From W

global links:

1. new NPD admin system (test version)
2. new NPD user system (test version)
3. Reports - weekly reports. setup and test reports, and others
4. Meetings - information on past and future meetings
5. Project plan - the original, and current updates
6. the completed dissertation
7. Original NPD - info and links
8. Web services links

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1. This week 2 report was delayed - it was finished on Monday 8th June 2009 instead of Friday 5th June 2009. I need to get subsequent weekly reports done on the Fridays, to keep up to date. (At the end of week 2, I managed to end up in hospital again after cutting my hand on the Friday night. It was cleaned and glued, and as long as there are no problems with infection, it should not cause further delay.)
2. On 8th June, Monday of week 2, we discovered whilst I was at the HGU that the latest updates to the network there had made it impossible for Windows 98 machines to access the network drives. Thus, the machine the NPD admin system resides on now crashes any time an attempt to run one of the admin pages is made. Further work with Graeme confirmed that there is no way to retrieve the macro, form or even table data from the old Access 97 formats, nor to run the database either in compatibility modes, or to upgrade to newer versions, or to try to read directly using tools such as mdbtools via linux. Thus it is now very important to the ongoing use of the NPD that a new admin system be developed, and this will have to be performed from scratch, based on annotated photocopies of the old system, and my notes from previous discussions with Wendy.
3. I have decided for now that cakePHP is too heavy for application in the NPD. Whilst it is not that hard to get to grips with, alot of the benefit it provides would be for database driven sites, where multiple new pages of a similar style are regularly constructed by users, such as on forums. But this is not the case for the NPD system, where the pages will be static once created, and any extensions would be performed uniquely as development was required. So I will be developing the admin system in well documented PHP alone, with ease of admin and future alteration in mind. If at a later date it is discovered that more flexibility is required, it should still be possible to integrate cakePHP or other frameworks into the system.
4. As it has become difficult to access the original NPD system, changing the table schemas will also be complex. Whilst the online version runs from the mysql tables, which are accessible, there have been further issues getting those scripts to run on the test machine - PHP Pear on PHP 4 contains an error which has never been fixed since PHP 4 support ended about 3 years ago, and the test system uses PHP 5. Whilst it is possible to get PHP 4 on the test system, doing so would be overly complex in the timeframe available and could still cause further compatibility issues down the line. This, along with the foreseen compatibility issues for OGSA-DAI and newer versions of Apache and Java means that there was not sufficient time to continue tackling this problem. Once a working version of the admin system is in place, this problem could be returned to at a later date.
5. There are various questions to be resolved in regard to some functions of the various pages of the admin system. These will be written up separately during week 3 and will form a checklist of things still to do to complete the system.
6. During development of the admin system various test data has been used for comparisons. Also, I will need Wendy to perform some test uses of the system during week 3 / week 4. Thus, I need to get the test details properly written up in a testing framework during week 3. I also want to get a first draft of the dissertation completed by the end of week 3, and tests should help to show progress.