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Livesite 3: Value-adding functionality at a modest cost
How can a modestly sized organisation implement and manage a web site which hosts dynamic content, encourages user interaction, and improves communication between the organisation and
its stakeholders? When cost and the availability of technical skills are factors, how can you get what you want at a reasonable price?
Technical note |
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Livesite delivers a very flexible, rapidly built database application based on CL4 programs and databases, offering clients economy, speed and reliability for
secure information storage and delivery systems. These can be customised as required by our developers. CL4 is Multibase’s own licensable technology, created in the industry-standard
programming language C.
Because the systems are typically hosted by Multibase, Livesite offers the advantages of industrial-strength security and reliability, without the significant
licensing and implementation costs typically associated with such systems.
Each customer system is able to take advantage of fixes, improvements or additional functionality made to the program code over time, without specific
software upgrade fees.
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In order to offer increased client value, Multibase develops many Information Delivery system projects with software technology that has characteristics of both standardised and
customised web software. Our Livesite solution framework has proven itself since 1986.
How do Livesite functions work?
Our customised multi-tiered transaction applications combine the principles of Internet delivery with client-server techniques to provide a mechanism for securely accessing
data from systems located locally or remotely on the web or in secure backend locations. A standard modern web browser provides the client application through which users access
the site and administrators maintain it. Livesite therefore uses standard web tools - as well as our own meta-tools - in both development and run-time, while providing our customers with
the benefits of Multibase’s significant experience in application development. They take advantage of the economies of scale obtained from this experience and the range of web solutions that we have implemented.
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System elements
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Security and user database
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A user database stores relevant details for clients and administrators. The user database controls view, edit and delete access to any secure areas of the site, and resources within
them. Groups can be established, users assigned to groups, and permission to view resources allocated to groups. This can be maintained by administrators. Retrieval functions for lost
passwords can be included.
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Prebuilt core programs
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Livesite 3 contains prebuilt applications each which provides certain functionality. Calls to run these programs are incorporated into the web pages viewed by site visitors.
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Prebuilt default templates
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A range of prebuilt “vanilla flavoured” XHTML templates are installed with the site. These contain calls to the core programs of the site - for example, login, library, maintenance
etc. The templates can readily be customised by Multibase or clients, and typically have the site “look and feel” and navigation system installed within them. Hosting is configured so
that if a local template should fail for some reason (e.g. an error in maintenance by an administrator), the ”vanilla” functionality for that template is still available to
users.
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Data population
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Customised web forms are provided for entering and managing data of all kinds. Data can also be imported from almost any other database, provided a file in consistent format can be
provided.
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eCommerce
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eCommerce facilities through Multibase’s ePay gateway can be included. sal. This could be used for catalogues, subscriptions etc.
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Hosting
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Livesite 3 is a web service hosted in our own hosting centre, which is located at Fujitsu Australia’s Internet Data Centre in North Ryde, NSW. This facility is a highly secure,
world class ’five nines’ (99.999% availability) centre. Multibase manages its own hosting environment,
with advanced equipment, high under-loaded bandwidth, and a size and history which ensures both reliability and at the same time providing an accessible, personal touch to service.
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User views
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Portal-type home page and navigation system
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Your system will enable the development of a portal-type system for the home page, information pages, and navigation through the site. These will all be integrated through the
templates and the look and feel of the site.
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Document library
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Livesite has a highly configurable document library, which allows the storage of documents which can be made available to groups of users. The permissions are very granular, at a
library and/or a group level.
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News
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News functions can be made to appear within the site on any template. News is managed by authorised users through web forms.
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Event listings
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As with all dynamic content, this can be maintained by administrators through a web browser interface.
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Secure bulletin boards
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Multiple bulletin boards can be established, with public or authorised user access to their functions.
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Member email system.
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An emailing system allows html or text emails to be sent to groups of users in the user database, the emails sent being stored if required in the document library for future reference.
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Catalogue
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A highly congifurable web catalogue, for online sales, can be included. This includes functions for categorisation, display, ordering, quoting and purchasing.
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Poll
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Insert polls or questionnaires into the web site. Access can be restricted by the user management system.
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Photo Gallery
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Insert a photo galleries into the web site. Access can be restricted by the user management system.
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Online help
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An online help system can be implemented in areas of the site. This can be maintained through a web browser. Writing the help is a significant task and is considered beyond scope of
the existing project.
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Advertising
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It is possible to provide advertising on the site. Display can follow a number of different rules e.g. random, or priority according to level of investment.
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Blowfish encryption
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Resources can be encrypted with the Blowfish algorithm: a browser passes a request for an item to the Resource Manager, and if validated, the item is delivered to the authorised used
through their browser. SSL can also be used to encrypt transactions.
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Search
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Searching can be conducted on any of the data in the site. The exact procedure depends on what is required. The format of search results is similarly flexible. Other than the standard
searches, almost anything can be done by our programmers.
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Site marketing functions
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Click throughs and statistics
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Click-through counters on the Forms and on the links to the companies web sites, thus providing a real-time record of the number of times that the particular event takes place. Can be
made available to admins and/or the company.
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Web statistics
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Webalyzer web statistics, provided with our hosting packages, provide always-available online analysis of web server visitation logs. This enables the site to be reviewed and analysed.
More sophisticated analysis can be done using third party packages such as Web Trends, which could be integrated into the site. Any site visitor behaviour could potentially be
included in the counts and statistics.
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Search engine positioning strategy
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An allowance is included for documentation of the search engine position strategies to be integrated into the site e.g. use of meta tags, home page content, search engine and directory
listing.
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Administrative functions
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Content and system management functions
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Administration is carried out by authorised users, through web pages which are viewed with a standard web browser. These contain the usual kind of functions e.g. add, edit, delete,
disable. Administrator and user permissions are very granular, for example, an administrator could have permissions to add and edit but not delete. An administrator does not need
particular technical skills.
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Site design and XHTML templates
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“Vanilla flavoured” templates are supplied with the base version of the site. These are then customised using industry-standard tools like Dreamweaver, to include look and feel,
navigation and other content, as well as program calls.
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Documentation
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Administrator’s documentation covers the management of the major functionality of the site.
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All rights reserved. Copyright © Multibase WebAustralis Pty Ltd
May 2004
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