Technology Appraisal (Group 18 - AJAX)

AJAX and its integration on the new ICT system of Passmores University: 

AJAX and its integration on the new ICT system of Passmores University By Daanish Baig , Kesley Barnes, Anika Dutta and Myles Pyne

The Case Study: 

The Case Study Passmores University (PU) is looking to create a completely new system to organise academic and administrative data S mall university catering for 2000 students A student profile will be built up year-on-year Assuming every student in the campus has easy access to computers, and thus the Intranet we propose

Three-Tier Architecture: 

Three-Tier Architecture Presentation tier is the consumer-facing application Business tier is where processing happens involves creating, retrieving, updating and deleting information Data tier acts as a store for information

Relevance for Passmores: 

Relevance for Passmores Students will access the presentation tier via an Intranet (exclusive to them and teachers) This information will then be processed in the business tier (updating student profiles) Finally, things like the coursework grades and fee statuses will be stored

BASIC DIAGRAM of Passmores University’s ICT SYSTEM:: 

BASIC DIAGRAM of Passmores University’s ICT SYSTEM:

Possibility of an N-Tier: 

Possibility of an N -Tier Simply acts as another layer with a distinct set of business rules (constraints which govern what information can be processed) Could be applicable if exam board wants to be part of the architecture, but have their own distinct layer

Possibility of Cloud Computing: 

Possibility of Cloud Computing Third party stores all the information on the system. Cheaper for the University than having it’s own data store Demands of contemporary systems may mean more servers are required at peak times

What is AJAX?: 

What is AJAX? AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) is generally defined as a collection of web applications rather than one single technology It allows a web application to run asynchronously, as opposed to synchronously (which needs refreshing of the page constantly)

Different Components of AJAX: 

Different Components of AJAX JavaScript – allows authors to design interactive sites HTML – markup language needed to create web pages CSS – allows customisable pages by controlling presentation DOM – allows programmers to change contents

Potential Uses:: 

Potential Uses: Calendar to help students stay organised with timetabling and coursework deadlines File Uploader facilitates the routine of coursework submission Login Form doesn’t require feedback from another server Maps of Campus (like Google Maps) to help new students get around Auto-Completer can help students when they are searching for things on the University database

Conclusion and Recommendations: 

Conclusion and Recommendations AJAX will be used in the first tier of the ICT system This consumer-facing application will utilise AJAX to create maps of the campus, a calendar for deadlines among other functions.