Services
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We have designed a number of large scale Client/Server systems for Fortune
500 clients over the last few years, so we have a good understanding of what it takes to
put together these types of system. We can help
you develop object-oriented base classes to provide a foundation for
your system development efforts. In this way your project
team's skill's can be leveraged because they don't have to endlessly
re-code the same routine functions.
Examples of the base classes we have created (in several
development languages) on past projects include :
- Main Application Windows - we typically
use the Microsoft MDI standard for application development
projects. Despite rumors of its imminent demise we continue to
find that this provides the clearest, and most easily understood GUI
for end users.
- Child Windows - these are normally designed to
work closely with the MDI frame, enabling much of the repetitive
functions, such as File|New, File|Save and printing functions to be
located once on the MDI frame and be communicated seamlessly with the
currently active window.
- Toolbars - these can be designed to customize
themselves automatically to show appropriate choices for the currently
active child window. This provides a very clear indication to
the end user as to the functionality available from each window.
By using this type of approach we feel that the client
projects have a number of significant benefits conferred on them.
These include :
- Productivity - by encapsulating the high
traffic functions in a base architecture the project team is able to
develop and deploy new functionality much quicker because they are not
mired in endlessly recoding the common functions.
- Centralization - using the base classes
consistently provides better control over changes to overall
functionality because any changes to the base classes is immediately
reflected throughout the application through inheritance.
- Skill Matching - using a central set of
classes enables project management to better match the skills of team
members. Typically the central classes are the responsibility of
the most skilled developers, whose talents are then leveraged by
allowing the rest of the team to develop within the framework they
provide.
- Consistency - since all GUI elements are
inherited from the base classes their behavior must be consistent
because it really is the identical code running in each window. This
enforces standards and alleviates repetitive re-testing, thereby
accelerating the development cycle.
- Ease of use - this benefit flows directly from
the consistency describe above. Since users are not subjected to
a myriad of operating conventions, they can quickly become comfortable
as to how any window will behave, even sight unseen.
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