Toolbox
Issue and Defect Tracking, Automate IT Tasks, and More
Scott Mitchell
Contents
Issue and Defect Tracking
Automate IT Tasks
Add Spreadsheet Capabilities to Apps
The Bookshelf
Issue and Defect Tracking
During the lifetime of any software project there are various tasks that need to be recorded, assigned, searched, managed, and analyzed. For large projects with several developers working in concert with other stakeholders-testers, customers, architects, and so on-it's imperative that a project management tool be used.
One such tool worth checking out is OnTime 2006 (version 6.1.2) from axosoft. At the core of any project management tool is issue and defect tracking, which enables you to record any outstanding issues or bugs. OnTime 2006 provides a wide array of properties that can be assigned to an issue or defect.
Tracking Defects with OnTime 2006 (Click the image for a larger view)
OnTime 2006 also offers task lists, feature and enhancement tracking, timesheet capabilities, and can be extended to provide a customer-facing helpdesk. Each of the systems offers support for notifications and history tracking.
Many project management tools provide only a Web-based interface, but OnTime 2006 offers three interfaces: a standalone Windows®-based application, a Web-based interface, and a Visual Studio®-integrated interface. The Windows-based application might be ideal for the project manager to review the outstanding work items and analyze reports, whereas developers might find the Visual Studio interface more conducive to locating and addressing any defects. The Windows and Web-based interfaces include numerous reports that can help project managers forecast deadlines and better manage resource allocation. If needed, you can customize the built-in reports, creating custom filters, or you can build your own reports from the ground up with the OnTime Report Designer.
If you're in the market for a software project management system, consider OnTime 2006.
Price: $149 (and up) per registered user, depending on features.
Automate IT Tasks
There are a variety of scenarios where automating computer tasks involves system, developer, and end user-level domains, or requires performing some action at the user interface level (such as launching a new window, entering some text into a textbox, and clicking a button). For these advanced automation scenarios, check out Automation Anywhere version 3.0, from Tethys Solutions.
In a nutshell, with Automation Anywhere you can arrange any number of actions into a saved task, which can then be executed on demand (according to a predefined schedule), or in response to a trigger, such as when a specified window is closed, or when a particular file is deleted.
Automation Anywhere Task List (Click the image for a larger view)
Automation Anywhere includes dozens of built-in actions. These include system-level actions-launching programs, creating, deleting, and moving files, performing Internet-related operations (downloading files from an FTP server, sending an e-mail, and so on)-as well as user interface level actions, like prompting the user for input and injecting keystrokes or mouse movements into a specified window. There are also database-related actions that can be used to select from or modify database data.
Whereas many automation solutions require some level of programming experience, Automation Anywhere's actions can be pieced together through a straightforward point-and-click user interface. It also ships with several templates for performing common automation tasks.
Price: $249.95 per Standard edition.
Add Spreadsheet Capabilities to Apps
If you develop internal support software for a company, chances are you've been asked at some point to create a program that works with or generates Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets. If so, check out SpreadsheetGear for .NET by SpreadsheetGear LLC.
Generating Excel Spreadsheets (Click the image for a larger view)
The software works with both Windows-based and ASP.NET applications and offers a rich API for creating, reading, and modifying Excel spreadsheets. A new spreadsheet can be created or an existing one opened with just a single line of code. With a few more lines, the spreadsheet's data can be modified, read, copied from one worksheet to another, and so on. Formulas can be specified and charts can be created. Saving the spreadsheet-or writing all or part of its contents into an ADO.NET DataSet-can likewise be accomplished with just one line of code.
SpreadsheetGear for .NET can be used in ASP.NET applications to easily display existing or modified Excel reports in a Web page. Simply read the Excel spreadsheet data into a DataSet and bind it to a GridView or DataGrid Web control. Additionally, with a few lines of code you can export your current Web-based reports as Excel reports.
For developers using Windows with the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, the WorkbookView and FormulaBar controls allow a spreadsheet-like UI to be embedded directly within a Windows-based application. With these controls, you can offer a familiar user experience with underlying data that can be modified, charted, saved to disk, or exported to a DataSet through SpreadsheetGear for .NET's straightforward API.
Best of all, SpreadsheetGear for .NET generates native Excel spreadsheets without an Excel installation.
Price: $799 per developer license.
The Bookshelf
AJAX-or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML-describes an approach and underlying technologies for creating responsive Web applications. The challenge of creating an AJAX-enabled application is that it requires expertise in both client-side and server-side technologies. Furthermore, the client-side script used to make the asynchronous calls and to modify the Web page layout can differ subtly between different browsers and browser versions.
This complexity is commonly encapsulated by an AJAX-specific library. Microsoft has released an AJAX-development library called ASP.NET "Atlas" that enables programmers to create interactive Web applications using the familiar ASP.NET Web controls and syntax. (Note that the pieces that make up Atlas have recently been given official names by Microsoft, including the Microsoft AJAX Library, the ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions, and the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit.) At the time of this writing, Atlas is provided as a Community Technical Preview and has not yet been finalized or officially integrated into the ASP.NET base classes.
For those itching to use Atlas to create responsive ASP.NET applications, check out Foundations of Atlas by Laurence Moroney (Apress, 2006). The book begins with a good overview of AJAX, followed by a look at how Atlas simplifies AJAX development by providing a set of client and server controls that work together to emit the needed client-side script and server-side functionality to participate in asynchronous postbacks.
Tracking Defects with OnTime 2006
The next several chapters focus on examples and walkthroughs that show how to use the Atlas controls, including an entire chapter on data binding. The last chapter looks at building an AJAX-enabled financial research Web application from the ground up. The chapter does a great job at tying together the lessons learned throughout the book and illustrating a real-world benefit from using AJAX techniques with Atlas.
Price: $39.99.
All prices were confirmed at press time and are subject to change. The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Microsoft.
Send your questions and comments for Scott to toolsmm@microsoft.com.
Scott MitchellScott Mitchell, author of numerous books and founder of 4GuysFromRolla.com, is an MVP who has been working with Microsoft Web technologies since 1998. Scott is an independent consultant, trainer, and writer. Reach him at Mitchell@4guysfromrolla.com or via his blog at ScottOnWriting.NET.