Developers Take Shelter as Cloud SDK Storms In
Quoted by Neil
Armstrong as he planted his footprint on the Moon, “This one small step for
man, one giant leap for Mankind”, is indicative of a time when a footprint was
an identifying marker. We’ve all witnessed a British investigative film
from the 19th Century, arresting the perpetrator as the
imprints from his shoes matches the evidence from the crime scene. With the
evidence in tow, they travel a substantial distance to store the shoes at a
central location. Now imagine if Neil Armstrong decided to do a cartwheel off
his shuttle and landed on his palms. What would he have said? “One small print
for man, one giant database for Mankind?” Would arresting officers have to
travel to a physical location to give and take evidence? Not with the future
FingerTec is constructing.
Cloud
Applications cannot be complete without the functionalities of a Software
Development Kit. SDKs are frequently referred to as Application Programming
Interfaces (API) although they are variants of the same category. Don’t quite
get it? Think Robocop, his bionics are the API, his organic remains were
“created” by a SDK to interact with his computational parts. Or is it
the other way around?
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| “SDKs or APIs, you are coming with me” |
Developing our SDK
platform required a lot of hard work and careful planning. An echo of Lao Tzu’s
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, we devised a
blueprint to take us on the ride of a lifetime.
In
alignment with our company’s vision, our Software Development Kit adheres to
the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) standard [1]. The CMMI was
established under the wing of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at
Carnegie Mellon University including leading industry and government experts.
TimeTec’s SDK evolution
will be wrought with complexities as we continue our efforts to coax its
maturation, an accomplishment of which we are already victorious. In its
current phase, the Cloud SDKs fundamental functions are authentication,
retrieval and the downloading of data from a majority of existing modules.
Users will be able to view live attendance data. Third party software can be
used to process and filter transaction logs.
The SDK runs on the
standard web services requests (WSDL) and its data are returned in JavaScript’s
Object Notation (JSON) lightweight format. TimeTec works with most programming
languages that employ web services. In addition, our software runs on SSL (HTTPS)
with a 256-bit encryption. We are diligent in ensuring all data communication
to our Cloud is secured.
Developers and programmers are the primary
utilizers of software DKs. However our TimeTec Cloud differs by our aims to
assist our subscribers in enabling a Windows based application to connect
directly to our Cloud, by releasing the Open Source TimeTec Cloud Demo
Application. As an Administrator, you will be able to view attendances without
logging into TimeTec Cloud.
 |
| I'm open, customize me |
The Demo Application is
a step forward for software enthusiasts. It uses the Metro User Interface [2]
and navigational concepts. We aspire to
provide our subscribers an experience not limited to the web but also from a Windows
based application.
IT Cloud environments are constantly evolving. That’s the beauty of our Cloud Demo App. As an open source application, any customizations can be made to our code without fears of infringement(s) of any Data Protection Acts.
IT Cloud environments are constantly evolving. That’s the beauty of our Cloud Demo App. As an open source application, any customizations can be made to our code without fears of infringement(s) of any Data Protection Acts.
In addition to interests in our Demo
Application, we provide support to our partners by offering sample PHP codes
for their integration, either by a Windows Application or PHP via a web
platform.
 |
| Easy to understand, Simple to use |
In our second phase,
with a preferable completion date by the end of 2014, we will extend its
capabilities to enable users to modify configurations and perform updates for
all modules. Third party software vendors will be able to perform updates
seamlessly.
By the end of 2015, our
last phase aims to automate tasks, enable batch import & export features,
generate reports and more. Our focus is to automate the process and simplify
workflow.
Unlike most Cloud
Partners who charge a fee for access their Cloud’s SDK, TimeTec’s Cloud SDK is
now offering premium access to all active subscribers for FREE.
 |
| Believe your eyes. |
If you find yourself in
doubt over TimeTec Cloud SDKs complexities, you can find available resources
including manuals at FingerTec’s Developer Program. As always, we appreciate
feedback, and welcome you to submit your ideas.
References
References
Capability Maturity Model Integration, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_Maturity_Model_Integration
Metro (design language)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_design_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_design_language
FingerTec Developer Program, http://www.fingertec.com/developerprogram/timeteccloud.php
By Daryl Choo, Chief Information Officer, FingerTec HQ
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