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Theme Integration App for Social Networking
Client Requirement
This web application is focused on personalized theme creation and the integration of online sponsored ads with Facebook and other Social networking platforms.
This application facilitates user account creation, which in turn will help the users access all available themes according to the chosen category. These themes can be simply applied to user's Facebook account. Users can also customize themes by providing the following attributes: Colors, Icons, Fonts, etc.
Although the theme customization is only applicable to Facebook, this application also offers the "Share" function, which allows gaining access to users' activities on Facebook, Twitter MySpace and other Social Network Typhoons including gaming website.
Along with customization, users can also perform theme management through this application. The application offers the following theme management features: Change Theme, Remove Theme, Default Theme and the most user-friendly option is to create a New Theme.
The application allows Theme Ratings functionality. Highly rated themes are considered as recommended themes and are placed on top within each category so that the visitors that are being recommended by the application registrars can browse these themes from the list categories.
The application has its own User Web Section designed and developed, which can be accessed by the users and administrators. User has rights to select, create or remove themes from the pre-defined categories, but restricted for uploading any Sponsored Advertisements from the Web Section, which gets implemented and reflects to the respective Facebook Account.
Administrator of User Web Section has Full Access to generate and upload Sponsored Ads by communicating with the concerned clients for their product promotions.
Additional feature of this application includes installation of the toolbar with all major and popular browsers namely Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and IE (Internet Explorer). To sustain the compatibility, users need to install the required Plug-in available with each above-mentioned browser.
Toolbar, in specific terms, is a shortcut directory for accessing the lists of themes, change the themes, create/remove themes, etc. Users can manage every single feature available in User Web Section with the help of Facebook Account Authentication.
Sponsored Advertisements in our User Web Section has been provided in different sizes of dimensions considering 200 x 200, 450 x 500, 900 x 870, etc. Similarly, an administrator can specify the location of these ads on Facebook.
Reports:
The application generates the following types of reports :-
- User Reports:
- User Active
- Geographical Data for Users
- Browser OS
- Plug-in Installation Reports:
- No. of Downloads/Installations
- No. of Daily/Weekly/Monthly access of Toolbar /FF plug-ins
- No. of Un-installations
- No. of installations subtracted from un-installations
Challenges
Team faced the following challenges:
- Synchronization of Themes with Facebook, major Social Media networks and other respective industry-based websites was a challenge. We have successfully implemented the application features and silent on several social networking and gaming websites.
- The application 'Silent' has one of the unique features and flow. Silent works in similar manner that of the application, but the unique concept and feature silent has is that it installs without providing any interface for processing the installation procedure, it install silently without user's knowledge.
- The application 'Silent' operates quietly in the workstation. It never reflects any interface, prototype or function, but silently remains in the system. Silent manages the same features such as Toolbars, Plug-ins, Themes, etc. Frequently, it replaces the hidden folder directory/path installed in the system.
- Generic Code Development is implied for high level of security and requirement.
- Harmonizing the simultaneous execution of various integrated features and options while maintaining consistent Load balance.
- Developing a sturdy & dependable framework to support the real-time updating of content on the site.
Technologies Used
| Programming Languages | C, C++, VC++, MFC, ATL COM, COM+, DCOM, ActiveX, BHO |
| Application Development Environment | Visual Studio 2005, VC++ (ATL, WTL), JavaScript, RDF, CSS, XUL, InstallShield, Nullsoft Installer |
| Editors | Visual Studio IDE, Dreamweaver, XUL Debugger, XPI Creator, NSIS tools, JAVA. |
| Browser Supported | IE 6,7,8,9, Mozilla Firefox (All Versions), Google Chrome (All Versions) |
| Linux | Windows OS 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Windows 7 |
Manpower
| Project Leader | 1 |
| Developers | 3 |
| Designers | 1 |
| Quality Assurance Testers | 1 |
Planning
- Started with research, analysis, designing and development approaches, and then proposed with major and key possibilities executed at specific intervals.
- Initially, we have designed graphics of the application's Home Page heading following inside pages. We have designed around 100+ variation themes, which have been categorized in order under verticals.
- Core understanding on Facebook developer tools, implementation of API kits, theme integrations (consists of Font, Background, Color and Icons), representation of functional and technical aspects of milestones, etc.
- Planning of Code Optimization, Application upgradation without prompting user to get it upgrade. It silently and automatically gets upgraded without manual process, whenever a new set of files are built-in on the server.
- In order to most effectively access the database in an object-oriented context, an interface translating the object
- logic to the relational logic was used to communicate with the relational databases.
- Accessing the database required the formation of an intermediary abstraction layer, which ensured hiding the implementation details of a particular set of functionality.
- JSON technology was used for frequent server communications for better performance.
- Testing Processes followed: Regression Testing, Blackbox, Whitebox, Unit Testing, Performance, Security, Load, Compatibility, Usability, Integrating Testing, Comparison and Reliability testing took place throughout the application to make sure that the system performs well even in case of infinite downloads and increased usage, worldwide.