week 8- databases

Databases are used almost daily by most of the population. Since there are many different types of databases, the one we will use will be electronic. It will allow people to make decisions about what they would like to eat and it will also store all the information people put into the system as well as all options offered.
The database will sort all the information into catagories such as toppings, bread and meat so it is easy to keep track of it all. The type of database will be a flat file which is a simple, 2 demensional model with no specific rules for avoiding redundancies. This will work because the formatting does not have to be fancy; in fact, if it is simple it will be much less confusing and more efficient.
In this database, there will be multiple queries which will basically be questions for each student so they can order personal sandwiches. The way people will be able to "answer the questions" and place their order will be through a table. There will be a table-like format; each column will have all of the different options to make a sandwich and students will either fill in a bubble or type an "x" next to any ingredient they want added to their sandwich.

-Jamie

week 7- networks

Having a telecom network allow people to send messages to other locations in a secure, fast way. It is important to be knowlegable about this since that is the whole point of this APP. A modem is necessary to have in place in order to translate between each computer.
It will be important to have little to no latency when receiving orders. If orders are not receieved within a short amount of time, they may not be ready when can make a student late for class.
There are many steps a message goes through in order to reach the receiving computer from the sending one. With a correct network and modem in place, we should be able to allow students from different locations to send a message to the main computer in dining halls.
Overall, it will be important to set up a system to ensure fast, secure communication between students and dining halls.

-Jamie

Week 6- Advanced Hardware

I do not think this APP would need to use advanced hardware. It is not necessary to include too many sounds or pictures. The point of this APP is to be efficient and save time and by adding unnecessary things such as sounds, students can become distracted or bothered.
However, there are some possibilities to include advanced hardware. One being a sound to indicate to the student that their order has been sent; this would be very discreet so it does not alarm people around them. Another way a sound would be useful would be in the dining hall to notify the servers when an order has been placed.
Pictures should not be used because it will be important for the pictures to be accurate to the actual food and that may be hard to produce on a small cellphone. Since there is no way to transmit smells to people via computers, we cannot do that. Although, it would be a great marketing technique to help sell items!

-Jamie

Week 5- Hardware cont.

Along with all of the internal hard and software that is necessary for this program to work, the computers and cell phones must have the correct physical hardware. Although I will not be responsible for actually building the computers we will use in the dining halls, there are parts that must be purchased. Most of these are already included if wesimply purchase a laptop or desktop computer.
One important part that must be included is the motherboard, this is the piece of hardware that is the base to your entire computer and alomst all other pieces are attached to it. It is worthwhile to spend a great deal of money on this piece since it will tell the other parts of the computer how to function. If your motherboard is not working or does not last for a long time, my program will eventually have problems.
Other parts include a memory and a case. A case is the face of the machine and it controls the air flow. It is also worthwhile to purchase an expensive case because I do not want the system to over heat and shut down. Each piece of hardware is crucial because if the system is shut down for a long period of time the students will not be happy and it will cause chaos and difficulty in the dining halls. 

-Jamie

Week 4- Hardware

This application will have encoded information that displays options and directions to students so they know how to operate the ordering system. Form will allow students to input what they would like to order. There will be mutlitple ways for them to order including drop down menus to pick toppings, meat and bread and a text box where they can enter any special instructions.
Although it may seem like there are a lot of choices, each item will be binary. Which means, either yes or no. For example, when a student inputs that they would like turkey but no other meat the computer willl read it as 1 for turkey (1=yes) and 0 for all other meats (0=no). Each option (bread and toppings) will be binary as well.
This will enable students to have simple yes/no options to make their lunch. However, they will also be able to feel in control and specialize their order by typing in their own istructions.

-Jamie