The client was an Arizona technology firm that develops media management platforms. Their existing application had issues with code maintainability, responsiveness, and was missing features like syndicating program information and reviewing/rating. OFS proposed developing a new version using Spring and Hibernate for improved structure and performance, adding Ajax for interactivity, and including the missing features by exporting/importing XML conformant to TVA standards. The benefits would be increased efficiency, attracting users with new capabilities, and full TVA compliance.

1. Development – Media Addiction Service
Client:
The client an Arizona based technology firm spans over a decade designing and
developing large-scale standards-based metadata/media management platforms and
knowledge-based systems within government, military, academia and commercial
markets.
Business challenges of the client:
Client used an application which was partially based on TV-Anytime standards. TV-
Anytime, is a set of specifications for the controlled delivery of multimedia content to a
user's digital video recorder (DVR). It seeks to exploit the evolution in convenient, high
capacity storage of digital information to provide consumers with a highly personalized
TV experience.
The application is an online system to enable metadata services which includes
searching, viewing various media objects, providing a market place environment.
Some of the issues with the application were:
Code maintainability :
• It was developed using JSP/ Servlets for the client side without using the most well
known MVC pattern. Most of the business logic as well as the code for the views
were placed inside the controller which resulted code repetition and hence the
maintainability issue too.
Responsiveness and interactivity:
• Over many repetitions, the time the users spend on waiting for the jsp page to load
in order to view a program information added up to significant costs. It is a less
responsive application which defeated the user's workflow visualization by forcing
them to continually wait for program information.
Some of the feature which were in need was
Syndicating Program Information:
• The program information has to be distributed in a TVA conformant xml file.
Importing Process:
• System should allow importing the xml file containing the TVA standard objects like
program information, group information, segment information etc...
Reviewing and Rating:
• System should allow rating and reviewing program information.

2. OFS Solution:
OFS was ready to develop the next version of the application using Spring and
Hibernate.
Solution for the Issues faced:
Code maintainability :
• MVC:
o Successful use of the pattern isolates business logic from user interface
considerations, resulting in an application where it is easier to modify either the
visual appearance of the application or the underlying business rules without
affecting the other.
• Spring:
o Spring provides a very clean division between controllers, JavaBean models, and
views.
o Spring's MVC is very flexible. Unlike Struts, which forces your Action and Form
objects into concrete inheritance, Spring MVC is entirely based on interfaces.
Furthermore, just about every part of the Spring MVC framework is configurable
via plugging in your own interface. Of course we also provide convenience
classes as an implementation option.
• Hibernate:
o Java Data Objects (JDO) is an interface-based standard for persistence or, the
non-EJB standard for persistence in Java applications. Setting aside the
controversies that once swirled over JDO, they look at how to bring a top
implementation. The most popular of the OR frameworks and perhaps the best
integrated with Spring: Hibernate. Though it's nonstandard, we could say that
behind EJB, Hibernate is the most popular persistence framework in the world.
o As hibernate provides most of the functionality, the LOC for the application will
be reduced and it is easy to maintain. By automated object/relational
persistence it even reduces the LOC.
• Responsiveness and interactivity :
o Ajax: More responsive way of designing the new version of the application can
improve productivity not just by reducing "wait," but by promoting a more fluid,
uninterrupted workflow. In this, users can move rapidly from one action to
another as quickly as they can visualize the workflow.

3. Solution for New Features:
• Syndicating Program Information:
In order to syndicate or distribute program information in a TVA conformant
format, OFS provided a solution of exporting a single or multiple program
information in a TVA conformant xml file.
• Importing Process:
OFS provided two options to import the TVA standard objects
Option 1: Importing a TVA conformant xml file will retrieve and form the TVA
objects from the file and persist them into the system.
Option 2: Importing a RSS file – The RSS file will be converted into the TVA
conformant xml and then will follow the option 1 for importing.
• Reviewing and Rating:
For reviewing and Rating a Program Information, the Program Review Table a
TVA object is used. This helps the user to rate an item in the scale of 0-5 along
with his comments.
Business Benefits:
• Time spent on completing a particular task:
Using Ajax, Increased efficiency is realized in the user interface which means
that time is saved at the task level, offering opportunities for concrete cost
savings.
• New Features:
The added new features like syndicating; importing will definitely attract the
users for its bulk transferring feature for utilizing the TVA objects in and out of
the system.
The Rating and reviewing mechanism helps to understand and analyze the
users as well as it helps the content publisher to get the targeted audience.
• TVA Conformant System:
The earlier application was incomplete with respect to the TVA objects used. In
the OFS developed application the data model with respect to the TVA Objects
is completely defined which will make the client to claim that the new one is
complete with respect to the TVA standards.
Technology Used:
Java 5.0, Tomcat 5.0, Spring 2.0.2, Hibernate 3.0, JSP, JavaScript, Ajax, XML, ANT 1.6.5,
MySQL 5.0 and Xampp
ObjectFrontier Inc, 1000, Windward Concourse Suite 120, Alpharetta, GA 30005. Tel: (678) 218-5210
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