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- Number of entries in the database: 10778
- Last entry added on: 2007-10-09 14:51:09
- Number of connected users: 425
- Application's version: 3.1
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Last update |
This page was last updated on 2004-01-08 |
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Application's description |
This application allows users to consult a database of computer-related acronyms through a simple web interface. It runs with little supervisor intervention (installation, maintenance, adding acronyms and verifying user-posted acronyms).
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Architecture |
Starting from version 3, we took a completely different approach in maintaining this application: we completely rebuilt it from scratch.
Many factors called for this change; the most important are:
- we wanted to drop the old programming environment (Active Server Pages) and use a modern and solid one (Java) instead;
- we wanted to embrace open standards and open software as far as we can;
- the user interface needed to be redesigned and simplified (too many images that yielded long download times);
- we wanted to strictly adhere to standards (XHTML 1.1 and CSS 2).
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A client/server approach |
The Ultimate Computer Acronyms Archive is now a true client/server application written in Java. On the server side we have the application server that implements the actual "business" logic, and the database server. On the client side we have a graphical administrative application and the servlet container (that also acts as a web server). The following image illustrates the architecture.
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Architecture's schema |

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Features |
- Java servlets. To achieve the highest flexibility, we decided to use this technology to expand the base HTML functionality;
- Tree view menu. At a first glance you see the acronyms' categories and operations, with a familiar and user-friendly graphical user interface. If you want either to view the acronyms or to execute an operation (for example, to define a new acronym), it's easy to know what you have to do;
- Free search function. It's possible to search for an acronym, or part of it.
- Insert function. You can contribute to the growth of this archive by defining acronyms that aren't included yet (note that they are checked against other sources before being displayed).
- Easy navigation. The acronyms are grouped alphabetically and separated into ranges. Also, a maximum amount of definitions is shown per page, giving the user the capability to scroll forth and back among pages.
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The database server |
At the database server we have:
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Server with the latest service packs applied;
- Database Management System: Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
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The web server |
The web server uses:
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 Server with the latest service packs applied;
- Web Server/servlet container: Apache's Tomcat 5.0;
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The client |
The client runs on every machine that has a Java virtual machine >= 1.3 installed.
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The browser |
Finally, the web browser must support:
- session cookies,
- ECMAScript (also known as JavaScript),
- XHTML 1.1,
- CSS level 2, and
- Portable Network Graphics (PNG -- file format for images).
(to know more about this issue, see the browser compatibility page).
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