Version Release Customization(VRC) in BAAN ERP

Introduction
Unlike conventional products, such as cars or furniture, computer software is dynamic in nature. Rapid technological advancement, changing customer requirements, bug fixes, etc., make it imperative for software houses to regularly introduce newer versions of their software. Failure to do so would be disastrous for customers as well as the software house.
However, managing these different versions, their corresponding releases, and all the different customizations performed on them becomes a nightmarish task.


Different kinds of Software

BAAN software is divided into packages. There can be:

• Standard Software
• Localizations
• Line of Business
• Customizations
• Own 

The bshell usually searches for a software component from the outside to the inside (see Figure ) .  First, the bshell searches for any own customization for that component.  If there is no own customization, the bshell searches for a customer-specific customization, and so on.  The search path, however, is not the same for all users depending on the package combination to which the user is linked.

Components of a Package VRC

V (Version) - indicates a major change in the software

R (Release) - indicates a minor change or new enhancement

C (Customization) - indicates a customer extension, which uses the customer’s initials

Types of Software:

VRC management can be used to distinguish between various types of software. Baan delivers standard and localization packages. The customer has the option to customize the software to meet their specific needs.

A VRC should be coded using the following legend:

• L:  Localization
• B:  Line of business specific
• C: Customization developed by a third party
• O:  In-house customization

Rules: When creating a new package VRC that is derived from a standard or localization VRC, you must include one of the letters from the previous legend.

For example:

Existing VRC = tiB40a

New VRC = tiB40Ca cus

Package VRC Deviation Structure

Related Posts:

• Package VRC
• Different Method using VRC Management

Read More

Google + now allows nicknames

Google has relaxed a requirement that real names be used for making a Google+ profile, allowing people to use nicknames or pseudonyms.



Google said it would also allow maiden names and names in non-Latin scripts.The search giant would, however, ask people to provide proof that they are known by that alternate name.



The proof may include a reference in a news article or a link to a blog with a "meaningful following."
Google+ rival, Facebook, requires real names. Some social networks have been reluctant to permit alternate names, arguing that real names improve trust.

Read More

No plans to bring down Facebook on 28 Jan

A Twitter account linked to the hacker group Anonymous denied that the group had released a video calling on the public to launch a cyber-attack on Facebook.

An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people, and the government of the United States," the video narrator says."While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this does not guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.

The video called on supporters to download a tool that launches denial of service attacks on targeted websites, and said that if enough people joined the effort, it could bring down Facebook, even though it has over 60,000 servers

Read More

Limitations of generics

In this section we will try to find out some of the limitations in use of generics.

• By this time you must have understood the possible applicability of generics. Generics are used mainly when one object contains other object. It may be a simple class or a collection. You can add restriction on what can be added to other class. It is not possible to add such a restriction in other ways of reusing e.g. inheritance.
• Generics work on objects and not on primitive data types.
• When the instances of certain declared classes are injected using Dependency Injection (say using Spring), then you can have partial usage of generics i.e. only the declarations will be made using generics, but actual instantiation depends on if the injection supports generics.
• Generics reduce the polymorphic nature of code. At compile time only, we finalize the concrete data types to be dealt with, this leaves little opportunity for runtime alteration.

Read More

Example comparing the legacy with generic styles

Legacy non-generic example   
// Typical Collections usage before Java 5
List greetings = new ArrayList();
greetings.add("We come in peace.");
greetings.add("Take me to your leader.");
greetings.add("Resistance is futile.");

Iterator it = greetings.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
    String aGreeting = (String)it.next();
    attemptCommunication(aGreeting);
}

Same example using generics
    // Same example using generics.
List<String> greetings = new ArrayList<String>();
greetings.add("We come in peace.");
greetings.add("Take me to your leader.");
greetings.add("Resistance is futile.");

Iterator<String> it = greetings.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
    String aGreeting = it.next();  // No downcast.
    attemptCommunication(aGreeting);
}

Read More

Google plans to 'Combine' your user data

Google is planning to rewrite its privacy policy to grant it explicit rights to "combine personal information" across multiple products and services. Previously, it had only implicit rights to do so.

Beginning March 1, the activities and data of a Google user who is signed in will be used to provide a "simpler, more intuitive" experience for users across all the Google services, according to a post on the Official Google blog.

For instance, Google searches may take into consideration context of searches based on the user information and activities, such as knowing that an import car buff would want "Jaguar" the car rather than the big cat of the same name, a video in the post explains. And auto-correct may suggest spellings when a user is typing in Google Docs or Gmail based on prior content they have created.


"It may even be able to tell you when you'll be late for a meeting based on your location, your calendar and local weather conditions," the video says. "All of which means we're not just keeping your private stuff private. We're making it more useful to you in your daily life too."
The changes will roll out along with modifications to the company's privacy policies and terms of service. Google's 60 privacy policies for its different services are being rolled into one uber privacy policy that the company said is designed to be simpler and easier to understand. The terms of service are also being rewritten and consolidated.


In some cases, such as for financial services like Google Wallet, a product may be regulated by industry-specific privacy laws and require detailed descriptions of our practices," the FAQ says. "In others, like Chrome, we simply wanted to explain our privacy practices specific to those products in more detail. In these cases we chose to keep product-specific notices rather than clutter up the main Privacy Policy

Read More

Facebook wants ceglia to pick up $84k in leagl fees

Facebook lawyers have asked a judge to order Paul Ceglia to pick up more than $84,000 in legal fees.

Ceglia, the man who claims a contract with CEO Mark Zuckerberg entitles him to a 50 percent stake in the social network, was fined $5,000 earlier this month over delays in making his e-mails available in his case against Facebook. He was also ordered to pay reasonable attorneys' fees.

Facebook also asked Leslie G. Foschio, the federal magistrate for Buffalo, N.Y., to order Ceglia not to file any additional "non-responsive papers or pleadings

 in the case" until he pays the fees.

Ceglia's lawyer, Dean Boland, told the Los Angeles Times that he had not had time to study the filing but indicated he felt the lawyers' rates were excessive. Facebook's chief counsel in the case, Orin Snyder, charged $716.25 an hour, while his most junior associate charged $337.50 an hour, the Times reported.
"If we feel it ought to be modified, we will respond accordingly," Boland told the newspaper. "Cleveland and Buffalo are pretty identical demographically, and I can tell you that no lawyer would survive in the city of Cleveland charging that much an hour because no one would be able to hire him."




Ceglia was ordered to hand over his e-mails account and passwords last August. After he failed to do so, Facebook filed a motion requesting an order compelling him to do so. That hearing also revealed that Ceglia's attorney at the time, Jeffrey Lake, was told by Ceglia that he wouldn't comply with the order.
Lake soon withdrew from the case, becoming the latest in a string of attorneys who stopped representing Ceglia since he initially filed a lawsuit against Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2010. Ceglia claims he and Zuckerberg entered into a contract in 2003 to design and develop the Web site that would ultimately become Facebook--a company now with an estimated value of $100 billion.

Read More