Feature Summary
Some features of the PT application are visible to users as application functions and some features are visible to developers as design or implementation elements. The following sections summarize both types of features.
Note Some of the following features are present in the PT Admin application, some are in the PT User application, and some are in both.
PT Application Functional Elements
The PT application provides the following functionality:
- Stores personal data: address, e-mail alias, and so on. For more information, see User Information Form.
- Stores data about an individual's measurable accomplishments, such as scores and grades the individual earns for activities (assignments and tests). For more information, see Table Views.
- Provides internal navigation between forms and display screens. For more information, see Navigation Pages.
- Displays personal and activity data to authorized users, while maintaining security. For more information, see Table Views. This feature will be implemented in the PT User application for Scenario 4.
- Allows secure input of personal and activity data through Web forms. For more information, see Form Views.
- Provides application management options to users with appropriate permissions. This feature will be implemented in the PT User application for Scenario 4.
- Provides reports by allowing users to print screens.
PT Application Design Elements
The PT application includes the following design elements:
- Stores data in a Microsoft® SQL Server™ version 7.0 database (the Eval database) for flexible and secure access.
- Provides application functionality in multiple arenas. For more information, see Application Arenas. The basic PT application is appropriate for organizations with varying language requirements and for organizations with similar but varying business models, such as a testing and training center or a school. In other words, although the screens of the PT application remain basically the same, the text they display changes depending on the arena. An arena is defined by the business purpose of the organization and the languages of the application's users. The PT application achieved this variable display of text through the use of XML. XML and the PT Application describes the design of XML-based features.
- Runs on Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 and Windows® 2000 Server. Deployment provides a detailed description of the application's technical requirements for each environment, as well as step-by-step instructions for installing the application.
This scenario fully documents both sets of PT application features for people who are using the application and for developers studying the design and implementation of the application.
Planning and Research discusses the business problem the application addresses.
Implementation discusses the PT Admin application's architecture and source code.
The following topics provide entry points to discussions of the application's design process: