Topic 6: Web Application

    Web Applications

    -it refers to any application or services on the internet. It may display, create, manage images, audio, video     and data which can be stored and retrieved from the server. The examples of web applications are              Facebook, Google Documents, Windows Live Hotmail, Turbo Tax Online, online calculators, calendars       and etc. Web browsers are software applications that allow users to retrieve data and interact with content   located on web pages within a website. These are Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, Opera, Internet Explorer and   Safari.

   How does it work?

   Web apps commonly use a combination of script, client and server.

   Types of Web

    There are two types of web:

1.       Static Web- a static web is a read-only web that can be only updated by someone with knowledge of website development. Educational website and company website are examples of static web.

2.       Dynamic Web-ability for clients or users to upload documents and administrators or users to create content or add information to a site such as content management system, e-commerce system, discussion board and etc.

Generation of the Web

1.       First Generation: Web 1.0 - Information is displayed on web page as static content, hyper-linking of the web-pages and bookmarking was two of the most important aspect of web 1.0. Examples: Informational Website, Educational Web, Company Website, Personal Web pages

2.       Second Generation: Web 2.0 - is the popular term for advances Internet Technology and applications. Typically combination of technology allowing user to interact with information. For example: Web users may extend, undo and     redo each other's work such as in blogs, posts and           the comments of individuals are displayed, shared and managed.

Examples of Web 2.0 sites are:

a.       Online Social Networking- websites function like an online community of internet users such as MySpace, Twitter, FriendFinder, Facebook, Classmates, Friendster and etc.

b.      Mashup- is a web site that takes different content from a number of other web sites and mixes them together to create a new kind of content. Includes: data aggregator, video aggregator, social network aggregator search aggregator, news aggregator.

3.       Third Generation: Web 3.0 - is about semantic web and is based on intelligent web applications using: Machine-based learning and reasoning and Intelligent applications.

Information technologies and its application

1                       XML

2                       AJAX

3                      Tagging

4                       Blogs

                            Wikis

                            Really Simple Syndication

              Pod and video casting

Week 5: Internet

The Internet

-it is a global system interconnected networks that uses the standard internet protocol to serve billions of users that allows users to connect with each other around the world. Its uses are to find general information, send and receive files between computers, share resources, to correspond or meet people and shop for product and services.

The History of the Internet

In 1960, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began to study ways to interconnect network in various kinds and it began to evolve and combine with other network quickly. In 1986, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the development of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFN) which became the major component of internet.

  Internet Services

1.       Email- it allows messages to be exchanged from computer to computer such as Yahoo, Gmail, MSN and Hotmail.

2.       Web- it is created by Tim Berners Lee which contains hypertext links or highlighted keywords and images that lead to related information and it is organized using documents called web pages.

3.       Transfer Protocol- protocol is the set of rules/ software that the computers use to move files from one computer to another on the Internet such as HTTP.

4.       Chat Room- channel/medium/location on Internet that allow people to chat with each other such as Real chat, Yahoo Message Chat Room and AOL Chat Room.

5.       Voice over internet protocol (VOIP)- allow users to speak  to other user over internet such as Skype, Windows Live Call, Yahoo Voice and NetMeeting.

6.       News Group- it is an electronic bulletin board that conduct discussions about specific topic or subject such as Newsreader.

Topic 4: Apply relational database design approach and implement it using Microsoft Access or other DBMS

What is a database?

-          It is an organized collection of data or a mechanism of storing, managing and retrieving information.

-          It is applied in hospitals, colleges or universities and bank.

Functions of Database

-to store

-to organize

-to control

Database Components

Data Item- it is a piece of information

Schema- it describes the organization of data and its relationship within the database. The schema   consists of definitions of the various types of record in the database, the data-items they contain and the sets into which they are grouped.

Database Architecture

1.       The architecture of a modern database consists of:

2.       Actual database (contents)

3.       Hardware to process and store the data

4.       Software to manipulate the contents

5.       People to administer the access, control and modification of data

Database Management System

It is a software package for manipulating databases or simply it is a database program.

    Examples of Database Management System

    1.       MySQL

    2.       Microsoft Access

    3.       RDBMS

    4.       Clipper

    5.       Oracle

    6.       SQL Server

    7.       PostgreSQL

    8.       FileMaker

    9.       dBASE

    10.   FoxPro

Features of DBMS

1.       It allows users to create new database

2.       Give users the ability to query& modify the data using appropriate language (query language or data manipulation.

3.       It provides information to the decision makers that they need to make important decisions.

Types of Languages

1.       DDL (Data definition language)

2.       DML (Data manipulation language)

3.       Structured Query Language (SQL)

Components of DBMS

1.       Field- it is a specific piece of data such as a first name, last name, city, state, subject or birthdate.

2.       Record- a group of related fields that describes a person, place, thing or transaction such as customer, student, location, product, or sale.

3.       Table- a collection of records for a single subject such as Students, Products, or Sales.

4.       Key Field- a field that contains unique information for each record such as Student ID card.

5.       Relational Database- these are tables that are linked together to address a business process such as managing timetable, courses and students.

6.       Objectives- it helps you view, edit, manage and analyse the data in the database.

Entity Relationship Diagram

-          It describes the relationship of data in key columns and is shown in the form of diagram.

It has three types of relationship:

1.       One to one (1:1)- each row in one database table is linked to 1 and only 1 other row in another table.

2.       One to many (1:M)- each row in the related to table can be related to many rows in the relating table.

3.       Many to many (M:N)- one or more rows in a table can be related to many rows in another table.

DBMS Users

•       End Users

•        Application Programmers

•        Database Administrator

Database Models

 Data model of database:

                - Structure

                - Characteristic

                - Description

                - Organization

Types of Database Models

•        Hierarchical database- it organizes data in a tree structure that may establish one to many relationship.

•       Network database-it represents complex data relationship, and the data are represented by showing links among them.

•       Relational database- the data is organized in the form of rows and columns as in a table.

•       Object-relational database

Types of Database

•       Individual (primarily used by one person)

•        Company/shared (stored on a mainframe by a computer professional)

•        Distributed (stored in not just one location but in several locations)

Topic 3: Information System

Information Systems are sets of elements or components such as inputs, processing mechanism, outputs and feedback. A computer-based information system is software-based solution that is used to gather and analyse information.

There are five (5) types of Computer-based Information System, those are:

1.       Transaction Processing System- is an information processing system for business transactions involving the collection, modification and retrieval of all transaction data. Characteristics of a TPS include performance, reliability and consistency.

 2.       Decision Support System- an interactive computerized system that gathers and presents data from a    wide range of sources, typically for business purposes. DSS applications are systems and subsystems that    help people make decisions based on data that is culled from a wide range of sources.

3.       Expert System- a computer program that simulates the judgement and behaviour of a human or an organization that has expert knowledge and experience in a particular field.

4.       Management Information System-is a general term for the computer systems in an enterprise that provide information about its business operations. It's also used to refer to the people who manage these systems. Typically, in a large corporation, "MIS" or the "MIS department" refers to a central or centrally-coordinated system of computer expertise and management, often including mainframe systems but also including by extension the corporation's entire network of computer resources.

5.       Executive Support System- is software that allows users to transform enterprise data into quickly accessible and executive-level reports, such as those used by billing, accounting and staffing departments. An ESS enhances decision making for executives.

    Components of CBIS

     ü  Procedure

     ü  Telecommunication

     ü  Database

     ü  Software

     ü  Hardware

     ü  People

Information System Development Methodologies

      What is an Information System Development?

-          is the process of defining, designing, testing, and implementing a new software application or program.

A methodology is a collection of tools, procedures and documentation aids which helps the system         developers to implement a new information system. The system development can be initiated when there       is a problem existing in the system and when the organization wants to produce a new information                 system.

   The participants in system development are as follows:

1             Project Manager

2                   Stakeholders

3                   Users

4                   Programmer

5                   System Analyst

                    Support Personnel

       There are steps in Information System Development Planning:

Strategic Plan

Develop Objectives

Identify IS project

Analyse resource

Set schedule and deadlines

Develop IS

Methodology

          -is a combination of procedures, techniques (methods) and tools for developing a system.

      Elements of Methodology

      Procedures: the sequence or the well-defined steps

      Methods: technical for building software/program/system

     Tools: provide automated/semi-automated support for process and techniques/methods

     Characters of Information System Development Methodologies

-                   Work breakdown structure that provides guidance on what to do and when to do.

-                   Techniques on how to do and what needs to be done.

     The importance of Methodology in an organization:

1.       Ensure system development process is systematic

2.       Allows system development to be managed to ensure high quality assurance

3.       To achieve effectiveness and efficiency in organization

4.        To meet user requirement

      Types of Methodologies

1.                  Structured Approach (SDLC)- it is a comprehensive method that covers activities such as understanding       why the system should be built, studying the project feasibility, analysing problems, choosing the system         design and architecture, implementing and testing it, up to delivering the system as product to the users. It       is characterized by a chronological approach and the users get to see the system late in the development.

2.                   Prototyping- is a system development methodology that uses a trial-and-error approach for discovering          how a system should operate. Its main aim is to enhance the quality of the requirement specification. It is        useful when the desired system needs to have a lot of interaction with the end users.

        Gane and Sarsons (STRADIS)- it focuses on the Data Flow diagram, which is used to describe the              processes of the system, and how the processes transform data.