Courses/CS 491ab/Winter-Spring 2006/Nicholas Mew
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email: nick.mew@gmail.com
meeting on Fridays @ 2:45
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[edit] Winter 06 Presentation
[edit] Week Ten
Ok, I created a little prototype of the servlet I plan to use. It creates an xml file depending on the url request. Once I create the flash applications they should post to this servlet, and load the url created by this servlet. I still have yet to test the prototype because I'm not particulary familiar with the server bundled with netbeans. I want to set up tomcat seperatly on my new laptop ( yay!) so that I can test on something I'm more familiar with. That will be what needs to be done for next week.
Also, over spring break I will be converting one of the new machines in the eLPS lab to a server running linux/unix (not sure what os yet) and moving their current windows server on there as well as putting apche, tomcat and mysql on it. I think that it might be a serious pain in the but considering the web site its hosting is using an access database and I'll have to take this over to a mySQL db.
[edit] Week Nine
I'm trying to figure out how exactly this application will function. My biggest waste of time this week was trying to decide what kind of data structure to use to organise the messages in the Chat class. After looking at a bunch of java class definitions I finally decided to stick with a list since hashmap doesnt keep its objects in order, and list is really all I need (as opposed to a linked list or a couple stacks).
[edit] Week Eight
I've started creating the classes and beans that the servlet will use. I have a message class that holds a message string a date and a user string. I also have a chat class that holds a list of messages, a student String and a tech string, some counters for how many new messages there are for each user, a subject string, a question string, and finaly a chatId integer. Over the next couple weeks I will create a ChatManager Bean that will be used by a servlet or possibly a few jsp's.
[edit] Week Seven
I created a simple flash movie that has a text field a text input field and a send button which sends the text in the textInputfield to a servlet. The servlet then creates an xml document and sends it back to the flash movie which desplays the value of <message> in the xml file.
I have read a few articles concerning actionscript and Rich Internet Applications/server communication. The main problem with loading xml docs from the server is that the application is less scalelable. If the xml documents that the flash client recieves grow too large, there will be a noticable lag in parsing the data. That being said, I think that xml connections are definetly the way to go. Is easy to pass data to the servlet using this xml connection, and there wont be large amounts of data being passed to the flash client.
Next week will be very hectic with ecst week, so I will only work on creating a prototype this weekend and the week after next. Heres the plan: I need a class that holds all the information of a particular conversation/chat. I also need a bean to manage all of the conversations that the servelet will use to create the xml documents returned to the clients. There are two kinds of users: Technicians and clients. I will need to be able to distinguish between them somehow, I think the Technicians should be a able to have several conversations at once, while the the regular user should only have one.
[edit] Week Five: Rough Week
Wow! Midterms week is deadly. I've had no time to work on the project, and fell asleep at the computer last night while attmepting to do so. I will be catching up this weekend, and for next week I would like to have a flash application comunicating with a server. I still need to research how I can do this. I know it is possible to use sockets with flash, and pass xml statements back and forth, but I need the chat to function over http to avoid CSULA's firewalls. I'm thinking that I can simply create a servlet and bean, create a session and have the flash app constantly look up bean info through the servlet. This would work well for the application because each communication between technician and student could use its own instance of the bean.
[edit] Week Four
This week, I did very little, made a couple revisions to the requirements below, and I emailed the eLPS director the Requirements, however we havn't talked about them, so it's quite possible that these will change.
Next Week: i will set up a servlet and simple flash application to comunicate over http and check out Action Script documentation on how to do this most effectivly. Also, I will disscuss the project in more detail with the eLPS Lab Manager, the WebCT Administrator, and the eLPS director.
[edit] Week Three: Instant Messaging for eLPS Center
After some serious brainstorming, and annoying everyone I know with my constant project babble, I have made a decision on my project. I will create an Instant messaging application that works on port 80 for the eLearning Programs & Support Center (eLPS). eLPS provides several services for CSULA faculty. Among these are a faculty computer lab, tech. workshops, and WebCT support.
After approaching the Lab Manager, I had a meeting with the eLPS director who expressed interest in using the instant messaging/chat service for faculty and students that need help with WebCT to chat with someone in the lab. There are some issues expressed with having it open to anyone in the world, which could easily be avoided by only allowing people with a CSULA IP to use the service or possibly using accounts. Below is a more formal description of the project.
[edit] WebCT Help Chat (any ideas for a better name?)
Please feel free to change the above title if you've got a better name. :)
[edit] Summary
This application brings together students, faculty, and WebCT Administrators in a live interactive chat environment. It allows students and faculty that have technical questions about WebCT to communicate with WebCT Administrators in the eLPS Center without having to leave their desk, and while they are still working on WebCT. Currently, WebCT students are at a disadvantage at CSULA because there is no way to communicate with a WebCT Administrator directly. Students must fill out a student help form which may take a while to answer. This application delivers time sensitive help to the student and takes their focus off the technology and back to the course material. A database will allow records to be kept about how many questions are being answered, what their subject is, and who answered them among other things. The application will not be blocked by campus or off-campus firewalls that allow web browsing because it will run over http.
[edit] Backend: Server Side Technical Requirements
- Tomcat
- MySQL
[edit] Frontend: Client Application(s)
There will be two client side applications, one for Students/Faculty requiring technical help that will be available online. The other, for WebCT Administrators will run off the Student and Staff stations in the eLPS Center.
[edit] Student/Faculty app
- Flash User Interface
- Simple, two text boxes, one to type and one to view conversation
- Will let student know to wait if there are more questions than admins.
- Will also let users know if the chat service is closed.
- Will display who the user is chatting with
[edit] WebCT Admin/Tech. app
- Flash User Interface
- Gives audible and visible alert when a user connects.
- Allows admin to view the users question before deciding to answer it
- Once a question is selected to be answered the chat session begins, and no other admin/tech can answer it
- Faculty/Students can be unselected by a tech/admin, to be transferred to another tech/admin.
- Allows admin/tech to close and open the chat service. (to open and close during working hours)
[edit] Week Two: Flash Game Thoughts
This is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time now, but I never got around to it. I have learned how to use flash to create simple animations and web pages, however I haven't picked up much actionscript. This project is a great way to learn actionscript, and would definitely be a lot of fun for me.
I did a little research on game design, but haven't given great thought into what type (shoot em up, arcade, first person, etc.) of game to create. I fooled around with flash and action script a bit. Here's a link to the swf i created that has a blue box that you can move around the screen, and shoot giant bullets out of.
Media:http://www.halloweencastle.net/nick/move.swf
I found a great site with lots of actionscript examples called actionscript.org
I am a little worried that this will be too simple, so I'll think about how I can make this more interesting.
[edit] Week One: Project Ideas
- Flash Game
- Online Teacher Evaluations using php or .net
- Something Else Flash Related
