Future Enhancements

This is a list of possible future changes in the design and implementation of the Corporate Media Library (CML) application:

• It would be possible to add a reminder to the user's Outlook® client for the return date of library materials. This feature would rely on an e-mail notification sent when the materials were checked out (not implemented in this release) that included a calendar notification for the due date.
• Macintosh, UNIX, and DEC Alpha users cannot install the RDS ActiveX® control, the UserInfo.cls component, nor the Visual Basic® run-time DLL. The CML could be changed to access the FmLib database without using RDS, but this would be a big change and would require much testing. Not having the Visual Basic run-time DLL and the UserInfo COM component would mean that the user's identity could not be retrieved from the client computer automatically, so users would need to log on to the CML.
• International character support for library items with titles in character sets other than English. This may already work to some extent, but was not tested in this release of the CML application.
• In keeping with the spirit of the distributed application development model, it would have been a boon to "locality of reference" had CML contained links to other online applications — for example, a page to enter book suggestions, an order form for materials that couldn't be located, or a bulletin-board area where library users could enter their recommendations, book reviews, and ratings.
• Offline searching and requests from the library catalog. Given the possibility that the library catalog could contain tens of thousands of titles, this feature would try the limits of offline storage. If it is truly important to have access to the library catalog while offline, perhaps only a filtered set of search results would be enough to store on the user's computer for offline use.
• MSMQ integration with other sample applications, such as the Duwamish Bookstore sample produced by MSDN™. Who knows? Fitch & Mather may yet pursue a working relationship with a virtual partner. If it happens, you'll be sure to read about it in a later installment of the BDG.

Also see Known CML Issues for a list of ways in which the current design of the CML application is not fulfilled.