Paid Information Query Website Solution

About Our Client 

Country: U.S.A
Industry: Information Service
Services Provided: e-Commerce, Data query 
Cooperation Period: 3 years by now
Responsibilities: Website development and maintenance; urgency handing; data collection and standardization; development of new function module
Application Environment: Website under.Net environment, Web Service, SQL Server Database

What the Client Wants

The client wants to build a paid website for information query. The main features of this website include: 

• Information query. According to one or more query characteristics the user inputs, the complete matching information are called out from database and are showed to the user while query fees are recorded and past query history are kept.  
• Multi-query methodology. In order to facilitate users, the website provides more than ten types of query conditions, the users may choose the most suitable query conditions and methodology based on the actual situation. Except for local data query, the client hopes to cooperate with the website of a third party to obtain data from the interface of the third party website, and vice versa.
• Statistical and administrative function of query business. In back-end management system, system administrator may customize both separate pricing for each kind of query of each user on management page and the authority for query. Meanwhile, the management system may count business reports of various queries on monthly basis, data quantity of all database tables, query speed and index information. In addition, Shinetech is also responsible for periodically collecting and standardizing a large amount of relevant data to update back-end database in time. 

Our Solutions

• Shorten data processing time, improve system flexibility and user experience

Having analyzed the existing code in the application and part of original database, we found that the query of this part of data was not so reasonable, which would greatly delay users' query time and repeated query records are also easy to occur. We therefore standardized the database, and divided one large table that records all information into several separate small tables, and removed those repeated records of the small tables, by doing so, data has been standardized and query time users spent has been considerably reduced. 

The client has several data servers, which are used to keep collected original data, database backup and formal commercial data. The client needed to transfer and update data between those data servers. We suggested the client, targeting at each data table, to compile separate DTS script package to transfer data easily. The suggestion acknowledged by the client and got a good effect in the end.

In addition, after a period of development, we were allowed to refactor all codes so as to further standardize between the modules and made them more flexible, thus improved user experience.  

• Save testing cost and shorten data collection time 

The query function of some programs is related to the interface of a third party, which would be charged a certain sum of money for each testing. As a result, we were not able to do a large amount of testing, and therefore problems in the program couldn't be thoroughly discovered. Our solution was: firstly, paid the interface of a third party for doing testing once, saved the obtained data to a local folder, and then created simulation interface which completely the same as the function of the interface of the third party, by doing so, only one time real query being paid, a large amount of testing could be realized, thus saving a large amount of testing cost while realizing the effect of the testing.

In the process of collecting data from some websites, we needed to simulate by the program to fill the form and to click the submit button. Some web pages use a third party's commercial JavaScript control, which caused great difficulties for us in analyzing delivery process. Our solution was: firstly downloaded the web page covering the data that needed to be extracted to a local folder, appended the debugging function compiled by ourselves to the web page, triggered it instantly before submitting, then obtained the data we needed, and afterwards submitted these data to a remote real website to get the needed data.

Results

During three years'cooperation, both Shinetech and the client has made constant adjustment between each other, thus a comfortable and satisfied cooperation mode has consequently been established which undoubtedly improves both sides' working efficiency and shortens the development lifecycle to a great extent.

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