1.3.

SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
.Net Framework
An Overview
The .NET Framework is a development and execution environment that allows different
programming languages and libraries to work together seamlessly to create Windows-based
applications that are easier to build, manage, deploy, and integrate with other networked systems.
Built on Web service standards, .NET enables both new and existing personal and
business applications to connect with software and services across platforms, applications, and
programming languages. These connections give users access to key information, whenever and
wherever you need it.
Microsoft .NETconnected software makes the "real-time" enterprise real by enabling
information to flow freely throughout the organization, accessible to business partners, and
delivering value to customers. With .NET-connected software, users can increase the value of
existing systems and seamlessly extend those systems to partners, suppliers, and customers.

Connected
.NET Framework empowers developers to build applications that require robust messaging
systems or flexible workflows.

Compelling
With the .NET Framework, developers and designers can collaborate to create rich user
experiences.

Ubiquitous and Productive

The .NET Framework, including improvements like LINQ, provides a single platform to
quickly build mobile desktop and server-based applications.
The most important question is What is .NET? and the simplest answer is : it is a
Framework in which Windows applications may be developed and run. I agree that this answer
does not tell much. In order to understand .NET we must go back in time and follow the
development of Windows and the advent of Windows programming.

Let's see how a traditional windows application works.

Windows provide the programmers with various functions - called API. Starting from the
very first time Windows enter the commercial market to the latest version of WindowsXP, APIs
are the basic tool to let the Windows know what you want it to do. If you want to create a Dialog
Box you must call a specific API provided to you by Windows. Making a button requires another
API call. And the list goes on. As new GUIs appear on the scene, new APIs are introduced in
Windows. But using these native APIs was a very challenging task. Making a simple Window
that prints "Hello World" could take more than hundred lines. Compare this to 5 lines of "Hello
World" program in DOS. Due to this difficulty, Windows programming was considered.
Various vendors develop their own "Wrapper classes that wrapped the Windows APIs in
an Object-Oriented way. The Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) that is used in Visual C++ is
an example of Wrapper classes. The MFC equivalent of Visual Basic is Vern; and for Visual J++
it is WFC. These Wrapper Classes, along with the Visual GUI tools made it very convenient to
make windows programs.
Microsoft realized that applications need a solid way to talk to each other. And this
resulted in the introduction of Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). OLE was an extremely
useful concept, but it had two major flaws : It was notoriously difficult to program, and it was
very limited in its scope - i.e. it only did a few things like drag and drop, clipboard sharing, OLE
client, OLE server etc. Microsoft addressed (or at least tried to address) both these problems.
They upgraded OLE to COM. COM was much more capable than OLE, and it introduced new
concept like ActiveX controls which directly competed with Java Applets. As for the difficulty of
programming OLE/COM; Microsoft expanded the MFC and VBRun to take care of most of the
dirty job. Although making an ActiveX application still was slightly tricky in Visual C++, but
developing an ActiveX application in Visual Basic was extremely easy; and hence Visual Basic
became the foremost ActiveX development media.
The Internet revolution posed new problems and challenges. C/C++ which was the tool
of champions was not suited/ready for Web Development. Microsoft tried expanding MFC, and
included several network oriented classes - like Crockets, CASyncSocket, and several HTTP
based classes. Using these classes a programmer could very develop a distributed application -

although not without considerable effort. But these applications were always customized and
targeted to the specific task. The developers had to take care of the gory network communication
details themselves. By now object-oriented analysis and development had started becoming
ubiquitous. Although technologies like Remote Procedure Call (RPC) was a great help to the
programmers; but it was limited in its scope. With programmers following the Object-Oriented
development RPC was not much help at all; since RPC did not allow passing objects as
parameters. This major issue was addressed by introduction of industries agreed upon standards
like CORBA, IIOP, RMI, DCOM etc. All these standards used customized protocol to transmit
an object over the network, and they required a tight coupling between the server and the client i.e. the client needed to be fully aware of how to talk to the server. Due to this tight client-server
coupling all these protocols needed considerable deployment efforts in order for distributed
applications to function properly. Sun did come up with another layer on top of RMI - the
famous Enterprise Java Beans (EJB). The EJB container provided lot of services for free - all that
a programmer had to do was to extend (inherit) from an appropriate EJB base class and there you
have it - a fully functional distributed application. EJB made programmer's life extremely easy;
but it did not eradicate the client-server coupling issue.
While all this was happening - Microsoft was still not facing the writing on the wall MICROSOFT NEEDED SOMETHING RADICALLY NEW TO MATCH UP TO THE
CHANGING TIMES AND CHANGING DEMANDS. Microsoft soon realized that upgrading
their existing technologies would not work - what they needed was a complete change in their
philosophy. OLE was upgraded to COM - and it was welcomed by all. COM was then upgraded
to COM+. Microsoft addressed the distributed programming issue with the introduction of
DCOM. Although COM/COM+/DCOM were all good technologies but these technologies
required significant learning curve. Sun on the other hand was making things easier and hence a
majority of developers were turning towards Java based technologies for distributed enterprise
applications.
Microsoft - after the cold treatment faced by DNA - got their gurus together and asked
them to reflect back on DNA and to come up with a future vision. This group came up with so
many new and great ideas which mad Microsoft realized that no amount of up gradation or
extension in MFC/Vern/WFC, COM/COM+/DCOM, ASP, APIs etc. would even come closer to

realizing this new vision. So they made a radical but correct decision - and this was the decision
of coming up with something big, something new, and something that lets Microsoft make up for
their lapses - this was called the .NET Framework.
.NET Technology
.NET is a library, one that is just as extensive as the Windows API. We can use it to call
up all the same sorts of features that have traditionally been the role of the Windows operating
systems; displaying windows and dialog boxes, verifying security credentials, calling on base
operating systems services, creating threads and so on, as well as newer areas such as accessing
databases or connecting to the internet or providing web services.
ADVANTAGES
Object Oriented Programming
Good Design
Language Independence
Better support for dynamic web pages
Efficient Data Access
Code Sharing
Improved Security
SCOPE OF THE CONTROLS OF .NET

Label
Label is used to display that the user cannot change.

Textbox
It is used to assign a value to a text box or read a value that a user has entered into it.
Multiline property is assigned the value Multiline, a text area is displayed.

Button control

It renders the same form submit button as rendered by the normal HTML tag.

Image button
It is used to display an image.

Radio button list

It represents a group of mutually exclusive options. Each radio button can be either
checked or unchecked. No more than one radio button in a group can be checked at the same
time.

List box control

It enables a user to select only one option at a time, or create a multiselect list box.

Panel control
Instead of setting the visible property for controls one by one, we can use the panel
control to hide controls as a group.

Data grid control

It is used to display the records without using templates. We can simply bind a data
source to the data grid, and it automatically displays the records. We can create columns to
control how records are formatted or to display links for editing records.

ADO.NET
It contains several namespaces with dozens of classes devoted to database access. The
System.Data.Sqlclient namespace includes the following three classes.
SqlConnection
SqlCommand
SqlDataReader

SqlConnection

This sqlconnection need to create and open a database connection. We create the
connection in different ways depending on the type of database that we want to access.

SqlCommand
It is used to create a database command that represents the SQL select statement to
execute.

SqlDataReader
It represents a forward-only stream of database records. This means that the data reader
represents only a single record at a time. To fetch next record in the stream we must call the read
() method. To display all the records returned from a query, we must call the read () method
repeatedly until we reach the end of the stream.

DataSet
A dataset can contain one or more Data Tables that represent database tables.
Relationships between the tables can be defined using Data Relation classes.

Data Adapter
It represents the bridge between a Dataset and the data source it represents. We use a Data
Adapter to populate a Dataset from an existing database table. We can also use a Data Adapter to
update and existing database table with changes made to a Dataset.

Open
Open a specified database for the application.

Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 extends the performance, reliability, quality, and ease-of-use
of Microsoft SQL Server version 7.0. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 includes several new features
that make it an excellent database platform for large-scale online transactional processing
(OLTP), data warehousing, and e-commerce applications.
The OLAP Services feature available in SQL Server version 7.0 is now called SQL
Server 2000 Analysis Services. The term OLAP Services has been replaced with the term
Analysis Services. Analysis Services also includes a new data-mining component.

Features of SQL Server 2000

Internet Integration
The SQL Server 2000 database engine includes integrated XML support. It also has the
scalability, availability, and security features required to operate as the data storage component of
the largest Web sites. The SQL Server 2000 programming model is integrated with the Windows
DNA architecture for developing Web applications, and SQL Server 2000 supports features such
as English Query and the Microsoft Search Service to incorporate user-friendly queries and
powerful search capabilities in Web applications.

Scalability and Availability

The same database engine can be used across platforms ranging from laptop computers
running Microsoft Windows 98 through large, multiprocessor servers running Microsoft
Windows 2000 Data Center Edition. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition supports features such
as federated servers, indexed views, and large memory support that allow it to scale to the
performance levels required by the largest Web sites.

Enterprise-Level Database Features

The SQL Server 2000 relational database engine supports the features required to support
demanding data processing environments. The database engine protects data integrity while
minimizing the overhead of managing thousands of users concurrently modifying the database.
SQL Server 2000 distributed queries allow you to reference data from multiple sources as if it
were a part of a SQL Server 2000 database, while at the same time, the distributed transaction
support protects the integrity of any updates of the distributed data. Replication allows you to

also maintain multiple copies of data, while ensuring that the separate copies remain
synchronized. You can replicate a set of data to multiple, mobile, disconnected users, have them
work autonomously, and then merge their modifications back to the publisher.

Ease of installation, deployment, and use

SQL Server 2000 includes a set of administrative and development tools that improve
upon the process of installing, deploying, managing, and using SQL Server across several sites.
SQL Server 2000 also supports a standards-based programming model integrated with the
Windows DNA, making the use of SQL Server databases and data warehouses a seamless part of
building powerful and scalable systems. These features allow you to rapidly deliver SQL Server
applications that customers can implement with a minimum of installation and administrative
overhead.

Data warehousing
SQL Server 2000 includes tools for extracting and analyzing summary data for online
analytical processing. SQL Server also includes tools for visually designing databases and
analyzing data using English-based questions.

Databases
A database in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 consists of a collection of tables that contain
data and other objects, such as views, indexes and stored procedures defined to support activities
performed with the data. The data stored in a database is usually related to a particular subject or
process, such as inventory information for a manufacturing warehouse.

Views
A database object that can be referenced the same way as a table in SQL statements.
Views are defined using a SELECT statement and are analogous to an object that contains the
result set of this statement.

Index

In a relational database, a database object that provides fast access to data in the rows of a
table, based on key values. Indexes can also enforce uniqueness on the rows in a table. SQL
Server supports clustered and no clustered indexes. The primary key of a table is automatically
indexed. In full-text search, a full-text index stores information about significant words and their
location with in a given column

Stored Procedure
A precompiled collection of Transact-SQL statements stored under a name and processed
as a unit. SQL Server supplies stored procedures for managing SQL Server and displaying
information about databases and users. SQL Server-supplied stored procedures are called systemstored procedures.

Input Design
Input design is one of the most expensive phases of the operation of computerized system
and is often the major problem of a system. A large number of problems with the system can
usually be traced back to fault input design and method. Needless to say, therefore that the input
data is the life block of a system and has to be analyzed and designed with the most
consideration.

The decisions made during the input design

To provide cost effective method of input.

To achieve the highest possible level of accuracy.
To ensure that input is understood by the user.

Output Design
Output design generally refers to the results and information that are generated by the
system. For many end-users, output is the main reason for developing the system and the basis
on which they evaluate the usefulness of the application.

3. TESTING AND IMPLEMENTATION

The objective of a system finds its shape in terms of output. The analysis of the objective
of a system leads to determination of outputs. Outputs of a system can take various forms. The
most common are reports, screens displays printed form, graphical drawing etc. the outputs vary
in terms of their contents, frequency, timing and format. The users of the output, its purpose and
sequence of details to be printed are all considered.
When designing output, the system analyst must accomplish things like, to determine
what information to be present, to decide whether to display or print the information and select
the output medium to distribute the output to intended recipients.
External outputs are those, whose destination will be outside the organization and which
require special attention as the project image of the organization.

System Testing
Testing is vital to the success of the system. System testing makes a logical assumption
that if all the parts of the system are correct, the goal will be successfully achieved.
Inadequate testing or non-testing leads to errors that may not appear until months later.
This creates two problems. The time lag between the cause and appearance of the problem.
The effect of system errors on files and records within the system. A small system error
can conceivably exploded into much larger problem. Effective early in the process translates
directly into long term cost savings from a reduced number of errors.
Testing is the process of executing a program with the intent of finding any errors. A
good test of course has the high probability of finding a yet undiscovered error. A successful
testing is the one that uncovers a yet undiscovered error.
Unit Testing
A program represents the logical elements of a system. For

program to run

satisfactorily, it must compile and test data correctly and tie in properly with other
programs. Achieving an error free program is the responsibility of the programmer.
These errors are shown through error message generated by the computer. Logic error the
programmer must examine the output carefully.

When a program is tested, the actual output is compared with the expected output.
When there is a discrepancy the sequence of instructions must be traced to determine the
problem the process the is facilitated by breaking the program down into self-contained
portions, each of which can be checked at certain key points .The idea is to compare
program values against desk-calculated values to isolate the Problems.
Unit testing has been performed the module. The syntax and logical error have been
corrected then and there. All this syntax have been rectified during compilation. The output has
been tested with the manual input. All the data are stored correctly.

Integration Testing
Programs are invariably related to one another and interact in the total system.
Each program is tested to see whether it conforms to related programs in the systems.
Each portion of the system is tested against the entire module with both the test data and
the live data before the entire system is tested as a whole. Integration testing is
systematic techniques for conducting the program structure. While at the same time
conducting tests to uncover errors associated with the interfacing.

Validation testing
This is a concern which overlaps with integration testing. Ensuring that the application
fulfils its specification is a major criterion for the construction of an integration test. Validation
testing also overlaps to a large extent with System Testing, where the application is tested with
respect to its typical working environment. Consequently for many processes no clear division
between validation and system testing can be made. Specific tests which can be performed in
either or both stages include the following.

Usability Testing
The process of usability measurement was introduced in the previous chapter. Even if
usability prototypes have been tested whilst the application was constructed, a validation test of
the finished product will always be required.

4. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
The purpose of System Implementation can be summarized as follows: making the new
system available to a prepared set of users (the deployment), and positioning on-going support
and maintenance of the system within the Performing Organization (the transition).

Prepare for System Implementation, where all steps needed in advance of actually
deploying the application are performed, including preparation of both the production
environment and the Consumer communities.

Deploy System, where the full deployment plan, initially developed during System
Design and evolved throughout subsequent lifecycle phases, is executed and validated.

Transition to Performing Organization, where responsibility for and ownership of

the applicationare transitioned from the Project Team to the unit in the Performing
Organization that will provide system support and maintenance.