The principles of Software engineering consist of determining the feasible approach toward managing a software application. The normal processes of engineering software involve: the interviewing process, which is the research and studying of the problem domain; and the prototyping process, which refers to the understanding of the type of data needed for each level of the problem.

A good practice is to use Data Flow Diagrams to visually articulate how each process of the problem interacts with each other to solve the big problem. Using Data Dictionaries helps to define each data prototype and conceive the stability of managing each sub-unit of the problem domain. Each sub-routine that solves a specific problem should have its own specification.

If the software application utilized a database, the engineer is responsible for designing the Database, and designing the effective output and input. The final process is the software Documentation, which involves extensive testing to explain in detail the design and documentation technique, flowcharts, pseudo code, and procedures manual.

The worst job I ever had was as a cashier at a supermarket. The monotony of standing on the rubber mat, scanning can after can, waiting for the next person to arrive, was not for me. I am a person that cannot stand still and who needs to be occupied at all times.

Which makes DDA a good fit for me. Though you can argue that I spend a large part of my day in front of a computer, I can assure it is never just staring at the screen. There is rarely a dull moment and I certainly never have to wait for the people to arrive.

At the moment, I have a handful of requests from existing clients, for whom I act as Project Coordinator, involving flash programming, search engine optimization, traditional programming, and web work. I have two websites that are just beginning — one will be highly search engine optimized and is in the keyword research phase and another is at the design level — and a highly-involved ordering system that is on its way to completion, with proofing that needs to be arranged.

I have a few inquiries that I am trying to arrange either an estimate or  conference call for, a quote that needs to go out, two conference calls, and several follow-up e-mails that need to be sent out. That is in addition to the requests for work that will come in throughout the day either by e-mail or phone.

I also have proofing to do, a direct-mail piece that needs to be written, and an outline that needs to be prepared.  It’s a hectic day, as always. And I am not alone. I am in good company with my fellow three writers, as well as everyone else — the graphic designers, programmers, web developers, videographers, animators, and search engine marketing and optimization teams. Just another day in the life of DDA.

And I most certainly am not complaining.  I like the fast-paced atmosphere and a job that constantly challenges me. It’s a far cry from the rubber mat I once stood on scanning frozen peas, but I’m OK with that.

Some projects are clear cut, others are not.

As a full-service company, we see a lot of versatility in the work we do — video production, animation, website development, illustration, brochures, catalogs. I could go on but I think my point is clear.

There’s one constant variable throughout it all — the client steers the project. Our ability to provide any service needed, from programming to copywriting services, means that we can go in any direction a client wants.

If they call about a website and through discussion decide a video would also be appropriate, we can do it.  If they want to add a certification or training component to a CD-ROM, we can do it. Tracking usage, logo design, tradeshow banner, video script — we can do all of that too.

A prime example of our ability to meet just about any need, is a client we are currently working with on a variety of projects. They began wanting marketing and branding, and from there it’s mushroomed. We have gone from logo design to video to website development and back to video again. This client’s business is growing rapidly and as his needs and focus shift, we shift with him, providing exactly what is needed to meet his vision.

Not all projects are like this. Some are straight forward.

But regardless of the size or scope, through our vast ability and focus on customization we are establishing relationships, not just providing services.

Whether it’s a DVD or a little bit of everything, our clients are getting a partner not just a vendor.

Windows, Linux, Solaris, NetWare, HP-UX, and Mac OS are different operating systems developed on different machines because of machine dependency. Since each machine has its own unique sets of code, different sets of software had to be developed specifically for each machine. What does that mean for a web programmer? Many tools are developed to solve the cross browser compatibility. Each machine browser interprets code differently and each JavaScript interpreter in each different operating system are developed differently with their own specifications. So if a new feature of the JavaScript language is available in Firefox that doesn’t mean it will be available in Internet Explorer. The fact that some browsers cannot interpret certain code at all is a big issue; so, to alleviate the stress of bugs in a web application a specification of what all web browser share in common is formulated. There are tools to validate a web page html codes and JavaScript codes. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an organization working to make a standard specification for all web browsers.

In the development of Graphical User Interface (GUI) application or web application the Model-View Controller (MVC) architectural paradigm is often used to separate logic and the user interface. An event driven application such as web application or a Windows-based application would be implemented by first the model representation which is the data collection and logical set of regimented rules that govern the data. The view representation is the Graphical User Interface that users have to interact with and the controller is the events that are triggered behind the scenes as the user interacts with the application, which involves the communication between the model component and the view components. The Model-View Control Concept has been widely adapted in many languages such as the Java Enterprise Edition, mainly to solve the problem of interdependencies between all components of the application, which can have a cascading effect when adding more data and logic. The problem is often application maintainability, where the Model-View Control Concept comes in and separates business logic code, data access code, and representation code.

At DDA, we are proud to offer fully integrated advertising campaigns. With the wide array of services we provide, from video production to graphic design and copywriting to programming, we can provide any company with complete digital advertising services. We can build any marketing campaign from the ground up, design company logos, build custom and unique websites, and promote products with brochures, or we can work with established businesses looking to extend their marketing efforts with print designs or trade show ads.

But most importantly, everything at DDA is customized to fit your company’s exact needs. Our websites, for instance, are not created from templates and are custom built. And with the knowledge of our programming department and video production team, your website can be molded to exact specifications, integrating high-end video, search functions, and anything else you need. The sky is the limit when you choose DDA!

In website development, more often than not certain files or directories need access restrictions.  Access can be restricted either through server-side scripting (i.e. Coldfusion, PHP, or ASP) or the web server, like Apache.  To restrict access in Apache, a file named “.htaccess” can be uploaded into the directory of which you want access restricted. The .htacess file is a text file that lets the web server prompt for a username or password, or displays a message that you are not authorized to view the contents of this page.  When restricting users by login name and password, the .htaccess file references a file called .htpasswd.  There is a program in the Apache directory called htpasswd.exe that will create a user and password in an encrypted MD5 format.  There are many options for the htpasswd.exe program that include recreating the file, appending the file, and using different encryption types.  Below is an example of the contents in a .htaccess file.

AuthUserFile c:\security\.htpasswd
AuthName “Please Enter a User and Password”
AuthType Basic
require valid-user

This would be an example of the .htpasswd file.

user1:Nd8VlAyM/Byno
admin:L7L1bBFu6QwEg

An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is an application tool with the capability of facilitating a computer programmer with the environment of writing high language programs in their syntactic form and their regimented semantics. An IDE usually composes of a source editor, a compiler or interpreter, and a debugger. Working as a web programmer at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), the main tool I’ve used to write code is called Abode Dreamweaver CS3. Dreamweaver CS3 supports web technology frameworks such as CSS, JavaScript and also various server side script languages such as ColdFusion, PHP, and ASP. At Dynamic Digital Advertising, the facility of Dreamweaver CS3 I mostly use is the server side script language framework of ColdFusion, which makes writing ColdFusion templates very easy. The IDE catches syntactic errors very easily. One thing I found difficult with the IDE is the inability to debug script templates at the local computer. Which makes sense because only the server has the script compiler or debugger.

Every so often, I am asked by a member of the DDA team to write up something along the lines of “What are our programming capabilities?”  I get a chuckle out of this question.  I always have to ask them to get a little more specific about what they’re looking for, or at the very least, if it is OK that I give them a list of things we’ve already done instead.  To me, our custom programming capabilities are pretty much endless, it’s just a matter of time and money and whether or not I think we can get it done in that amount of time and money.  We have been able to do an amazing amount of work for a little programming department, and we’re not stopping our momentum.  So what I like to do is ask in return, ‘How about asking about what we can’t do?”  I can start with ‘well, we can’t travel in hyperspace’ and ‘we probably cannot program your coffee maker to brew beer in 30 seconds’, things that might sound completely irrational, but it may be feasible some time in the future.  Our web programming services are limited only by imagination.

What we can do is work with ColdFusion to create advanced programming; programming which can do just about anything on the web.  If we have access to your database, we can integrate a website with your current inventory management system.  If you need things to float around and work like it’s in a desktop environment but on the web, we can do that too.  What about image processing?  Sure.  File transfers? No problem.  Can we give your dog a bath?  Well, I don’t know about how you’re going to get the shower to chase down your dog, but we could probably find a way to run robotic software to scrub him.  I’m not saying it would be easy. It would probably take years, but we could do it, and we could do it using ColdFusion.  Why?  Because I have faith in the abilities of our team.  We have a unique bunch of very intelligent programmers who can do some amazing programming work.

I recently needed to find out how to resize images that are being stored on the server using ColdFusion. My initial search didn’t show me any built-in existing ColdFusion tags that could do this, so I searched more. I was finding plenty of add-ons that could do this task, but they were all charging a fee for their product. A fellow worker had needed to do some image resizing before and gave me a link to a free open source version of image resizing code. Open source to the rescue again.

This image resizing add-on does everything I need. You can scale the image proportionally or by just either height or width, control the compression and quality, overlay a watermark, and so much more. It works with all the most common formats too. JPG, GIF, and PNG are all supported. The best part is that it’s all free.

Open source code is a very useful ally in the coding world. With open source code available out there, time that would have been spent coding my own image resizing add-on, can now be spent pushing the envelope in a different way.

Open source code is a great asset and idea in the programming world and allows the complexity and capability of future programs and applications to be that much better. Since we don’t need to waste time making stuff that has already been done, we can use that time making stuff that’s never been done. It saves money for people paying for the work as well. Less time spent on writing the code that open source has provided means less time to pay a programmer for. Everyone benefits. Well, except for those people who are trying to sell the code. They might go out of business.