Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Curtain Raiser

Like any other set of engineering products, software products are also oriented towards the customer. It is either market driven or it drives the market. Customer Satisfaction was the buzzword of the 80's. Customer Delight is today's buzzword and Customer Ecstasy is the buzzword of the new millennium. Products that are not customer or user friendly have no place in the market although they are engineered using the best technology. The interface of the product is as crucial as the internal technology of the product.

Market Research

A market study is made to identify a potential customer's need. This process is also known as market research. Here, the already existing need and the possible and potential needs that are available in a segment of the society are studied carefully. The market study is done based on a lot of assumptions. Assumptions are the crucial factors in the development or inception of a product's development. Unrealistic assumptions can cause a nosedive in the entire venture. Though assumptions are abstract, there should be a move to develop tangible assumptions to come up with a successful product.

Research and Development

Once the Market Research is carried out, the customer's need is given to the Research & Development division (R&D) to conceptualize a cost-effective system that could potentially solve the customer's needs in a manner that is better than the one adopted by the competitors at present. Once the conceptual system is developed and tested in a hypothetical environment, the development team takes control of it. The development team adopts one of the software development methodologies that is given below, develops the proposed system, and gives it to the customer.

The Sales & Marketing division starts selling the software to the available customers and simultaneously works to develop a niche segment that could potentially buy the software. In addition, the division also passes the feedback from the customers to the developers and the R&D division to make possible value additions to the product.

While developing a software, the company outsources the non-core activities to other companies who specialize in those activities. This accelerates the software development process largely. Some companies work on tie-ups to bring out a highly matured product in a short period.

Popular Software Development Models

The following are some basic popular models that are adopted by many software development firms

A. System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Model
B. Prototyping Model
C. Rapid Application Development Model
D. Component Assembly Model

A. System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Model

This is also known as Classic Life Cycle Model (or) Linear Sequential Model (or) Waterfall Method. This model has the following activities.

1. System/Information Engineering and Modeling

As software is always of a large system (or business), work begins by establishing the requirements for all system elements and then allocating some subset of these requirements to software. This system view is essential when the software must interface with other elements such as hardware, people and other resources. System is the basic and very critical requirement for the existence of software in any entity. So if the system is not in place, the system should be engineered and put in place. In some cases, to extract the maximum output, the system should be re-engineered and spruced up. Once the ideal system is engineered or tuned, the development team studies the software requirement for the system.

2. Software Requirement Analysis

This process is also known as feasibility study. In this phase, the development team visits the customer and studies their system. They investigate the need for possible software automation in the given system. By the end of the feasibility study, the team furnishes a document that holds the different specific recommendations for the candidate system. It also includes the personnel assignments, costs, project schedule, target dates etc.... The requirement gathering process is intensified and focussed specially on software. To understand the nature of the program(s) to be built, the system engineer or "Analyst" must understand the information domain for the software, as well as required function, behavior, performance and interfacing. The essential purpose of this phase is to find the need and to define the problem that needs to be solved .

3. System Analysis and Design

In this phase, the software development process, the software's overall structure and its nuances are defined. In terms of the client/server technology, the number of tiers needed for the package architecture, the database design, the data structure design etc... are all defined in this phase. A software development model is thus created. Analysis and Design are very crucial in the whole development cycle. Any glitch in the design phase could be very expensive to solve in the later stage of the software development. Much care is taken during this phase. The logical system of the product is developed in this phase.

4. Code Generation

The design must be translated into a machine-readable form. The code generation step performs this task. If the design is performed in a detailed manner, code generation can be accomplished without much complication. Programming tools like compilers, interpreters, debuggers etc... are used to generate the code. Different high level programming languages like C, C++, Pascal, Java are used for coding. With respect to the type of application, the right programming language is chosen.

5. Testing

Once the code is generated, the software program testing begins. Different testing methodologies are available to unravel the bugs that were committed during the previous phases. Different testing tools and methodologies are already available. Some companies build their own testing tools that are tailor made for their own development operations.

6. Maintenance

The software will definitely undergo change once it is delivered to the customer. There can be many reasons for this change to occur. Change could happen because of some unexpected input values into the system. In addition, the changes in the system could directly affect the software operations. The software should be developed to accommodate changes that could happen during the post implementation period.

B. Prototyping Model

This is a cyclic version of the linear model. In this model, once the requirement analysis is done and the design for a prototype is made, the development process gets started. Once the prototype is created, it is given to the customer for evaluation. The customer tests the package and gives his/her feed back to the developer who refines the product according to the customer's exact expectation. After a finite number of iterations, the final software package is given to the customer. In this methodology, the software is evolved as a result of periodic shuttling of information between the customer and developer. This is the most popular development model in the contemporary IT industry. Most of the successful software products have been developed using this model - as it is very difficult (even for a whiz kid!) to comprehend all the requirements of a customer in one shot. There are many variations of this model skewed with respect to the project management styles of the companies. New versions of a software product evolve as a result of prototyping.

C. Rapid Application Development (RAD) Model

The RAD modelis a linear sequential software development process that emphasizes an extremely short development cycle. The RAD model is a "high speed" adaptation of the linear sequential model in which rapid development is achieved by using a component-based construction approach. Used primarily for information systems applications, the RAD approach encompasses the following phases:

1. Business modeling

The information flow among business functions is modeled in a way that answers the following questions:

What information drives the business process?
What information is generated?
Who generates it?
Where does the information go?
Who processes it?

2. Data modeling

The information flow defined as part of the business modeling phase is refined into a set of data objects that are needed to support the business. The characteristic (called attributes) of each object is identified and the relationships between these objects are defined.

3. Process modeling

The data objects defined in the data-modeling phase are transformed to achieve the information flow necessary to implement a business function. Processing the descriptions are created for adding, modifying, deleting, or retrieving a data object.

4. Application generation

The RAD model assumes the use of the RAD tools like VB, VC++, Delphi etc... rather than creating software using conventional third generation programming languages. The RAD model works to reuse existing program components (when possible) or create reusable components (when necessary). In all cases, automated tools are used to facilitate construction of the software.

5. Testing and turnover

Since the RAD process emphasizes reuse, many of the program components have already been tested. This minimizes the testing and development time.

D. Component Assembly Model

Object technologies provide the technical framework for a component-based process model for software engineering. The object oriented paradigm emphasizes the creation of classes that encapsulate both data and the algorithm that are used to manipulate the data. If properly designed and implemented, object oriented classes are reusable across different applicationsand computer based system architectures. Component Assembly Model leads to software reusability. The integration/assembly of the already existing software components accelerate the development process. Nowadays many component libraries are available on the Internet. If the right components are chosen, the integration aspect is made much simpler.

Conclusion

All these different software development models have their own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, in the contemporary commercial software evelopment world, the fusion of all these methodologies is incorporated. Timing is very crucial in software development. If a delay happens in the development phase, the market could be taken over by the competitor. Also if a 'bug' filled product is launched in a short period of time (quicker than the competitors), it may affect the reputation of the company. So, there should be a tradeoff between the development time and the quality of the product. Customers don't expect a bug free product but they expect a user-friendly product. That results in Customer Ecstasy!

Source: www.stylusinc.com

Scheduling of Job Shops

Material Requirements Planning

Inventory Modelling

Basic Inventory Principles

Modelling Approaches

Aggregate Production Planning: Basic Concepts

The Analysis of Time Series

Forecasting

Product Layouts and Assembly Line Balancing

Computerised Layout Planning

Layout planning

Mathematical Models for Facility Location

Issues in Location of Facilities

Product & Process Design

Product Mix Decisions

Economic Evaluation of New Products & Services

Introducing New Products & Services

Decision Trees and Risk Evaluation

Financial Evaluation of capital Decisions

Role of Models in Production Management

Life Cycle of a Production System

Project Completion and Review

Computers in Project Management

Organizational and Behavioral Issues

Team Building and Leadership in Projects

Project Monitoring and Control with PERT/Cost

Limited Resource Allocation

Resource Profiles and Leveling

Project Crashing with Multiple Objectives

Linear Time-Cost Tradeoffs in Projects

Project Scheduling with Probabilistic Activity

Basic Scheduling with A-O-N Networks (2)

Basic Scheduling with A-O-A Networks

Consistency and Redundancy in Project Networks

Project Representation

Project Selection

Project Appraisal:Part II

Project Appraisal: Part 1

Project Identification and Screening

Project and Production Management An Overview Lecture 2

Project and Production Management An Overview

Project Management An Overview

Inside a computer - Richard Buckland UNSW

PL/SQL Best Practices with Steven Feuerstein

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Oracle dbms_alert Tips

About Oracle dbms_alert

The dbms_alert package is created by executing the catproc.sql file and is owned by SYS. Once granted the execute privilege to dbms_alert, it can be executed by any software component that can call a stored procedure including SQL*Plus, Java and Pro*C.

The dbms_alert package provides a mechanism for the database to notify a client (anything listening) of an event asynchronously, which means that the application does not need to periodically check for the occurrence of events. With dbms_alert, when an event occurs, a notification will be sent. Prior to dbms_alert, developers created a polling process that checked the status of something on the database, like a completed job, by checking for a table value that the process had just updated. dbms_alert renders such techniques obsolete and is one of the best Oracle supplied packages.

The dbms_alert package is even more helpful when dealing with 3 tier web applications – client, web server, and database. Web applications are “stateless” by nature, meaning that the web server processes a request and it's done - there is no tethered connection like we're accustomed to with SQL*Plus, Oracle Applications, or SAP R/3. The Oracle dbms_alert provides a way for the database to initiate contact with the web server, who in turn can notify clients attached to it.

Description of the DBMS_ALERT package:

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.REGISTER
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
NAME                           VARCHAR2                IN

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.REMOVE
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
NAME                           VARCHAR2                IN

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.REMOVEALL

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.SET_DEFAULTS
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
SENSITIVITY                    NUMBER                  IN

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.SIGNAL
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
NAME                           VARCHAR2                IN
MESSAGE                        VARCHAR2                IN

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.WAITANY
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
NAME                           VARCHAR2                OUT
MESSAGE                        VARCHAR2                OUT
STATUS                         NUMBER(38)              OUT
TIMEOUT                        NUMBER                  IN     DEFAULT

PROCEDURE DBMS_ALERT.WAITONE
Argument Name                  Type                    In/Out Default?
------------------------------ ----------------------- ------ --------
NAME                           VARCHAR2                IN
MESSAGE                        VARCHAR2                OUT
STATUS                         NUMBER(38)              OUT
TIMEOUT                        NUMBER                  IN     DEFAULT

Source: www.dba-oracle.com

Common Mistakes in Oracle PL/SQL Programming

Data Modeling in the SQL Server Space

SQL Performance Optimization

Maximize SQL Server Performance with SQL Tuning

Programming in C

Cache Organization

Introduction To System : Hardware

Introduction to Software Engineering

Education in Malaysia

Education has been one of the most fundamental aspects needed in one's life in today's society. It is the main factor in shaping the intellectual power and workforce of a country which indirectly symbolises the countries wealth in knowledge power especially in an era where information represents prosperity and status.

Malaysia is one of the countries that understand the need for education and puts emphasises on an exam based education system that requires students to excel in examinations to advance to a higher stage or level. The first level of education in Malaysia is the primary level, where students enrol in schools at an age of 7. At the end of their primary life, students are assessed by the 'Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah' which is also known as UPSR and next move on to the secondary level of education.

The secondary level of education in Malaysia consists of two important examinations, "Penilaian Menenagah Rendah, PMR" at form 3 and "Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM" in form 5. Student whom excel in their PMR examinations are able to choose the science stream or arts stream according to their interests, whereas the SPM examination determines the student's future and which is usually taken into account for scholarships.Tertiary level is the next step for students whom have completed their secondary education. Students have to enrol in universities or colleges in the country or out if they have the proper and adequate funds.

Knowledge is regarded as the key to success in today's world and education is one of the main sources of it. In view of this, we should never take granted of our education as it determines our future and also our career.

Source: www.goarticles.com

Flaunt your Smile with Cosmetic Dentistry

Today people are more concerned about their health and hygiene then ever before. They take care about not just their eating habits but also ensure that they maintain the hygiene level in all forms including oral hygiene. This is where they take assistance of the dentist.

The dental care not only helps you to enhance your look and personality but also adds to your confidence level. There are not many people who come with a perfect smile or perfect set of teeth. But it is not a thing to be concerned about anymore. The advent of cosmetic dentistry, however, has made it possible for everyone to get that perfect set of teeth.

With cosmetic dental assistance you can straighten your teeth. And also with the latest dental materials and technique you can get near perfect teeth which are as strong as the original ones. The cosmetic dentistry industry covers a wide array of dental service. Your dental surgeon can help you with following through cosmetic dental procedure:

1 You can get a beautiful smile by bleaching your teeth that will help you to get rid of any discolouring of your teeth. 2 If there is a chip or any rough spot in your teeth that needs filling then it can be done through cosmetic dental procedure 3 If you are facing any cavity problem then dentistry helps you to get rid of it by filling it up with tooth coloured material. 4 If you have teeth that do not match your other set of teeth then cosmetic dental procedure can help you to reshape it and ensure that it matches your entire set. 5 You can get the gaps closed between your teeth with the help of it. 6 If you have any broken teeth then it can be covered with porcelain crowns.

There are many people who do not opt for cosmetic dentistry because they have a notion that it is expensive. This is not true as there are many ways to avail this service. There are various options for receiving cosmetic dental care treatments which are very affordable and convenient. If you still feel that you would not like to invest that amount at one go then you have the option of getting it financed.

There are many people who love to have a perfect smile. But it is not always that everyone is blessed with that perfect set of teeth. You may not have used the brace but there may have been incidents which would have resulted in chips in your teeth. Also if you smoke or drink coffee then it would have resulted in stains in your teeth. With the cosmetic dental procedure you can get rid of all these problems. This technique can help you to get the perfect set of teeth which will be as strong as your original ones and will also be able to resist the discolouring of the teeth.

Source: www.goarticles.com

How to Find Affordable Dental Care in Your Area

In the 1960s and 1970s, most dental insurance policies would cover up to $1000 or $1500 in dental care every year. Today, a single crown can cost that much, but most dental insurance policies still have the same annual dollar limits.

Unable to find affordable dental care, many people are having teeth pulled that could be fixed, because they can't afford to pay for the work.

Finding affordable dental care in your area should not be that difficult. Though the task of locating a dental specialist who offers an affordable dental plan for yourself or your family can take some time, but it can be done easily if you know how to find them.

First and simple step for doing so is to just ask around. World of the mouth is possibly the best chance you can have while looking for a good dental care plan. Simply inquire about them from your relatives, friends and co-workers. Ask about the dental care they are getting, how much it costs, how easy it's to get an appointment, if the emergency service is provided and so on. Inquire about their personality, if they are friendly, especially towards the children and if the atmosphere in their office is relaxing and reassuring. By asking around you will not only be able find a dental care facility that you can count on but also the ones you can avoid.

If you have just moved to a new area, it could be quite hard for you to find affordable dental care. Since you are new and don't know anyone well enough to ask about their dental plans, you can try checking out the local hospitals and other facilities that use the services of a dentist. They or the dentist they employ should be able provide you with a list of the best dental care facilities in the area. If you are planning to move to a new area, you can always check with your present dentist and find out if he can suggest any dental facility in your new area.

The other thing you can do in order to find an affordable dental care is to check out the local dental schools. Most of these schools offer dental services and that too at competitive rates. Some of them may offer to clean and check your teeth for free. You can search for them over the Internet easily.

The most powerful and easiest way of finding great dental services in your area is searching for them online. There are thousands of websites listed over the Internet that can help you locate a dental facility in your area. Simply enter the zip code of the area, and you will get the list of dentists that offer dental care in and around the particular area. Many of the dental insurance companies also provide this facility on their websites. Searching for dentists over your insurance company's website will give a personalized list of dentists that accept your insurance cover.

However, if you don't want to go through all the hassles of finding an affordable dental care in your area you can always go for CAREINGTON Dental Plan. Careington offers affordable dental coverage for individuals and entire family. Established by two dentists in 1979, Careington today has more than 54,000 dental service providers throughout America. You will get the best dental care from the best dentist specialists with latest technology and procedures at low and affordable rates.

Source: www.goarticles.com

Getting Financial Aid For College? 3 Common Mistakes Most Students Make

Before you get financial aid for college, there a few things that you need to know. The first thing that you need to know is that college is going to cost you a lot of money. There are a variety of ways that people pay for college. Some students have it paid for by their parents. These are the lucky people in life. Some students work their way through college. Others will take out financial aid through loans, or receive funding through grants and scholarships. Despite all of the possibilities that you have for getting funding for college, there are three things you must first consider before signing up for a single class and starting on your quest for a college degree. Here are three common mistakes that most people make when they decide to get funding for college, mistakes that can cost them thousands of dollars.

The first mistake that most people make is not understanding how much college actually costs. Colleges and universities require tuition fees which can range as high as $40,000 per semester or more. This fee is separate from the cost of each unit for the classes that you take. Most classes are between three and five units, with a cost of several hundred to several thousand dollars per unit. Finally, there is the cost of purchasing books for each of the classes. Without adding the cost of living such as paying rent, utilities, and also eating food, your cost per month to go to college can be several thousand dollars each and every month. Therefore, be aware that any flat rates given for any university may not take into account the total cost of going to that particular school.

The second mistake most new students make is taking out too much financial aid. If you're getting grants to go to college, have qualified for several scholarships, or have received a check from your parents, there is no need to complain. This is money that you do not need to pay back or even think about the rest of your life. However, if you are taking out student loans, always remember that you will have to pay these back once you have earned your degree within six months of graduation. You don't have to pay all at once, but you will have to begin making payments. If you have taken out too much money, you may not be able to afford the monthly payments, especially if your degree does not give you the ability to find a job immediately after school or pay you enough money.

The third mistake that almost every person that seeks a college degree forgets is how much time it is going to take out of their day. It will take you time to go to the college, attend all of your classes, read all of the books, prepare for all of the tests, and finally do all the homework that is assigned. If you are single person, this may not be much of a problem. However, if you are a person returning to school to get a degree in order to get a better paying job, or if you have a family, this may be a bit of a problem. The people that are hit the hardest for single moms because they are juggling the raising of a family and a college schedule at the same time. If you can, take online classes that have distance courses that allow you to work at your own pace. Understanding how much time will be removed from your day before you go to college will allow you to better budget and schedule your time so that you can achieve your goals. If your classes take up too much of your time, you might have to quit your part-time job or full-time job just to keep up. If you need to keep your job to pay your bills, you may have to drop your classes which, again, will cost you money because you will lose what you paid for the class. Understanding how much time college is going to take out of your day is crucial to your success and your ability to maintain a positive cash flow.

By making sure you know how much college costs, not taking out too much financial aid in the form of student loans, and by understanding how busy your schedule will be so that you can plan ahead, you will be better off than most of the college students who will be overwhelmed before, during, and after their college career. By thinking ahead, and by applying for the many grants that are available today through the new stimulus package, new students, as well as single moms, will be off to a smoother start as they begin their journey toward their college degree.

Source: www.goarticles.com

Fat Burning Diets - How do you choose the right one for you?

The foods that you eat on a daily basis contain calories. The more food you eat, the more calories you consume. When you eat more calories then your body can burn then that excess energy is stored in fat deposits around your body.

Lets face it, there are a large number of fat burning diets to chose from today. To start burning away those unwanted fat deposits, the best place to start is to modify your diet. Ideally, you should reduce the number of calories you consume and also lessen your intake of sodium (salt) and fat. Three main elements that tend to build up fat the fastest are:

* Calorie intake is excessive
* Late night eating - try to avoid this
* Not getting enough exercise

Not getting enough exercise is probably one of the biggest. Without proper exercise the body will build up uncessary fat and limits the speed your metabolic system operates. The body's metabolic system needs to reach a certain speed in order to burn away that fat. A few ways to increase your metabolism are:

* Eat more frequently (4 to 5 smaller meals each day instead of 2 -3) can make a big difference
* Some foods have been proven to increase the bodies metabolism

There are a number of foods that are generally accepted to assist in fat burning diets, and some of these are:

* Cayenne Pepper
* Ginger
* Citrus Fruit (Oranges, Lemons, Grapefuit, etc)
* Apples
* Bananas
* Dairy Products (Yoghurt, Cheese, Milk)
* Garlic
* and Cinnamon

Howerver simply consuimg these foods is not enough on it's own to start helping you loose weight. In order to burn through the most fat you possibly can, it is important that you:

1. Eat in moderation
2. Limit your intake of saturated fats
3. Eat at least 5 fruit and veg daily
4. and Raise your metabolism

Studies have also shown that foods rich with Vitamin C can act as a natural fat burner as well. Most of the citrus fruits contain healthy doses of Vitamin C and so you would be well advised to consume at least one of these fruits on a daily basis. Vitamin C is important in fat burning diets, because it dilutes and weakens the fat which in turn makes it much easier for the body to flush it out.

Water is also another fantastic choice when loosing weight. Water is 100% natural and helps to supress your appetite. It also happens to be very good at flushing excess sodium (salt) and it helps to increase the metabolic rate. What more could you ask for?

Source: www.goarticles.com

How to create Your Own Slide shows

Some will allow you to create slideshows. Some will add transitions, and allow image durations to be adjusted.

You can also use most video making programs to produce slideshows, which is one way to have more control over the outcome. For example, Windows XP offers MovieMaker, which has many of the functions of a full-blown video producer program. The program allows you to set the duration of each picture, the transition between each picture; offers various effects to apply to individual pictures, and allows you to overlay an audio track.

To start, I have found that most digital images need a little adjustment for viewing on monitors. If your program allows it, I recommend increasing both the brightness and contrast just a few notches. Also, if you can, sharpen them slightly. A note about color: colors come in two categories: transparent and opaque.

When you prepare images for printing or for viewing on a monitor you must consider how colors interact with each other. Printed colors, when mixed together, go towards black. Projected colors, when mixed together, go towards white. Printed images are usually produced on equipment with a much higher resolution capability than your monitor, so they will appear richer and sharper in print. Most cameras are preset for printing, and that’s why it’s a good idea to sharpen, brighten and increase the contrast on images to be viewed on the pc.

Selecting your images and ordering them are the next important step. It is best to try and tell a story, to have a logical sequence to your images. Don’t show people going in the house before the shot of them getting out of the car. When you are taking pictures, remember that you may make a slide show, and try to take pictures that will present well in that style; for instance, in a room full of people , start at one side and take many pictures as you swing across to the other side of the room.

When presented as slides, it will give the effect of creating the complete environment. Vary the duration of the slides; don’t make them all 3 or 5 seconds, make some shorter and some longer. If there’s one person in a picture, shorten it; if there are many people then lengthen it so people have a chance to look at every face.

Once you have assembled the slideshow and applied transitions and effects, you can put the crowning touch on by adding a narration. You can simply choose some favorite or appropriate music, but to really personalize it, a narration is best. Not everyone is a natural speaker, nor does everyone have the most recordable voice for such a purpose.

Here’s where you can take advantage of a program like AV Voice Changer Software to create a separate track, or you could use AV Movie Morpher 2.0 to overdub the production. (You can go to http://mp3-player.audio4fun.com/free-audio-software.htm to download the software for free trials).

In that case you will have to output the slideshow first and then open it inside the Movie Morpher program. The nice thing about both of these programs is that they can alter the sound of your voice to make it more entertaining. It can deepen or enrich it, or make it faster or slower; it can even change a male voice to a female-sounding voice. It can add special effects for emphasis or dramatic effect.

You should work out either a written narrative or an outline of what you will say, practice it, and then record it. The final outcome will be an entertaining, creative, and personal record of part of your life, whether it’s a party, a graduation, or a simple family gathering, you will have created a cherished memory to be shared for all time.

Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to credit card, do please browse for more information at our websites.

Source: www.1888articles.com

Mac Snow Leopard vs Windows 7: When does the combat begin?

August 28th marks the launch of Mac Snow Leopard OSX. We have not yet forgotten the frenzy and hype that Apple managed to create with the launch of iPhone where people queued up at early hours just to get a mere sight of the Gadget. This naturally sets the stage for an enormous unending debate as to how viable the product would be. Not far away on the cards is the much awaited launch of Microsoft Windows 7 which is the strongest contender from the latter's Product Portfolio to arrive on October 22nd. Where Microsoft has pinned high hopes around this, the rivalry of both the giants seems to be neverending with constant innovation around new products and applications.

While many of us are curious to know which would be better option to bet on, we compare the best five features here for our readers:

Where pricing is the main concern, no doubt Windows seemam to be a clear winner. But, this time with $29 upgrades, Mac seems to be on its track to please its users. However, $29 is for those who upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard, but not for the switchers. In that scenario, Mac upgrade does not sound as a viable bet. On the other hand, Microsoft’s upgrade prices which are still susceptible to fluctuations will help lot many people.

Internal Applications:

Both the operating systems are available as upgrades, but the more intriguing question is which one is a better upgrade and which offers more value to the money? Apple at the time of announcing its Snow Leopard cited that Mac has come up with so many new features in last few years that Snow Leopard instead has focused on under the hood improvements to make the operating system more competitive and in fact a clear winner to the competition.

While Apple has been promising enhanced security on its product we still feel Microsoft has not been making much noise about it.

On the other hand, Microsoft has worked on all the features right from the appearance to the performance to make users wash those ugly memories of Vista fiasco. It has worked in the performance and display features to make the operating system more friendly and appealing than Vista.

Comparing both on that broader scale, Windows 7 has made major improvements and Snow Leopard has lagged behind in that race.

Touch Screen Technology

When touch screen technology is the point of discussion, Apple can be rewarded to bring it to the main stream with its iconic iPhone but no promises delivered to bring it in other PC devices. However, Windows 7 promises multi touch capabilities with drag and drop functionality. The company has tweaked its start menu and taskbar icons, and facilitated web browsing on a touch. In fact touch capabilities are also supported with twist gestures for zooming and rotating.

User Interface

Microsoft had introduced Aero interface with Vista and has also replicated it in its new operating system. At the time of launch, Aero interface was compared to Mac’s Expose and the comparison continues. The thumbnail previewing makes Windows winner in appearance.

Back Up

Windows backup utility has not got many changes and is again that old and tiresome process. In this comparison, Snow Leopard’s Time Machine is again a clear cut winner as its simplicity compels you and does not require further user configurations.

Conclusion:

The real head to head battle begins on August 28 after Snow Leopard launches but this time Windows 7 emerges as a better upgrade option as people would not be able to figure out under the hood improvements of Snow Leopard.

Source: www.1888articles.com

Top 10 Reasons to Switch from Java to Visual C#

Why should a Java developer switch to C#? Here are the major reasons in alphabetical order:

1. "C Style" memory access

Rather than forcing developers to write code to access application programming interfaces (APIs) in other languages in order to access specific memory locations (e.g. hardware-mapped memory), C# allows developers to use "C style" memory management and pointers when necessary. Of course, one of the major design goals of the Java language and other object-oriented languages is specifically to outlaw such access. A fact which Microsoft acknowledges by forcing the C# programmer to label such accesses with the unsafe keyword.

2. Extensions for component-oriented development

Visual C# provides developers with a powerful component-oriented development language that includes support for properties, indexers, delegates, inheritance, versioning, and attributes, without the need for esoteric or rigid naming patterns and companion classes.

3. Familiarity

Java developers will immediately find Visual C# to be familiar and comfortable. C# is like Java on steroids. There are some extra keywords; and, Visual C# supports some extra constructs. But, a Java coder can learn the C# language in a day or two. Learning the APIs is a different matter.

4. Interactive XML Web services

Visual C# allows developers to deploy and consume rich, interactive XML Web services that reduce development time by enabling software aggregation from any platform. Microsoft is famous for hiding the details from the developer: This is both good and bad. New developers may not actually know or understand what is going on under the hood. On the other hand, it does increase productivity. Of course, Java developers have a variety of IDEs such as Eclipse to choose from. All of which provide some degree of support for Web services.

5. Leverage the .NET Framework

Visual C# provides developers with access to the Microsoft .NET Framework--a robust, thread-safe library of collection classes, data access classes, networking functions, etc. Recently, however, various bridge software offer .NET access from Java programs as well as access to the rich Java libraries from .NET languages.

6. Object-based type system

Visual C# provides developers an object-based type system that eliminates the need for complex, verbose data marshalling code commonly required by Java applications.

7. Standards-based language

Visual C# provides developers with a standards-based language (ECMA) with all its advantages. This is a significant advantage over the Java language.

8. Target any device

Visual C# lets developers target desktop computers or a variety of handheld and wireless devices using identical tools and skills. True, but all the devices must be Windows based.

9. Visual Studio .NET IDE

Visual C# provides developers with the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE) which includes support for task lists, property editors, Microsoft IntelliSense®, Forms designers, etc. For development on Windows platform, Visual Studio is king. However, Visual Studio lags Eclipse and other IDEs except in Microsoft-specific features.

10. XML comments

Visual C# allows developers to use eXtensible Markup Language (XML) Comments to provide useful and customizable source code documentation. Of course, so does Java although Microsoft does add its own twists to it.

Conclusion

A form of this top 10 list originated with Microsoft. But, because both Java software and Visual C# evolve competitively, non-Microsoft oriented features tend to be matched by each competitor in turn. There is no real reason to use Visual C# instead of Java in general; because, each has its own advantages and disadvantages which may or may not be important in specific situations. Unless you work in a Microsoft-only shop, the requirements of the project should dictate both the language and other software employed.

Source: www.csharphelp.com

BT iPlate

I’ve been writing just recently about slow broadband connections and discussing common methods used to improve line speeds. This week I was pointed in the direction of a little device which claims to potentially increase the speed of your broadband connection for just under £7.

The BT iPlate is of potential use to broadband customers that have more than one telephone socket in their home. It consists of a small plate which is installed in to the master socket and works by attempting to reduce interference picked up by any extension wiring in your home.

It works by cutting out the ‘bell wire’ cable on your line; originally this would have been used by older telephones to allow a physical bell to ring however modern day handsets have a ring feature built in and, as such, it is now redundant. Ideally, (but somewhat impractically) the bell wire would be removed from your home by a BT engineer as it now only serves as a conduit for line interference.

By using the iPlate the bell wire is choked, therefore potentially improving the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of your connection which in turn should have a knock-on effect on the line speed.

The iPlate is only suitable for customers who have the most common BT NTE5 style master socket; these consist of a split face plate with a single phone connection. The bottom section can be unscrewed independently from the top of the socket which should have the BT logo embossed on it.

It is NOT suitable for master sockets which display the BT OpenReach logo, have two phone connections, or don’t have a split in the faceplate. Also, ensure that you are examining the master socket and not one of the extension sockets.

Installation is simple; you unscrew and remove the lower section of the master socket, install the iPlate in its place, then reinstall the lower section of the master socket on top of the iPlate. From start to finish this process will take no more than a couple of minutes.

Before installation I would recommend performing a speed test using a website such as www.speedtest.net as this will allow you to gauge whether or not there has been any marked improvement. Leave a couple of days before testing the line post installation as it can take up to 72 hours for the exchange to acknowledge that your potential speed is faster. This limiting factor is referred to as a ‘bRAS profile’ and is designed to stop traffic bottle necking at the exchange as a result of it attempting to transmit data faster than your line can physically handle.

Fortunately our home doesn’t have a bell-wire or any extensions as we ripped out the old line when we bought the house and a single socket was then installed in a different location with none of the redundant bell wire reconnected. As such, I have been unable to test it personally but the general independent consensus is that although it doesn’t make a difference in all home installations, there is the potential for many users to make quite considerable speed gains with 1.5mbps increases proving relatively common.

As I said, the theory is sound and for £6.63 including delivery (www.shop.bt.com) or free if you’re a BT Total Broadband customer (visit www.bt.com to order), the iPlate has got to be worth a punt. Of course, if your wiring isn’t a factor that is influencing your line speed and you achieve nothing then simply pass the device on to a friend.

Source: www.computerarticles.co.uk

The impact of instructional development in higher education: The state-of-the-art of the research

^aUniversity of Antwerp, Institute for Education and Information Sciences, Venusstraat 35, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium

^bLeiden University, ICLON, P.O. Box 905, 2300 AX Leiden, The Netherlands

Received 6 November 2008;

revised 29 June 2009;

accepted 9 July 2009.

Available online 17 July 2009.

Abstract

In this article we give a systematic review of the nature and design of earlier research into the impact of instructional development in higher education. Studies are clustered on the basis of the level of outcome that was measured, meaning that another synthesis technique is used than in prior reviews related to the same topic. In addition, we address some questions related to the differential impact of initiatives with varied duration, format, or target group, because these questions were left unanswered in earlier reviews. The results of our review provide a guide to improve studies of instructional development in order to get more insight into the real impact at different levels (teachers’ learning, teachers’ behavior, the institution, and the students). Some evidence is found of the influence of the duration and nature of instructional development on its impact.

Source : www.sciencedirect.com

Malakand DAE examination | IBMS teachers, NWFP

DAE examination
Peshawar, Aug 15: The Board of Technical Education has issued roll number slips to the candidates of Malakand division appearing in the DAE (diploma of associate engineering) annual examination, which would start from August 17.

A notification issued here said those students whose one or more papers failed in Part-I, II or III and had received the roll numbers should reach the following centers. The students of GPI Warai would take exam at GHSS Warai and that of GPI Timergara at their institute.

Similarly, examination of the students from Chakdara Institute, Infoworld Batkhela, Malakand Institute Batkhela, Ghandara Institute of Technology Chakadara, and GTVC Chakadara would be conducted at GTVC Chakadara.

Likewise, the students of GCT Mingora, GPI Buner and Malakand Institute of Technology Dargai would take their examination at GCT Mingora, Govt Degree College Swari and Malakand Institute of Technology Dargai, respectively.

Source : www.interface.edu.pk

Intermediate pre-medical exams result 2009

Inter pre-medical results: 114 colleges show dismal performance this year
Karachi, Aug 15: The pass percentage of as many as 114 colleges, including 69 government colleges, of the city in the Intermediate science (pre-medical) annual examinations-2009 remained below 30 per cent. The performance of 43 colleges - 29 government-run and 14 private - appeared to be so abysmal that their pass percentage was between 10 and zero.

A cursory look at the statistics of the results shows that not a single student of a large number of government and private colleges and higher secondary schools could get through the examination in A1 or A grade.

More than 15,500 candidates belonging to 192 (123 government-run and 69 private) colleges appeared in the examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK). Around 12,650 of the candidates were female and 3,319 male candidates.

Attributing the dismal performance to a shortage of teachers and overcrowding in the colleges' classrooms, officials of the provincial education department and senior professors maintained that one should not expect better performance from government colleges as long as these issues remained unresolved.

When the city's regional director (colleges), Prof Ms Munawwar Shafiq, was asked to comment, she said there were several factors behind the poor performance of government colleges but the major one was a shortage of teachers.

She was, however, reluctant to recount other factors.

President of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association, Karachi chapter, Prof Ather Hussain Mirza mentioned a few which included overcrowding of classrooms, insufficient funds for undertaking experiments in laboratories and a decreasing number of academic days.

Giving a rough estimate, he said there was a shortage of around 1,300 to 1,400 teachers in government colleges of the city. Besides, he added, the existing SNE (sanctioned new establishment) of various colleges was approved long ago when the number of students per class used to be quite less than the current average of 120. "Although it is mandatory under the board's calendar that the ratio of students in a class should not be above 1:80, the condition is often overlooked as 120 students are being admitted to first-year classes in the city's government colleges for the last two years," he pointed out.

Prof Mirza observed that owing to the shortage of teachers neither teachers nor students could manage to complete the syllabus in an academic year.

In reply to a question, he said there was a shortage of English, Urdu, Physics and Chemistry teachers, besides those for different commerce subjects.

Describing the government colleges' laboratory funds as insufficient for experiments, he said that since the funds were released by the education department in two instalments (in June and December each year) the amount released in June often got lapsed, for colleges remained unable to invite tenders for chemicals and lab equipment by the end of the financial year.

Endorsing Prof Mirza's views, Karachi SPLA secretary Prof Iftikhar Azmi said there was also an acute shortage of teachers for social sciences, civics and general history in government colleges. He remarked that performance of government college students could not improve until the issue was resolved once and for all.

Source : www.interface.edu.pk

Preston University singing competition

Preston University holds singing competition
Islamabad, Aug 15: The students enthralled the audience with their melodious songs in the Inter-university Singing Competition 2009 organised by the Preston University here.

The jam-packed hall of the university echoed with clapping and hooting by youngsters, who kept on applauding the amateur singers from different universities of the twin cities. The audience remained excited throughout the event.

There were three competitions held on the same day, namely the singing competition, dumb charade and a marketing competition titled 'Sell It'. The participating universities included the host university, National University of Modern Languages (Numl), Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (AAUR), SKANS, Bahria University, Comsats and International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI).

The participants of the singing competition enthralled the audience with their excellent voice quality and complete grasp over the art of singing that was no less than that of a professional singer. A few of them such as Sahiba of AAUR, Iffat Shaheen of Preston University, Syed Bilal of Bahria University and Adnan Ahmed of Numl gave such a powerful performance that the audience at once accompanied them in singing.

Iffat Shaheen sung the beautiful ghazal of Faraz 'Mujh say pehli si mohabbat' without the help of any musical instrument so tremendously that she received a standing ovation from the audience.

The penal of judges for the singing competition included Nazia Hameed, Nauman Khalid and Kaleem A Barlas, who, in their remarks, thoroughly appreciated the participants, saying that they are the real future of the country. Ashir of Iqra University got the top honour in the singing competition while Iffat Shaheen of Preston University and Adnan Ahmed of Numl bagged the second and third positions respectively.

The dumb charade competition was unique and interesting, where one of the team partners was given some phrase or word and he had to act upon it only with actions and no words while his/her partners had to guess the right phrase or word. Preston University Kohat Campus was the only participating team in the competition; hence they were prized without any contest.

Later, the competition 'Sell It' was held to gauge the marketing skills of the students who were given some topics only a few minutes before the act and they had to come up with an advertisement of 45 seconds duration on their assigned topic. Preston University Islamabad Campus got the first prize in this competition while IIUI came second and SKANS got the third position.

Preston University Chancellor Dr Abdul Basit while addressing on the occasion said the varsity ever tries to explore the talent of its students in different creative fields and equally focuses on co-curricular activities. "We have tried to create a balance between the curricular and extra-curricular activities, which is a must for building the balanced personalities of the youth," he said.

Myra Imran adds: To acknowledge the role of media in the promotion of education in the country, Preston University arranged a dinner for media organisations as part of their ongoing activities to mark the institution's Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Representatives of print and electronic media organisations and eminent journalists attended the event. Parliamentary Secretary for Information & Broadcasting Azeem Doltana, the chief guest on the occasion, distributed shields among the media representatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Chancellor Preston University Dr Abdul Basit thanked the media for its continuous support and encouragement. "In the past 25 years, constant acknowledgment from media at every step forward was the major motivating force for the staff and students of Preston University," he said.

The chancellor appreciated the media for bringing a change in the public mindset through its extensive coverage of social issues, adding that it has played an important role in the development of higher education in the private sector.

"This dinner is aimed at acknowledging the cooperation the media organisations extended during this long journey of developing a small institute into an 'A' grade university." He said the journey is not yet over, as the university is committed to continue providing the highest quality education to the country's youth. "It is our mission to develop trained and educated human resource that can contribute in the development of the country."

Preston University is celebrating 25 years of its dedicated services to the country. Starting with only five students in the year 1984, the university today has a large network of campuses in the country with the total enrolment exceeding 8,000 students. The news

Source : www.interface.edu.pk

Punjab schools summer vacations extended

Summer vacations extended in Punjab schools
Lahore, Aug 15: The Punjab government has extended the summer vacations limit till August 30, and the educational institutions across the province now will reopen on Aug 31.

The announcement was made by Provincial Minister for Local Government and Community Development Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa at a Press conference here Friday. Secretary Higher Education and Secretary Schools were also present on this occasion.

It may be mentioned that as per the announcement made by the Punjab government the educational institutions were scheduled to reopen on August 15 (today), but the government had extended the limit, keeping in view the scorching summer heat and the ongoing electricity crisis in the province.

The Minister further said that the government had also requested private schools to follow the decision and open their institutes on August 31, 2009.

When asked that why the Education Minister was not there to announce the same extension, Khosa replied that as the Chief Minister Punjab had directed all the ministers to attend flag-hoisting ceremonies at various districts on the eve of the Independence Day of Pakistan, therefore Education Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman could not make this announcement.

To another question regarding local government system, Khosa said that certain politicians wanted to politicise the issue as they had negative approach towards this issue.

Source : www.interface.edu.pk

Intermediate pre-medical exams result 2009

Inter pre-medical results: 114 colleges show dismal performance this year
Karachi, Aug 15: The pass percentage of as many as 114 colleges, including 69 government colleges, of the city in the Intermediate science (pre-medical) annual examinations-2009 remained below 30 per cent. The performance of 43 colleges - 29 government-run and 14 private - appeared to be so abysmal that their pass percentage was between 10 and zero.

A cursory look at the statistics of the results shows that not a single student of a large number of government and private colleges and higher secondary schools could get through the examination in A1 or A grade.

More than 15,500 candidates belonging to 192 (123 government-run and 69 private) colleges appeared in the examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK). Around 12,650 of the candidates were female and 3,319 male candidates.

Attributing the dismal performance to a shortage of teachers and overcrowding in the colleges' classrooms, officials of the provincial education department and senior professors maintained that one should not expect better performance from government colleges as long as these issues remained unresolved.

When the city's regional director (colleges), Prof Ms Munawwar Shafiq, was asked to comment, she said there were several factors behind the poor performance of government colleges but the major one was a shortage of teachers.

She was, however, reluctant to recount other factors.

President of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association, Karachi chapter, Prof Ather Hussain Mirza mentioned a few which included overcrowding of classrooms, insufficient funds for undertaking experiments in laboratories and a decreasing number of academic days.

Giving a rough estimate, he said there was a shortage of around 1,300 to 1,400 teachers in government colleges of the city. Besides, he added, the existing SNE (sanctioned new establishment) of various colleges was approved long ago when the number of students per class used to be quite less than the current average of 120. "Although it is mandatory under the board's calendar that the ratio of students in a class should not be above 1:80, the condition is often overlooked as 120 students are being admitted to first-year classes in the city's government colleges for the last two years," he pointed out.

Prof Mirza observed that owing to the shortage of teachers neither teachers nor students could manage to complete the syllabus in an academic year.

In reply to a question, he said there was a shortage of English, Urdu, Physics and Chemistry teachers, besides those for different commerce subjects.

Describing the government colleges' laboratory funds as insufficient for experiments, he said that since the funds were released by the education department in two instalments (in June and December each year) the amount released in June often got lapsed, for colleges remained unable to invite tenders for chemicals and lab equipment by the end of the financial year.

Endorsing Prof Mirza's views, Karachi SPLA secretary Prof Iftikhar Azmi said there was also an acute shortage of teachers for social sciences, civics and general history in government colleges. He remarked that performance of government college students could not improve until the issue was resolved once and for all.

Source : www.interface.edu.pk