Checkpoint

Purpose: Create a tool which evaluates web sites against the W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines.

Role: Project leader of a 16-member team and lead developer

Implementation: The tool was implemented as a web application using Java, J2EE, Tomcat, Struts, OJB, MySQL, and other open source technologies. The guideline rules were implemented in XSL.

Users of the tool have the option of evaluating a single web page, an uploaded HTML file, or an entire web site. The generated report lists all violations detected for each web page evaluated. If an entire web site is evaluated, the tool will spider the site and evaluate each page found within the domain. The processing can be done asynchronously such that, once a request is submitted, the user will be notified by email when their report is complete. The report can also be downloaded as a PDF.

CD Direct

Purpose: Create a distributed application using at least two different programming languages.

We created an e-commerce web site to sell Built-To-Order music CDs, including a customer-facing web site, back-end order server, production server, and inventory, purchasing and receiving systems.

Role: Member of a 5-person development team, Java specialist

Implementation: The customer-facing web site was implemented as a web application using Java, J2EE, Tomcat, Struts, OJB, MySQL, and other open source technologies. The order and production servers were implemented in Java using the Java Messaging Service (JMS). The inventory, purchasing and receiving systems were implemented in C#. Communication between the disparate systems occurred via Web Services.

When a customer placed an order, the order would be submitted to the JMS queue, where the order server would handle fulfillment. The order server reserved the necessary inventory from the inventory system via a SOAP web service call. If the inventory was successfully reserved, the order was transferred to the production server, which (theoretically) created the custom-designed CD and notified the inventory system (via web service call) that materials had been used. The purchasing and receiving systems monitored inventory levels, and automatically placed and received orders with (theoretical) suppliers via ebXML. A web-based administration application provided reporting and control of the entire process.