FEATURES OF AVL'S INTRANET ========================== Steven Primrose-Smith (primrosesmith@magnet.at) I am currently the Webmaster/Web Developer for AVL's intranet as well as the technical consultant to AVL's Intranet Team, the committee responsible for the intranet. While there are other users adding pages to the site, I am responsible for most of its pages, its structure and general services. This page includes a list of some of the features I have implemented (in no particular order). None of the features listed below rely on third-party tools or libraries. Database Accessibility ---------------------- I was faced with the challenge of needing web access to databases (Oracle, Access and others) spread across hundreds of machines throughout the company. We wanted a familiar-looking applet with which to access these databases. However, one Java restriction is that applets can only connect to the computer that served it. I created a system using a central Java server and a number of database SQL servers to provide database accessibility. In addition, the Java applet could load database query forms (actually Java classes) dynamically so that, with a central repository of classes, complete database applications could be created easily and quickly. All servers were written in Java. For users without Java, the same databases could be accessed using a combination of the central Java server and CGI, returning the database search results in HTML. Newsgroups ---------- Using the Java news server I wrote, I have been able to provide a number of newsgroup services including private newsgroups for sensitive discussions. I also wrote a web-based news reader applet for users unfamiliar with news readers. Both my news server and web news reader are available from my web site. Easy Navigation --------------- With the help of the Java menu applet, users can find their way around the intranet easily. Chat ---- After first implementing a chat system using Perl, it soon became apparent that Java was the only way to do this properly. My chat server and applet are available from my web site. E-mail & Subscriptions ---------------------- I wrote a Perl script to allow those users within the company without an e-mail account to send e-mail. In addition, users can send mail to subscription groups -- list of users who have 'signed up' for information on various topics all around the intranet. Classified Ads -------------- With the aid of a couple of CGI scripts, users can post and read advertisements. Currency Conversion ------------------- Using currency data from a file provided by the finance department, I provided a Perl script which creates a daily currency convertor. The currency uses JavaScript and provides currency conversion between about 40 currencies. Site Registration ----------------- I added a simple site registration script. The information provided was used to fill in certain fields in forms around the intranet and allowed users to set preferences. Information Access Outside Of The Firewall ------------------------------------------ With a firewall in place, only those employees with a web account can access the internet. This is unfortunate because there were a number of web services which are useful to most employees. I wrote a number of Perl scripts to automatically download certain web pages each morning (for news and weather) and other scripts to pass through the firewall legally and access particular services. In this way, the intranet can provide an English-German technical dictionary (using Langenscheidt's site) and a text translation service (using Alta-Vista's site). Intranet Tour ------------- Users new to the intranet can take a pre-arranged on-line tour around the main areas of the intranet. Home Pages ---------- Users can take a home page within the intranet and, using the on-line upload and file management tools, modify their web pages via a browser to make them available to the entire organisation. Missing Page Notification ------------------------- Broken hyperlinks are unprofessional and unnecessary. A CGI script informs me via e-mail whenever a web page or image file cannot be accessed. I can then send the missing page report to the author of the page, reducing broken links around the entire intranet. Bookmarking ----------- As the site takes advantage of the benefits of frames, it is not possible to use a browser's standard bookmark option (as this bookmarks the entire frameset rather than the individual frame). I wrote a bookmark facility which allows users to bookmark a page and return to it while still retaining the correct frames around the bookmarked page. User-Modifiable On-Line Documents --------------------------------- I have converted much of our user documentation from Word format to HTML. As well as being completely searchable, users can, via a special form, add their comments to any particular page of any web document. As the comments can then be seen by anyone viewing the document, this is a useful feature for pointing out additional relevant information or shortcoming in the documentation. The latest version of this feature list (in a variety of formats) is always available at: http://www.fortunecity.com/oasis/miami/138