Portfolio

Aspaas Sykler web site

Client:
Jørn Aspaas Hansen
Developers:
1
Users:
Unknown
Availability:
Web page
Started:
July 2007
Status:
Production

Description

Aspaas Sykler is a bicycle sales & repair company in Larvik, Norway. During development I focused mainly on accessibility and usability, to be able to reach as many customers as possible, and then on flexibility in the content and design. The result:

Technologies & techniques used

Misc. shell scripts

Client:
N/A; personal project
Developers:
1
Users:
1
Availability:
Web page
Started:
2006
Status:
Production

Description

After developing a few shell scripts for personal use, I’ve started to make them more generic and to publish them as they are built on my blog. Currently the following functionality is provided:

Technologies & techniques used

SharePoint site defaults

Client:
CERN
Developers:
1
Users:
1
Availability:
Source code
CVSROOT :ext:@isscvs.cern.ch:/local/reps/spadmx
Started:
October 2007
Status:
Production

Description

By deploying this package on a SharePoint server, a site administrator can apply the CERN specific settings. This includes changing some site properties and enabling a feature staple feature, which is a "meta-feature" to enable other features.

Technologies & techniques used

Database sanity checks

Client:
Orange Communications SA
Developers:
1
Users:
1
Availability:
N/A; Company property
Started:
November 2006
Status:
Production

Description

As responsible for reference data on several schemas on three databases, it’s useful for me to get quick reports about the status of environments. To this end, I’ve created scripts to do the following:

All of the scripts are robust (checking that the correct input parameters and files are available before processing, reporting any SQL or SQL*Plus errors), fast (minimized complexity and amount of SQL*Plus executions), unintrusive (they don’t change the target environments, and don’t require extra grants), suitable for pipelining, and properly documented.

Some auxiliary scripts:

Technologies & techniques used

MTF List Interface

Client:
CERN
Developers:
3*
Users:
All (5397 in August 2006) MTF users have access
Availability:
Source code
Other files
Started:
July 2005
Status:
Production

*No functional changes were done by the other developers.

Description

One of the limitations of the MTF web interface was that objects could only be edited individually. Using the existing search facilities as an entry point, the MTF List Interface enables users to edit attributes or add documents to any or all objects. The programming included changing the existing editing functions to handle multiple objects, adding some new editing functions, adding a filtering feature after the search page, and creating the web interface.

Technologies & techniques used

Screenshots

MTF List Interface entry page screenshot
The entry page, enabling users to filter which job types they want to edit
MTF List Interface screenshot
The main interface, showing a table of jobs selected for editing

LIMO

Client:
CERN
Developers:
1
Users:
3 teams from external contractors
Availability:
All files
Installer
CVSROOT :pserver:anonymous@isscvs.cern.ch:/local/reps/moi
Started:
January 2005
Status:
Production

Description

For several years, Microsoft Excel templates have been used to import MTF data. This has been time consuming, mainly because typing errors are only detected on import, and the file will then have to be returned the user, corrected, and re–submitted. Data could also be imported via the web interface, one object at a time.

For the installation phase of the LHC project, there would be no Internet connection (making import using the web interface impossible), and the data sent at the end of the work day would have to be imported by the next morning (making the use of Excel templates increase the risk of work delay). To ameliorate this, I proposed using an XForms based client–side system where users would be notified if they attempted to enter invalid data. The resulting system is now used by external contracters at CERN working in the LHC tunnel, and has improved the quality of the submitted data.

Major features include:

The installation package includes:

Technologies, software, & techniques used

Screenshots

Screenshot of LIMO during work
Main interface of LIMO during work
LIMO error screenshot
Typical error message
LIMO slot search screenshot
Slot search result
LIMO equipment tab screenshot
Equipment tab

ETRACS

Client:
CERN
Developers:
3
Users:
Unknown*
Availability:
Source code
Other files
Started:
April 2005
Status:
Production

*User statistics are not created, but last week (February 6–12, 2006) 21 requests were sent.

Description

CERN has long had a web interface, EDH, where transport of physical objects can be requested. Some of the requests are created often, are triggered by known processes, follow specified rules for their contents, and are necessary for insurance matters up to 1 million Swiss francs (about $760,000). I did most of the programming of a system to automate this process, which has now been extended several times to handle other transport types. The development was done in collaboration with IT department personnel working on EDH.

Points 2 through 5 of the process which follows is handled by my code:

  1. A user changes the status of an object in MTF
  2. A periodical job running on MTF catches the event(s)
  3. Code on the MTF side gathers the necessary information and generates XML
  4. The XML is sent to EDH
  5. An email is sent indicating the result of the sending and the handling of the previous round in EDH
  6. A periodic job at EDH generates a transport request from the XML
  7. EDH updates the status of the XML, indicating any errors

Technologies & techniques used

Screenshots

ETRACS screenshot
EDH document created by ETRACS

LHC Installation Circular Dashboard

Client:
CERN
Developers:
1
Users:
All (currently 5397) MTF users have access
Availability:
Source code
Started:
January 2006
Status:
Production

Description

The original LHC Installation Dashboard in MTF shows individual functional positions (‘slots’), and the status of the work (‘jobs’) on each slot which have to be done to finish the installation. The resolution is on the individual jobs, and the information is shown in a table. Later, an interface was needed to show the aggregated status of slot installation for the whole LHC. Since the LHC tunnel runs in a circle, it would be appropriate to display information for the whole tunnel as a ring. I suggested using SVG for this, and developed a system which would generate a line for each of the slots, and then rotate them into place according to their position. The cryogenic distribution line (QRL) and magnet slots are separate, and are therefore displayed in two rings.

Technologies & techniques used

Screenshots

LHC Installation Circular Dashboard
The LHC Installation Circular Dashboard

MTF markup & CSS tweaks

Client:
CERN
Developers:
1
Users:
All (5397 in August 2006) MTF users have access
Availability:
Source code; see list below
Started:
N/A; Several independent developments
Status:
Development / Production

Description

By introducing CSS and semantic markup as an alternative to table layouts and presentational markup, I have reduced the size and load time of all the MTF web pages. Measurable improvements include:

*Measured in bytes

†Measured in lines of code

Other improvements:

Technologies & techniques used

Screenshots

MTF menu before screenshot
Before modifying the MTF main menu
MTF menu after screenshot
After modifying the MTF main menu

fil.tero.us

Client:
N/A; personal project
Developers:
1
Users:
269 (as of February 16, 2006)
Availability:
PHP & XSLT files
Web page
Started:
February 2005
Status:
Production

Description

del.icio.us is an online bookmarking service which uses tags to order the bookmarks for later retrieval by filtering using the “AND” and “NOT” operators. After using this service for about a month, I found the filtering facilities on the site lacking, since no “OR” operator was available, and the “NOT” operator was not very practical.

Since all bookmarks could easily be downloaded using the API functions, I wrote a web interface where I could synchronize the bookmarks locally and filter them using the “AND”, “OR”, “XOR”, and “NOT” operators. Later, I expanded the functionality so that any del.icio.us user could use it, and so that the URL, description, or notes fields could also be used for filtering.

Technologies & techniques used

Infoarket

Client:
NTNU
Developers:
Unknown*
Users:
Unknown; 4570 copies distributed
Availability:
Original (39.7 MB)
PDF
Started:
June 2003
Status:
Unknown

*Previous versions were made by other employees in earlier years.

Description

Infoarket is a two page pamphlet with instructions for how to get a user name and password for the NTNU computer systems, and with an ad for a student PC offer on the verso page. It is distributed to new students by the faculties.

Software used

The Computer Guide

Client:
Orakeltjenesten
Developers:
Unknown*
Users:
Unknown; 5000 copies distributed
Availability:
Original (3.3 MB)
PDF
Started:
June 2003
Status:
Obsolete

*Previous versions were made by other employees in earlier years.

Description

The Computer Guide, “Dataguiden” in Norwegian, is an information leaflet with miscellaneous tips for students and faculty at NTNU, regarding the use of the computing facilities. The Computer Guide is maintained and distributed by NTNU’s central helpdesk, Orakeltjenesten. My changes included making the flow around images automatic, so it did not have to be controlled by adding whitespace manually, and updating the content.

Software used