Do You Really Own Your Website
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marius_Bezuidenhout]Marius Bezuidenhout
Here are some important tips and some questions to ask your website design or development company. If you don’t understand the ‘ownership’ issues and you are buying a website design or web-based application, this is must-read material for you!
DON’T GET CAUGHT PAYING TWICE.
I recently interviewed a new client who was looking to add a database to his existing site. His current webmaster had completed a business logo and designed the initial interface for the site, and when the client asked for a quote his price far exceeded budget. Long story made short, we found an existing application that would meet the client’s needs for substantially less than custom development would cost, and of course the web- master was advised that he had lost a client. Do you think he got to keep his original website when they moved to another webmaster? Nope. We had to star over again, which meant paying a second time for design.
WEB DESIGN SOURCE CODE
A web designer or developer will produce a website or web- based application on which your business needs to be able to rely. In fact, a web application may be your whole business. This is absolutely the case where a business is 100% online and depends completely on the process built into a website; e-commerce stores are a perfect example of a whole business online.
Web designers create web pages with a combination of image and HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML), a text-based standard language that designer in the world knows. HTML is what is used to hold together the structure of your site, keeping the pretty pictures and text in all the right places. Browsers interpret that HTML and display the site’s image and text.
Your designer will bein your design by “drawing” your website in a graphics program, using shapes, colours, images and fonts piled up in layers to create the final “look and feel” for your new site. Macromedia Fireworks and PhotoShop are two tools that are very often used by professionals, who will then slice up the images and use the resulting smaller images to build your working website. HTML will be used to hold it all together.
Here is the key. You need the original art file that was used to design your site in Macromedia Fireworks or Photoshop or whatever software your designer used. If you don’t get the same file, your next designer will have to start your design from scratch, even if you want mere artwork changes. This is no walk in the park if the original images are not available. Macromedia Fireworks source files have the extension .PNG (yourWebsite.PNG). PhotoShop files have the extension .PSD (yourWebsite.PSD).
Another design issue you may run into is fonts. If your designer uses fancy fonts that are not installed by default on your computer or your future designer’s computer, you may have to substitute fonts one day. In some cases, choosing a new font is not a big issue. However, you may need, for example, the font used in your logo or corporate branding, and it would be ludicrous to lose these merely because you changed designers.
Coca-Cola needs the font used in its branding, and so do you! At the very least, because there may be real copyright issues with transferring the fonts, you need to know the names of the fonts and where you can buy copies of them for your project archive.
Questions to ask your web designer:
1) When you are finished designing my site, will you provide me with the source files used in its design?
2) Will you transfer the ownership (copyright) of these source files to me or my company, or at least give me perpetual license to continue using them and to make revisions if I need to?
3) Will you provide me with the names and files for all non- Windows® fonts used in the design of my new website?
WEB APPLICATION SOURCE CODE
Web developers create programs that work as applications on the internet. They create code that is compiled, usually in real time, at the web server. The code will, for example, connect to a database and extract a set of data, compile it into an HTML table (so that it is readable) and then send to the web browser as pure HTML. The “view source” command does not read the scripting language, because it never leaves the server. If you “view source” from the web browser, you only see the HTML. Some of the code your developer writes will be protected by copyright. Your developer may also buy code in the form of server components, or use code blocks for functionality from other programmers or purchase complete applications in order to finish your site. You need to know that the developer has ensured that you can continue to use software developed for your business for an unlimited period of time, and that any licensing restrictions or recurring licensing costs are disclosed to you before you start the project. Find out if you will be bound forever to a hosting or server plan for your applications.
Here are some questions you may want to ask your web developer:
1) Will you transfer an unlimited perpetual license to me or my company for the use of the applications that you develop for me?
2) Will you disclose any licensing restrictions to me regarding these applications?
3) Will you write code using common standards or languages that I will be able to move to another hosting provider, or eventually to my own server?
4) Can I move my application to another server in the future if it is necessary to do so?
USE OF ENCRYPTION
So your web developer says “yes” to these questions, and you think “Great. I’m home free! Let’s get started.” Two years later you decide it’s time to move your web applications to your own servers because your e-commerce store is screaming busy and the cost of bandwidth and hosting is killing your profits, you start the process of moving your application to your new server and call up your webmaster for help, but he’s gone to university in the States and “isn’t doing that anymore.” You think to yourself “I guess I should have used a more established company…” and you find yourself a new webmaster.
Incidentally, I am often told by new clients that I am their second, third, sometimes even fourth web developer. So we start the move, but wait, something is wrong... portions of the source code are encrypted. Even the government couldn’t decrypt it! We have to rewrite those blocks of code and the client has to pay… again. If your site’s source HTML or application scripting language is encrypted, then it may have to be rewritten or you will have no way to add functionality or even to fix bugs without involving the original developer, who holds the key to the encryption. They are quite clever, aren’t they?
Now there are some good reasons to encrypt some portions of source code, even in a web application. Most web applications contain, in the source code, database, username and password details in one of their files. This is a great example of a code block that should be encrypted before it is placed into a shared hosting environment.
If your web developer is going to encrypt portions of the source code, make sure you get a copy of the unencrypted code for your project archive. In this manner you will be able to work with a new developer if or when you need to.
Questions to ask your web developer regarding encryption:
1) Will you he encrypting any or all of the source code in the application you are developing for me?
2) Will you provide me with a copy of the original source code prior to encryption?
TECHNOLOGIES
There are a number of technologies used in the development of sites and applications: Pre-Hypertext Processor (PHP), Active Server Pages (ASP), Active Server Pages dot Net (ASP.NET) and Cold Fusion, to name a few. All of these scripting languages connect sites to databases and functions on servers, such as mail or the uploading of files. All of these technologies are widely used and widely available, and many developers know these languages. Some less well-known programming and scripting languages may he able to do a lot of the same things, but their pitfall is that it may be more difficult to find a programmer who knows the language.
Some scripting or programming languages like Microsoft’s Active Server Page or Active Server Page dot Net technologies are developed specifically for use on Microsoft operating systems. These technologies are difficult, if not impossible, to run on a Linux operating system. When your programmer selects a language for your web application, he may be getting you into a long-term relationship with a particular operating system and/or software vendor. This is okay, as long as you recognise the long term ramifications of these choices, some of which may entail costs in the future.
Questions to ask your web developer regarding programming languages:
Is the technology you use tied to one particular operating system, or can I host my site on my choice of servers with my choice of operating system? More specifically, can I host my application on either a Microsoft® web server or a Linux server?
TRANFERIBILITY
Make sure that you are able to move your site to a server with comparable standards in the future, should you wish to do so. Moving a site to a new server is not necessarily due to a break down in the relationship with your web services provider; you may he forced to move if your existing server can no longer handle your traffic bandwidth, or if costs become too high in a shared hosting environment and you find it more economical to set up your own server and host your own applications. If you choose to host your own applications, the cost ramifications of your earlier choices will hit your pocketbook. For example, if your site was developed using PHP, an open-source scripting language for websites, then the cost of your new server will likely not include any software licensing because the operating system (Linux) is free. If, on the other hand, your site is developed using .ASP or .ASP.NET, you are going to have to buy expensive server licenses from The Big Guy.
CAN YOU USE YOUR SITE INTO THE FUTURE?
If you commission a web designer or developer to complete a project for you, make sure that you have an agreement in place that clearly specifies you can continue to use the project and related source files when it is completed. Check the service agreement you sign with your web company. Of course, if there is no documentation then you will not know if you own your site or applications.
IN SUMMARY
There are some good reasons for designers and developers to protect their rights and ensure their future earning potential. As the client or purchaser of design services, you need to understand where you stand with regard to choices that will be made on your behalf regarding your website or web-based applications.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marius_Bezuidenhout http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-You-Really-Own-Your-Website&id=393887
Application Development in dot net
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Shakir_A.]Shakir A.
Dot net Application Development
Visual Studio.NET is an intelligent development tool that allows developing applications that target the .NET Framework. From a developer’s vista, .NET comprises of three things viz., the .NET Framework, the .NET Framework SDK, and the development environment. The tool is also used to create customized controls and components that can be used as a part of the application. Components are objects or the features that are used to construct, organize and test Visual Studio programs. The Toolbox window of the Visual Studio .NET IDE contains all the components. Components are considered as controls that are derived from the Control class and have a user interface. Some controls are combination of other controls and are derived from the UserControl. The UserControl objects and Form objects can be developed with the designer of the VS.NET IDE. A simple user interface can be designed by dragging and dropping controls from the Toolbox window and setting the property values and events in the Properties window. All the properties that are set are stored in a .resx file for the locale. The IDE then builds the satellite assemblies for each locale's .resx file in your project. The VS.NET IDE designer does not allow developing the user interface of a Control class; it only allows developing components and controls.
From the viewpoint of a good .NET developer, the below mentioned skills are very much essential for developing .NET applications.
.NET Developing Components:
Developing Controls: The vital fact about a control is that it has a visual element, but the visual representation of a class derived from Control is not allowed by the Windows Forms designer. Instead it shows the schematic representation of the components that the control uses while dragging from the Server Explorer or Toolbox window.
Resources and Internationalization: .NET and Win32 support a different model of resources. In Win32, resources are held in a section that is part of the portable executable (PE) file format and the resources are inlaid within this segment. But in the case of.NET, resources are part of an assembly, but they can be inlaid within the assembly or supplied as separate files.
Resources and .NET .NET has been designed with internationalization in mind. For example, let us consider of an application that has been downloaded from a trusted Web site and the Web site is in a locale different from yours. There are various applications that are created in their own locale. If the language is different from yours, it is obvious that the application has been localized to your locale and that the Web site gives you the option of downloading different localized versions. This scheme is typically used by Win32 applications.
Locales, Civilization, and Languages Naming conventions in .NET are defined in RFC 1766. Civilizations are generally named with the pattern xx-yy, where xx represents the language (en for English, fr for French) while yy represents the area where the language is used (AU for Australia, US for United States). The pattern en-US represents that English is spoken in the US. [http://www.koreone.com ]IT Staffing companies has gathered enormous openings for skilled .NET developers and provides extensive career growth.
Shakir A, independent writer for IT Staffing Services for technical and IT Professionals, Jobs, Business, Consultancy, Recruiting and latest trends in hiring industry at San Jose, California and near by city/ states. As of now she wrote for http://www.koreone.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shakir_A. http://EzineArticles.com/?Application-Development-in-dot-net&id=460450
Where Are We Going: .net Vs Java?
By James Arendt
What in the world is going on in the marketplace? Technology is
moving so fast that it is sometimes a little difficult to tell
what is happening.
Let’s take a short trip back to the past.
It wasn’t too long ago that applications were designed,
developed, and deployed on a single machine. For those of you
that can remember the early days of the personal computer era,
things like dbase, FoxBASE, and the like might ring a bell.
Everything ran on the same machine -- the user interface, the
business rules, and the database services.
Then along came local area networks, which ushered in the era
of clientserver applications. Now the user interface and the
business rules sat on the PC and sent requests to a
client-server DBMS such as Oracle or SQL Server, while on the
server side, records were processed and results were returned to
the client.
As LANs matured and their reliability improved, application
development went through yet another evolution, namely, the
advent of 3-tier architecture. This transformation resulted in
the user interface, business rules, and data services each
becoming its own independent logical element in the application
architecture. The physical world may have implemented each
element on a separate machine, but that was not required.
The main advantage of the 3-tier model is that business logic
could now be broken up into components, where they could be used
not only in one but many applications. Additionally, changes to
business logic in the server did not require the calling party
or client to change at all. In other words, the details of the
implementation of business logic or the function is not
important, as long as the way it is called and the type of
information that it returns do not change. Let’s face it, the
world is changing quickly and we need to be able to adjust
without having to re-deploy.
Of course, the initial implementation of the 3-tier model
(later to become the n-tier) was primarily on common machines
and operating systems such as Intel, Windows, and Unix. Vendors
each supported their own brand of components. Microsoft
supported COM, followed by DCOM. IBM promoted CORBA, and Sun
touted RMI. Each of these middle tier component flavors was
proprietary and did not provide for inter-operability and
communication among disparate pieces. In order for a Microsoft
application to talk with a CORBA component another piece of
software was required for translation. The same was true for
apps trying to communicate with DCOM objects as well.
All of this made it difficult for diverse systems to talk to
one another, creating an increasingly significant problem, as
Internet business-tobusiness applications became the focus. The
web, a relatively recent addition to the overall IT
architecture, has dramatically changed the way we look at
application development and correspondingly the deployment of
associated services.
If you log on to Land’s End, for example, it’s not unlikely
that the underlying application will have to utilize components
developed by a number of other parties such as AMEX, MasterCard,
Visa, UPS, FedEx, along with a host of internal systems to
provide the total consumer shopping experience.
Sun, with it’s Java language, was in the right place at the
right time. Java’s ability to be compiled to byte code and run
on any machine that had a Java Virtual Machine gave it
portability. The fact that it was designed to be totally object
oriented, target web-based applications, and observe security
issues associated with distributed apps gave it tremendous
appeal to corporate clients.
Visual Basic, on the other hand, earned its stripes in the
Windows-based application development world. It’s easy to
develop apps that leveraged the Window’s Operating System, and
as it VB evolved it took on more and more features that made it
increasingly object oriented, capable of creating reusable
COM/DCOM objects, and a viable tool for web-based applications.
Today, Microsoft claims that there are more than 3 million
Visual Basic programmers in the world.
Introduced in 1991, Visual Basic has gone through 6 versions.
Each oneincreased power, features, flexibility, and capability,
leading up to two major programming languages -- Java and Visual
Basic, with each camp feeling that their product is better.
The fact is that language is not truly the key. The winner will
be the framework/platform that enables the design, development,
and deployment of applications and takes advantage of services
or
components distributed throughout the web.
With the pending release of the next version of Visual Studio
(of which VB is a part), Microsoft has decided to radically
change the way that their language suite works. The next version
of Visual Studio will be called Visual Studio.Net or VS.Net, and
the next version of Visual Basic will be titled VB.Net. There
are many new features and capabilities, but in my opinion, there
are two major changes that will move Microsoft to the center
stage.
First, VS.Net will be a common development environment into
which C#,C++, and VB along with about 14 other non-Microsoft
languages will connect. Language will be a matter of preference.
This is largely due to the fact that they will all compile down
to the same level by utilizing a common run-time module. In
addition, they will all share the same class libraries.
What this means is that an application comprised of components
and services can be developed by a team of developers in several
different languages with the assurance that it will all work
together.
If one were to look closely, one could see that the general
architecture that makes Java so popular is that the output of
the compiler is not necessarily tied to the chip set or
operating system. It would not surprise me if Microsoft made the
run-time module, which is similar in nature to the Java Virtual
Machine, available to the standards committees to be ported to
other platforms. If this were to happen, VS.Net and VB.Net could
take a major leap forward in the language race.
The second major event that parallels the introduction of
VS.Net is the advent of SOAP. Remember our previous discussion
concerning different types of components trying to work with
each other? SOAP or Simple Object Access Protocol, is an open
standard based on XML or Extensible Markup Language, that IBM,
Sun, and Microsoft have agreed upon now makes it possible for
components, developed with competing standards, to communicate.
XML is used to describe the underlying elements of a class
including the methods, associated arguments, and return values.
While SOAP on the other hand, describes the interface including
the path to the XML document. This will remove a significant
obstacle to inter-operability in building applications using
distributed web-services.
To summarize, Java and Visual Basic are currently in strong
competition with one another. A recent check with
ComputerJobs.Com shows that jobs requiring Java, Visual Basic,
and C++, the distribution is 55%, 35%, and 10%. With
VS.Net/VB.Net, SOAP, and the freedom to choose language
independent of platform, one can expect this distribution to
shift from Java to non-Java languages. In fact, with VS.Net
hosting almost 20 different programming languages (including a
Java implementation from Rational) and compiling to a common
byte-code level, personal preference will surely rule the day.
About the Author: SetFocus, known for it's Master's Program and
Corporate Training Services, is a unique training organization
that provides the most current and cutting edge technologies in
the training market. A Microsoft Certified Gold Partner for
Learning Solutions (CPLS)SetFocus is highly regarded in the
Microsoft Learning. Please Visit: http://www.setfocus.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Web Design And Microsoft .Net Technology
By ENetGate
In 2000, Microsoft announced its .NET software environment, a
new addition to Windows. The .NET (“dot – net”) environment is
effectively a “virtual computer” that runs on a real computer,
with the advantage that any program written for it will run on
any computer which is running .NET.
One important aspect of the .NET strategy is its independence
from a specific language or platform. Developers can create a
.NET application in any .NET - compatible language and
participate in the same software project writing code in the
.NET languages in which they are most competent (such as Visual
C++.NET, Visual Basic .NET, C#, Perl and others). Part of the
.NET software environment includes Active Server Pages (ASP)
.NET technology, which allows developers to develop applications
for the Web.
The .Net architecture can exist on multiple platforms, further
extending the portability of .NET programs. Additionally, the
.NET software environment involves a new program development
process that could change the way programs are written and
executed, leading to increased productivity.
The most important component of the .NET architecture is Web
Services, which are applications that can be used over the
Internet. One example of a Web service is the tour operator’s
flights booking system. The tour operator wanted to enable
customers to book flights from the tour operator’s Web site. To
do so, the tour operator needed to access the airline’s booking
system. In response, an airline partner created a Web service
that allowed the tour operator to access the airline’s database
and make bookings. Web services enable the two companies to
communicate over the Web, even if they use the different
operating systems (the tour operator uses UNIX and the airline
uses Windows). By creating a Web service, the airline can allow
other tour operators to use its booking system without creating
a new program.
The .NET strategy extends the concept of software reuse to the
Internet, allowing developers to concentrate on their
specialties without having to implement every component of every
application. Instead, companies can buy Web services and devote
their time and energy to developing their products.
The .NET strategy incorporates the idea of software reuse. When
companies link their products in this way, a new user experience
emerges. For example, an online store could buy Web services for
online credit-card payments, user authentication and inventory
databases to create an e-commerce Web site. The keys to this
interaction are XML and SOAP, which enable Web service to
communicate. XML gives meaning to data, and SOAP is the protocol
that allows Web services to communicate easily with one another.
XML and SOAP act together combining various Web services to form
applications.
Another important concept in the .NET technology is universal
data access. If two copies of a file exist (such as on a
personal computer and a company computer), the less recent
version must constantly be updated, this is called file
synchronization. If the separate versions of the file are
different, they are unsynchronized and could lead to serious
error. Using the .NET data could reside in one central location
rather than on separate systems. Any internet-connected device
could access the data, which would then be formatted properly
for use on access device (a desktop PC, a PDA or other device).
Thus, the same document could be displayed and edited without
the need to synchronise the data, because it would be up to date
in central area.
About the Author: The Author is the IT Solutions Development
Manager of eNetGate Company, which specializes in Web Design,
Database Development and Application Development throughout the
UK. http://www.enetgate.com/Web-Design-UK/
Source: http://www.isnare.com
.NET : Solving The Multiple Inheritance Issue Under .NET
Platform
By Thomas Kaloyani
.NET platform does not support multiple inheritance. Do not
confuse multilevel inheritance with multiple inheritance. With
multiple inheritance we can have a subclass that inherits from
two classes at the same time.
Let's suppose we have an application that has a class Customers
and another class Vendors. If you wanted to combine these two
classes into one CustomerVendor class it would be a combination
of Customers and Vendors just like the diagram below.
Please copy the following link into a new browser windor to
view the diagram: http://www.vbprofs.com/images/Article
Images/VBNETinheritance.gif
In the above diagram we see how the CustomerVendor class
inherits from both of those classes.
Multiple inheritance is complex and can be dangerous. The
advantages of code re-usage prevail over complexity is up to
your choice.
Multiple inheritance is not supported by VB.NET or .Net
platform. Instead of multiple inheritance we can use multiple
interfaces to achieve similar effect to multiple inheritance.
In VB.NET all objects have a primary or native interface, which
is composed of properties, events, methods or member variables
declared using Public keyword. Objects can implement also
secondary interfaces by using Implement keyword.
Sometimes it is helpful for an object to have more than one
interface, allowing us to interact with the object in different
ways. Inheritance allow us to create subclasses that are a
specialized case of the base class.
Example
Sometimes we have a group of objects that are not the similar,
but we want to handle them the same manner. We want all the
objects to act as if they are the same, even though they are
different.
We can have some different objects in an application, such as
customer, product, invoice etc. Each object would have a default
interface appropriate to each individual object, and each of
them is a different class. No natural inheritance is implied
between these classes.
Let's suppose we want to print a document for each type of
object. In this case we'd like to make them all act as printable
object. To accomplish this we can define a generic interface
that would enable generating a printed document. By implementing
a common interface we are able to write a routine that accepts
any object that implements a printed document.
To conclude, by implementing multiple interfaces in VB.NET, we
can achieve a similar effect to that of multiple inheritance.
About the Author: Thomas is an experienced Visual Basic
developer, with expertise of 7+ years developing financial
applications. His main IT skills are VB, SQL, Crystal Reports -
should you need a VB developer for your projects feel free to
contact Thomas through his personal website at
http://www.Kaloyani.com or through http://www.VBprofs.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com