in developing this
application are: |
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| The Business Application Development Tool
was developed for providing a widely accepted application development
platform to enhance flexibility and scalability of the applications.
It was a challenging project for us as we were competing with
the highly advanced Japanese technology spectrum and we had
to upgrade an existing Japanese system. To meet these challenges
the development procedure was divided in two phases: |
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| First Phase |
| In the first phase of development we overcame
the challenge of bridging the technical gap between VB 6.0 and
VB.NET. There are some major differences between VB 6.0 and
VB.NET technology such as Data Type, Fixed Length Strings etc.
To counter these problems we modified the existing DLLs (Dynamic
Link Libraries) and developed a generic class. We deployed the
object of the generic class throughout the development of new
runtime libraries. These runtime libraries are the base for
the process of application development. These libraries have
been coded in VC++ & VB 6.0 and they cater to three basic
functionalities related to: |
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Database |
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Computation |
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Report Generation |
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| The coded libraries support single as well as double byte characters
(Unicode and Shift JIS Character Set.) |
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| Second Phase: |
| In the second phase of development we
countered the challenge of developing a Source Code Generator.
It was developed in VC++ code and was capable of simultaneously
generating and compiling VB.Net code. We have integrated text
files together with VC++ DLL, which acts as templates for VB.NET
code files. In the process of developing the Source Code Generator
we have implemented a separate architecture for: |
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Batch Type Programs |
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Client Server Type Programs |
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MTS Type Programs |
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| The entire development process underwent rigorous testing based
on parameters such as defect detection, adherence to market
standards and client requirements along with time tracking techniques
to meet the specified timeframe. |
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| Summary |
| The successful implementation of the upgraded
platform was a milestone for Icreon. The concept behind developing
this business application development tool is to facilitate
the Japanese IT market in creating business applications for
Windows OS without using the VB.NET technology. Our upgraded
platform enhanced the scalability of the applications which
were being developed by the Japanese IT market. |
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