UNIT 2 : OPERATING WEB

Web Based Applications: An application that can be accessed using web browser, over a
network connection is called a web-based application.
A web-based application provides provide 24x7 access across the world.(i.e. A web based
application can be accessed any time using Internet)

Web Based applications can be broadly categorized into two categories:

1) Applications that requires financial online transactions e.g. Online Reservation, Online
shopping and bill payments.
2) Applications that provides information and allows the user to interact through forms,
chats, email etc. e.g. e governance, online tutorials and assessments etc.

Online Reservations System :

An online reservation system allows booking /cancellation of tickets through use of Internet.
A user can retrieve information and perform transaction related to reservation of ticket. Some
examples of online reservation systems are :
 Airline ticket
 Railway ticket
 Bus ticket
 Movie ticket
 Hotel booking
 Car rental
 Tour and travel booking

Advantages of Online Reservation System :

Online Reservation System are useful (beneficial) for both the Company and the consumer
(User).

Advantages for Consumers :

1) Convenient : The consumers can book tickets anytime anywhere. All the user needs is
just a computer, Internet access, and a card (credit, debit, etc.) for payment.
 The user saves time (going physically to a booking office in the defined timings,
finding parking for car, etc., standing in a queue in booking office) and energy.
 Making changes to bookings like, cancellation, upgradation is also easy.
 It is very convenient for the users with special needs.

2) Price Comparison :
 online booking allows the customer to check the prices, compare them and get the best
deal.
For example, www.makemytrip.com provides comparative pricing of the air ticket providers
from a particular source to a destination whereas in manual system a user is made to book
his/her ticket for the airline
that the travel agent recommends.

3) Security : Most online reservation sites require the user to create their profile and provide
them with a username and password.

4) Confirmation of Reservation:
 When a booking is done, the confirmation of the booking just takes a few seconds.
 It is fast and secure.
 The booked ticket can be viewed on your mobile, iPad, iPhone, laptop, etc., and can
also be printed.

5) Making Choices:
 In online booking, the user can see the arrangement of seats, select a particular seat,
etc. e,g. In railway booking, selection of lower berth/upper berth, type of food required
and booking for beddings is possible.
 You can read reviews posted by people when making choices.

6) Time Saving : Reservations can be done within few seconds instead of standing in long
queues.

7) Discount Scheme: The users can avail the special discount schemes provided by the
service provider like, season discount, advance booking discount and frequent user discount.

Advantages for Providers :

1) Requires less man power because of the use of computer.

2) Less Space requirement : The physical location of the office does not really matter to a
customer who
is reserving tickets online. Office can be operated even from a small room.
Online reservation also reduces the bills for office rent, electricity, etc. although initial costs
need to be incurred on setting up the website and maintaining it.

3) Global Access: Online reservation is available to anyone irrespective of their physical

location. The scope of access to the online reservation becomes large as anyone who has
access to the Internet can search for the reservation site and book the tickets.

Precautions while performing online transactions :

Internet transactions are susceptible to frauds. The precautions to be taken are as

follows:
1) Make a password complex. It must be a combination of small letters, capital letters,
numbers and special characters.
2) Be cautious not to leave passwords around and do not share them with friends.
3) Never use names of near and dear ones as passwords.
Using Online Reservation Systems :

1) On the computer having internet connection open a web browser to open a website.

2) In you know the address then type the address in the address bar or open a search engine
and search for the website.

3) Open the website

4) Browse and search for the required information

5) Use the website for reservation.

Case Study : Book Rail Ticket using IRCTC ( Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation ) online portal

 Check you have a web browser and an Internet connection on your computer.
 Open the browser and type the website address of IRCTC i.e. https://www.irctc.co.in/
in the address bar. Press <Enter>.
 A web page opens
 For booking a ticket, you need to have an account on the IRCTC website. If you
already have an account in IRCTC, then type your username and password and login.
 If you don’t have an account then you need to create your account. Click on Sign Up
on the IRCTC website, to create an account.
 Create New Account
1. Locate and click <Signup> link. An individual registration page opens.
2. Read the instructions and fill the registration form. The fields marked with a star
(*) are mandatory.
3. After filling the form, click the <Submit> button.
4. Once your account has been created, now you can perform transactions from
your account.

E – Governance : E-Governance or electronic governance is the use of electronic i.e.

information and
communication technology (ICT) tools for governance by the government for the citizens.
The
ICT tools include the Internet, Local Area Network (LAN), mobiles, etc.
Examples of e – governance services are registration of birth/death certificate, booking of
railway tickets, RTI application submission, etc.

Advantages of E – Governance services :

1) It provides quality information and better services to the citizens.

2) Citizens can access any information directly without paying any money to a middleman.
3) It provides transparency in the system.
The services of the e-governance portal can be broadly classified into two broad categories :
to provide information and to provide online services.

Full forms

NICNET : National satellite-based computer network

DISNIC : District Information System of the National Informatics Centre
DEITY : Department of Electronics and Information Technology
NeGP : National e-Governance Plan
DAR&PG : Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

Some of the Central initiatives for e-governance include:

 National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
 National e-Governance Division (NeGD)
 e-Governance Infrastructure
 Mission Mode Projects
 Citizens Services
 Business Services
 Government Services
 Projects and Initiatives
 R&D in e-Governance

E-Governance Sites
1) india.gov.in (The National Portal of India) : This portal is Mission Mode Project under
the National E-Governance Plan, designed and maintained by National Informatics Centre
(NIC), DeitY, MoCIT, Government of India.

2) goidirectory.nic.in (Government of India Web Directory) : It includes sites of different

states and union territories of India, sites of government departments like judiciary and
legislature. It also provides information about the various sectors like education and
agriculture.

The e-governance initiatives in India are discussed at http://india.gov.in/e-

governance .

Online Shopping and Bill payments : Online shopping is an e-commerce application where
the customer can purchase goods over the Internet. The customer can purchase all kinds of
items, like, books, TV, mobile phones, dresses, shoes, cosmetics, jewellery and greeting
cards.

Features :
1) The customer can view the goods that are displayed along with the details of the goods.
2) The customer can select the goods to be purchased and store them in their online shopping
basket.
3) The payment for the goods is to be made using debit or credit card.
4) The goods are then delivered at the address specified by the customer.
Benefits of Online Shopping
 The customer does not have enough time to visit a store and purchase goods.
 The store where you will get what you need may be very far off.
 The product you may require is not available at your market.
 Travel time and expenses gets saved
 Any time anywhere
 Various discount offers and attractive schemes
 Through rating of the services customers can compare various shopping sites and
check the popularity also.

Write in general how online shopping sites work. Give examples of online
shopping sites.

Some Other Sites are: yebhi.com, myntra.com, ibibo.com, snapdeal.com and

infibeam.com

Bill Payments :
 Online shoppers generally make payments using their debit card or credit card.
 However, different websites enable the user to make payments via alternative methods
like net banking, e-gift voucher, cash on delivery and wire transfer.
 Always read the terms and conditions while making the payments.
 Bill payments can also be made for several government services like electricity bill,
water bill, property tax and income tax payments.

Case Study: Online Shopping Using an Online Shopping Website

Online Courses, Tutorials and Tests : Online courses and tutorials help the user in learning
like using software, video game, or a lesson. In online tutoring, the students and the teachers
are at physically different locations, connected to each other via Internet.

Benefits of Online Learning :

 It provides freedom to the learner to learn at their convenient location, convenient time
and at their own pace of learning.
 There is no discrimination of age, caste, gender, background, or the qualification of
the learner.
 The tutorials may be enriched with audio and video information, which makes
learning more enjoyable and attractive.
 Tutorials and tests are available for almost all topics, sometimes in regional languages
also.

The tutorials may require different kinds of interaction with the user, for example,
1) Video/slide tutorials where the video or slides of lectures are available. The learner can
visit the site and view the tutorials.
2) Interactive tutorials require the user to follow the instructions, perform the desired action
and get a feedback.
3) Webinars are real time lectures, where users participate in the lecture, may ask questions,
and get their queries answered.

Online Educational Sites

 There exist several sites for online learning like, http://www.khanacademy.org,

http://www.eagetutor.com
 udacity.org
 coursera.org and edx.org provide high quality online courses for free
 w3schools.com offers free tutorials in all web development technologies like HTML,
CSS, Javascript, PHP etc.
 GCFLearnFree.org creates and provides quality, innovative online learning
opportunities to anyone who wants to improve the technology, literacy and math skills
needed to be successful in both work and life. It has 750 different lessons provided
absolutely free. GCFLearnFree.org is a worldwide leader in online
 http://www.ncert.nic.in/index.html is a NCERT portal that provides online learning
resources in the form of e-books, journals, question papers, children books, etc.

Project Management - Web Based Application Development

 Web based application development involves the process of developing web

applications.
 A web application is a program that is stored on a remote server. It is online and is
delivered over
 the Internet through a web browser interface.
 A web application may be of different kinds, like, a quiz, a game, or a bill calculator.

Project : A project is a task that is undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Some of the key characteristics of a project are as follows:

 A project has a beginning and an end. The extent of the project is defined. It has
boundaries.
 A project requires finite resources to complete the project.
 A project has a specific time frame. It has a definite beginning and end dates.
 A project is complete when its end objectives are achieved. The objective is specific
and identifiable.

Project Management : Project Management is the process of achieving the objectives of the
project through a set of activities defined within the time frame, to produce the end result.
It is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet
the project requirements.
Phases in a Web Application Project :

The process of development of web based applications is broadly categorized in four phases.
These are
1) Requirements Definition Phase
2) Design Phase
3) Implementation Phase
4) Testing Phase

Project Plan : A project plan lists the activities that are required to be monitored during
project execution. For each activity information useful for its monitoring is defined, like,
duration, costs, schedule, resources required, and risk involved.

1) Requirement Definition Phase: In this phase we identify the problem for which the web
application is to be developed. Identify the scope of the problem. The following issues need
to be addressed in this phase.

(a) Feasibility: Is the project feasible?

(i) Check whether the project is technically feasible (is it possible to do it?).
(ii) Check whether the project is economically feasible (is it profitable?).
(iii) If feasible, proceed further, otherwise there is no need to proceed with the project

(b) Scope: The focus is on "what" the application must do. To define the scope of the
application,
(i) Create or compile a detailed list with a clear description of application features.
(ii) Set the goals that the solution must achieve.
(iii) Recognizing the limitations that are placed on the project.

2) Design Phase: The focus is on "how" the application is to be designed. This consists of
design of:

(a) A Map of the Web Application Site: It contains essential information about the
structure of the site - the pages and the relationships between them.

(b) Database: Design the application database.

(i) Identify the database tables that will be required in the application.
(ii) Decide the table structures: For each table we need to identity the attributes(fields or
columns) of the tables, their data types, the size of the columns in the tables, the relationship
between tables.

(c) Page Structure: Design the structure of page.

Identify the main sections of the page like header, main content and sidebar.

3) Implementation Phase: Create backend database, front end application and the
connectivity
between them.
 a) Backend Database : Create a database using SQL to store the data in the form of
tables.
b) Frontend : Develop the frontend of the application (i.e. interface) as per the
requirement using any programming language such as Java with Netbeans.
Identify the inputs that are required to be taken from the user in the Front-End of the
application. Decide the kind of buttons you will provide to the user, to minimize the
user's typing effort, like, Radio buttons, checkbox, list and combo box.
c) Data Connectivity: Establish the data connectivity between the Front-End interface
and Back-End
Database.

4) Testing Phase: Test the complete application (Front-End and Back-End) with multiple
sample sets of data. Find all the application bugs (errors or mistakes) and fix them.
Test each page of the application and test each feature of the application. Since fixing an
error involves modifying the code, validate the modified code also. After final validation, the
application is ready for release.

Case Study : (Go through these case studies in book)

Online Game
Online Quiz
Online Bill calculator