Siwes report free essay sample

In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirement for the Award of Bachelor of Science Degree (B. sc) In Electronics and Computer Technology 4 TABLE OF CONTENT Dedication Acknowledgement Abstract Chapter One 1. 0 Introduction 1. 1 Aims and Objectives of the SIWES Program Chapter Two 2. 0 Address, History and Services of Inspiragh Technologies 2. 1 ORGANOGRAM of Inspiragh Technologies Chapter Three 3. 0 The work area Covered 3. 1 Hyper Text Mark-Up Language (HTML) 3. 2 Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) 3. 3 Adobe Dreamweaver 3. 4 Adobe fireworks 3. 5 swish Max 3. 6 PHP 3. 7 MySql 3. 8 Computer (Hardware/Software) Installation Maintainace 3. 9 Coupling, installation and repair of other IT and Electronics equipments 3. 1. 0 Closed Circuit television (CCTV) 3. 1. 1 Digital Satellite Television 3. 1. 2 Anti-Virus Chapter Four 4. 0 Skills Acquired at Inspiragh Technologies Chapter Five 5. 0 Problems Encountered Chapter Six 6. 0 Recommendations Chapter Seven 7. 0 Conclusion 5 6 DEDICATION From the depth of my heart, I dedicate this report to The Lord Almighty, The father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ whose mercies remain infinite and to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Umeh, Godwin Chidi. We will write a custom essay sample on Siwes report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For their love, support and care throughout the period of my industrial training. 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT May all glory, honour and adoration be unto The Lord Almighty, The father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ whose mercies remained infinite during my industrial training period. My most sincere gratitude goes also, to the coordinator of Electronics and Computer Technology (ECT) unit, department of Physics, University of Calabar, Prof. A. I. Menkiti for being not just a lecturer but more than a father. I wish to say a big thank you to Mr. Godwin Chimeziri (The manager of Inspiragh Technologies) who also was my supervisor during my training, and the entire staff of Inspiragh Technologies. Finally, To all my sibblings and friends (Stevebryan Ofem, Richard Ekanen, Pastor K. C Ojukwu, Adaeze Anyaegbunam, Imaobong Udofia, Uju Umeh, Daniel Umeh, Barr. Solowise Ezike ) It’s indeed a very long list but just know that you have affected my life in a very special way and for that, you are always and forever appreciated. The staff and students of Physics department, University of Calabar for having always been there for me, You are the best. 8 ABSTRACT In respect to the federal government’s policy, that all part IV (400 level) undergraduates of Electronic and Computer Technology unit of Physics department in the University of Calabar must proceed on industrial training under the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) scheme which is aimed at exposing the students to practical challenges ahead of them in the labour market upon graduation. I have benefited immensely from this program and this technical report covers the months of my attachment with Inspiragh Technologies, Nnewi. It covers the day to day activities during my stay at Inspiragh Technologies. This report therefore highlights the training process and the experiences acquired in the various areas of Information Technology and other electronic devices. The challenges encountered during the program with solutions which I think if implemented will improve the industrial training scheme is also included in this report. 9 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 0 The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) Training is a key factor in enhancing the efficiency and expertise of the workforce. The Students Industrial Work Experience (SIWES) scheme prepares students for the labor markets. It has become an innovative phenomenon in human resources development and training in Nigeria since it’s establishment in the year 1971 and has since been operated within the content of the law that established it (Dec 47 of 1971). ECT is obviously a skill-oriented program and to acquire adequate skills, training must occur in the appropriate environment. Practical knowledge relates to doing. According to Ochiagha practical knowledge is learning without which mastery of an area of knowledge may be too difficult to achieve. Practical knowledge involves developing skills through the use of tools or equipment to perform tasks that are related to a field of study. No society can achieve meaningful progress without encouraging its youth to acquire necessary practical skills. Such skills enable them to harness available resources to meet the needs of the society. It was against this background that SIWES, otherwise referred to as Industrial Training (IT), was introduced in Nigerian tertiary institutions. SIWES is a skill development program designed to prepare students of universities, polytechnics/monotechnics, and colleges of education for transition from the college environment to work. Oyedele stated that work experience is an educational program in which students participate in work activities while attending school. This work experience program gives students the opportunity to be part of an actual work situation outside the classroom. SIWES is a cooperative industrial internship program that involves institutions of higher learning, industries, the federal government of Nigeria, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and NBTE/NCCE in Nigeria. Students that participate in this work experience program include those studying engineering, vocational, technological, and related courses in institutions of higher learning. SIWES forms part of the approved minimum academic standards in these institutions. SIWES is a core academic requirement. This requirement must be met by all students in Electronics and Computer Technology(ECT) before graduation. The training program is undertaken in the fourth year of a five-year degree program. Additionally, the scheme exposes the students to work methods, gives the student the basic skills needed to unveil the theoretical knowledge acquired in classrooms and transform it into practical experience in handling of equipments, components and machine which may not be available in the University. 1. 1 Aims and objectives of the scheme According to Eze, government did recognized the importance of SIWES through the establishment of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). The ITF was established in 1971 and was charged with human resources development and training. Following the establishment of ITF, SIWES commenced in 1974 with the aim of making education more relevant and to bridge the yawning gap between the theory 10 and practice of engineering, technology, and science? related disciplines in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The specific objectives of SIWES were summarized by the federal government in its Gazette of April, 1978 as follows: * To provide an avenue for students in institutions of higher learning to acquire industrial skills and experiences in their course of study * To provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge in real work and actual practice. * To make the transition from school to the world of work easier and to enhance students contacts for later job placement. It is obvious that the reasons that led to the establishment of the program some decades ago are today even more relevant due to rapid technological development, especially as it concerns Electronics and Computer Technology. 11 CHAPTER TWO 2. 0 Address, History and Services of Inspiragh Technologies Inspiragh Technologies is a leading Information Technology firm situated in the heart of Nnewi (55 Owerri Road), Anambra State Nigeria and managed by experienced professionals. Since inception in 2008, it has always kept it’s promise of â€Å"inspired and better solutions†. The company’s core area of expertise is web-site design/Development, Web application development, Web-Site management and maintenance, Search Engine Optimisation, Bulk SMS, Importation, sales and repair of computer/computer related accessories, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and Digital satallite Television Installation and Maintainance. My stay in the company was both interesting and educating because i experienced the use of the most current and up-to-date tools and technologies to develop solutions that meet both industrial and world class standard. The fact that the firm is still small but rapidly developing gave me the most anticipated one-on-one rapport with my instructors and supervisors. 2. 1 ORGANOGRAM of Inspiragh Technologies 1. Mr. Chimeziri Godwin Chairman/CEO 2. Mr. Joshua Ughasoro Managing Director 3. Mrs. Umeh Chinyere Director 4. Mr. Donald Nnadilim Logistics 5. Miss. Obianuju Francess Receptionist 6. Miss. Ella Cherechukwu Accountant 7. Mr. Donatus Ikeh Technician/Electrician 8. Mr. Pius Ibanga Driver 9. Miss. Ukandu Ogechi Cafe Attendant 10. Miss. Amara Ugwu Cafe Attendant 11. Mr. Joseph Nwudu Designer/Developer 12. Mr. Ayo Adeyemi Designer/Developer 13. Mr. Emeka Ifechukwu Hardware Engineer 12 CHAPTER THREE 3. 0 Work Area Covered While at Inspiragh, I came in contact with lots of software applications as well as languages which were used on daily basis to make their job easy. All my questions about how web-sites actually work, How one can design a web-site on a computer without the internet was all answered both theoritically and practically. These applications include †¢ HTML †¢ CSS †¢ Adobe Dreamweaver †¢ Adobe Fireworks †¢ SwishMax †¢ PHP †¢ MySql †¢ Computer (Hardware/Software) Installation Maintainace †¢ Coupling, installation and repair of other IT and Electronics equipments †¢ Closed Circuit TeleVision (CCTV) †¢ Digital satellite Television †¢ Anti-virus I am going to deal with my interaction with the above mentioned applications below. 3. 1 Hyper Text Mark-Up Language (HTML) HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the language used to create web documents. It defines the syntax and placement of special instructions (tags) that aren’t displayed, but tell the browser how to display the document’s contents. It is also used to create links to other documents, either locally or over a network such as the Internet. HTML has not been around for many years. November 1990 marks the day of the first web page and back then there were little or no HTML standards to be followed. A group called the World Wide Web Consortium (w3c) was then formed and have since set the standards that are widely accepted. An HTML document contains text (the contents of the page) with embedded tags, which provide instructions for the structure, appearance, and function of the contents. An HTML document is divided into two major portions: the head and the body. The head contains information about the document, such as its title and â€Å"meta† information describing the contents. The body contains the actual contents of the document (the part that is displayed in the browser window). Notepad is the most basic of simple-text editors. The following example shows the tags that make up the standard skeletal structure of an HTML document: 13 Document Title Contents of Document Common words in HTML: †¢ Tag Used to specify (mark-up) regions of HTML documents for the web browser to interpret. Tags look like this: †¢ Element A complete tag, having an opening and a closing . †¢ Attribute Used to modify the value of the HTML element. Elements will often have multiple attributes. 3. 2 cascading Style Sheet They are a way to control the look and feel of your HTML documents in an organized and efficient manner. With CSS you will be able to: †¢ Add new looks to your old HTML †¢ Completely restyle a web site with only a few changes to your CSS code †¢ Use the style you create on any webpage you wish! A stylesheet can, and should be, completely separate from your HTML documents. CSS selectors are the heart and soul of CSS. They define which HTML elements you are going to be manipulating with CSS code In a typical CSS statement you have the following: †¢ SELECTOR { PROPERTY: VALUE } Property is the CSS element you wish to manipulate and VALUE represents the value of the specified property. The selector name creates a direct relationship with the HTML tag you want to edit. If you wanted to change the way a paragraph tag behaved, the CSS code would look like: †¢ p { PROPERTY: VALUE } 3. 3 ADOBE DREAMWEAVER Originally owned by Micromedia corporation and known as Micromedia Dreamweaver but now owned by Adobe, Dreamweaver is a great tool to help build websites. It is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor that helps you to create html pages visually (without knowing HTML coding). Defining a new site is the first step to creating a website in Dreamweaver CS3. 1. Create a folder in which you will store all your project files. Create an images folder within and transfer all the sliced images to this folder. 2. Open Dreamweaver 3. Define a new site [Site New Site Advanced tab] 4. Fill in your Site Name in the box provided for Site Name. 5. Use the yellow folder icon next to the Local Root Folder box to browse for the project folder you had created. 6. You should be able to see the images folder in your Files panel [Site Files]. Templates If most of the pages in your web site have the same look and feel it is advisable to create a Dreamweaver template. The advantages of creating a dreamweaver template include: †¢ All pages will look consistent †¢ When you want to make changes that effect the layout of the entire site you can simply make the changes to the template and update all the pages automatically 14 The dreamweaver template file has a . dwt extension and will get saved in a folder entitled â€Å"Templates†. To create a dreamweaver template follow these steps: 1. File New 2. Page Type HTML template 3. Layout – select from one of the pre-built layout options and customize it or select and create your own from scratch Css Style Sheets CSS Styles help in consistency and maintenance. It is a good idea to centralize the text styles as much as possible in order to maintain consistency and easy updating. Some of the styles you can centralize in an external css stylesheet include: †¢ H1 tag redefined †¢ H2 tag redefined †¢ p tag redefined †¢ a tag redefined (specifies the look of link) †¢ menu styles †¢ footer text styles To create an external stylesheet follow these steps: 1. File New 2. Page Type CSS 3. Save the file in the website folder. You can name it styles or any appropriate title. It will get saved as a . css file. 15 Once you have created the css file you will need to attach it to the dreamweaver template file. You can do this from the CSS Styles panel [Window CSS Styles]. Click the icon (attach style sheet), select the css file and click OK. You can create new css rules by clicking on the New CSS Rule icon. 16 In the dialog box that appears, If you want to create a custom style which can be applied to any tag: 1. Select the selector type class 2. Name it with a . at the beginning like . heading 3. Define in: styles. css (or the name of your css file) If you want to redefine the look of an existing html tag:: 1. Select the selector type Tag 2. Select the Tag from the drop down menu e. g. h1 3. Define in: styles. css (or the name of your css file) 17 In the dialog box that appears, specify the properties of the style and click ok. Inserting Text Images Once your template layout (with tables or div tags) and css stylesheet is created, you can insert any images (e. g. logo), common menu items, text (e. g. copyright info) etc. that form part of the general look and feel of the site into the template. Inserting Text You can type in text just as you would in any text editing software. You can apply styles to it from the Properties panel. 18 You can also format it with the existing html tags (which you would have redefined in the css file). Inserting Images You can insert images [Insert Image]. You can also position them : 1. Click on the image. 2. Open the Properties Inspector. Select the required alignment from the align drop down menu. You could also set the alignment of the cell/ div tag in which the image will be placed. Server Side Includes (SSI)/ Libraries Server Side Includes (SSI) and Libraries in Dreamweaver help you to centralize areas of your site that are common to many pages. This helps you to easily make site-wide changes to these common areas and thus helps in maintenance and consistency. When you design a website it is better to design it for easy maintenance. As you add pages your menus will change to incorporate that. You might want to change the mast, footer etc. Server Side Includes The advantage with server side includes (SSI) is that when you make a change to an include you dont have to update all the pages that access it. The changes will automatically get reflected in 19 them. You will not have to upload all the pages that use the include every time you make a change, just the include itself. Note: All the html page you create and apply this template to must have the extension . shtml or . shtm. It is useful to create include files for: †¢ header †¢ footer †¢ menus †¢ sub menus To create an include: 1. Copy the part of the page that you would like to make into an include. 2. Create a new html page [File New Blank Page HTML none] 3. Go into the HTML code [View Code] and delete all the default code that Dreamweaver puts in. 4. Go back to design view [View Design ] and paste the code that you had copied previously. 5. Make sure all links in the include file are relative to site root. 6. Finally save this file in an Includes folder. To insert an include into the template: 1. Click where you would like to insert the include 2. Insert Server Side Include. Dreamweaver Library Items If you do not wish to create files with the shtml extension or your server does not support it you can use Dreamweaver Library items for common areas that might be different in different sections e. g. sub menus. However changes to library items will update the files in which they exist and these files will need to be uploaded again. To create a library item: 1. Copy the portion of the template you wish to convert to a library item 2. File New Blank Page Library Item 3. Paste 4. Save with appropriate name Once created, you will need to insert the library item into the template (or later on into a web page). To do so: 1. Window Assets 2. Click the library icon in the Assets Panel 3. Select the appropriate library name 20 4. Click the Insert button at the bottom of the panel Specify Template Editable Regions Dreamweaver templates allow you to specify editable regions. These will be the areas of the template where you will insert content that will differ from page to page. To do this: 1. Put the cursor in the region that you wish to make editable 2. Insert Template Objects Editable Region 3. Give the editable region a name e. g. content. 4. The editable region will appear on the template with a colored outline and the specified name. If you have a library item (e. g. submenu) or banner etc. which will appear in most of the pages but will change in some you can keep the library item in the template, select it and create an editable region around it. So in a new page created with this template the library item will appear by default, however it can be replaced with another one where necessary. 21 Create HTML Pages, Insert Content Forms Once you have your template, css stylesheet and server site includes/ library items ready, you can begin creating the actual pages. To create the HTML/ SHTML pages: 1. File New Page from Template Project Name Template Name Create] 2. Name and save the file into the project folder. Name the homepage index. shtml if using SSI and if your remote hosting server is a UNIX server. If it is a NT server most likely the homepage will need to be named default. shtml. If you are not using SSI, leave the file extensions as . htm. 3. Change the HTML page title to something more appropriate [ Modify Page Properties Title/ Encoding Title] 4. Put in appropriate meta data for the page i. e. keywords and description of the page o Insert HTML Head Tags Keywords o Insert HTML Head Tags Description 5. Type or paste the Heading and content of the page into the appropriate edible region. Apply the styled formatting (e. g. H1 tag or custom style) from the Properties Panel 6. Insert any images/ flash assets etc. into the editable region and and align them o Insert Image o Insert Media Flash 7. Replace any library items/ SSI e. g. sub menus 8. Similarly create all the other HTML/ SHTML pages you need. Forms in Dreamweaver Some pages might require form elements such as the contact us form: Insert Form select the form element of choice. A form must be within a form tag so select Form first, then insert the other form fields like Text field etc. within the form tag that appears. 22 To make a form work you will need a php, asp or cgi script. Linking Pages Once you have created all the pages of your site it is time to link them up using Dreamweaver. You may link them from the menus and from appropriate textual or image content on other pages. To create a link: 1. Select the text/ image you want to link from 2. Click on the yellow folder icon next to the Link field on the Properties panel. 3. In the dialog box that opens, browse for the web page you want to link to and select it. 4. If you are linking to a page from a Server Side Include, ensure that the link is relative to site. 5. Click OK and your link is ready. If you have added links into the Dreamweaver Template or Library item, Dreamweaver will ask you if you want to update all the pages. Preview in Browser File Upload/ FTP Once the site is complete in Dreamweaver you are ready to upload/ FTP the files to your server and go live. Before that however, you should preview the site in various browsers (at least FireFox and Internet Explorer) to make sure it is working all right. Preview in Browser 1. File Preview in Browser select the browser of choice 2. View each page 3. Click on all the links Note: If you use Site Relative paths (as you must in server side includes), the Preview in Browser feature will not work. You will need to test on a web server locally or upload to your remote hosting server and test. Other tools that Dreamweaver provides : †¢ Site Check Links Sitewide †¢ Text Check Spelling Going Live After you have developed and tested your site it is ready to go live. You will need to sign up with a hosting server eg: www. smartwebng. com. Once you sign up with a hosting server you they will provide you with your server details: 23 1. IP address or www. yoursitename. com 2. username 3. password You can use Dreamweaver or any FTP software e. g. Filezilla to upload your files to the remote hosting server. File Upload/ FTP in Dreamweaver To enter your hosting details into Dreamweaver: 1. Fill in these details in the Remote Info Panel of the Site Definition [Files Panel Last in the site name drop down Manage Sites Select the Site Click Edit In the Advanced Tab Click the category Remote Info 2. Access = FTP (from drop down menu) 3. FTP host = enter your site url e. g. www. yoursitename. com 4. Enter your login and password 5. Click Test to check the connection To upload your files into the remote hosting Server: 1. Click the Expand to show local and remote sites icon in the Files Panel 2. In the expanded files panel click the connects to remote host icon. 3. Once you connect you should see the remote folder and files on the left window. 4. To upload your files click the Put Files Arrow icon in the site manager. 24 5. After uploading all the files test the site online using your site url e. g. www. yoursitename. com. 3. 4 ADOBE FIREWORKS Formally Micromedia Fireworks, now Adobe Fireworks. It is the basic application for web based graphics. To begin 1. Open Fireworks and create a new document [File New]. 2. In the dialog box enter the width and height of the layout. I usually design for a width of 780 pixels width. This works well in monitors with 800 x1024 resolution as it leaves 20 pixels for the browser scroll bar. The resolution for the web is 72. You can also choose a background color if your webpage will have a background color. 3. Click OK. 4. Name and Save the document [File Save]. Fireworks files have the extension . png. You can name it layout. png. Insert Images and Text Insert any images that you plan to use [File Import] †¢ Browse for the image file †¢ Select the file †¢ Click the Open button †¢ The cursor will change †¢ Click where you want to place the image on the canvas †¢ The image will be placed there You have many tools to clean up and enhance the image within Fireworks. 25 You can use auto levels to bring out the best in photos [select photo Filter Adjust Color Auto Levels ]. You can also try out the other filters. Fireworks Filters You can undo if youre not happy with it. By default you can undo upto 20 actions in Fireworks. You can increase the number of times you can undo by setting it in {Edit Preferences General Tab Undo Steps]. You can make chages to the images remove backgrounds, resize etc. You can also create vector shapes. Take some time to explore the options provided in the tools palette [Window Tools]. Fireworks Tools Pallette Insert Text 26 Use the text tool to insert text like a sample heading, sample textual content, menu items, byline, sample links, footer ? copyright info etc. Style the text by using the options in the Properties Palette. You can specify the color, font, size etc. You can also add filters, alignments, spacing, leading etc. Creating the Website Layout Once you have put in all the images and text you can rearrange it to create a layout that will be attractive and easy to use. Ensure that the layout has the basic layout elements like logo, byline, navigation, copyright, content area, heading and sub heading styles and link styles. Ensure your layout is something you can recreate in HTML and can be optimized to load fast. Fonts for content should be one of the common fonts that are available on all computers. Arial or Verdana are usually easy to read on the computer. Logo fonts , button fonts and some title can use special fonts and effects but you will need to export all these as images and any change will have to be made within Fireworks and the images exported again. This is therefore more difficult to maintain, so use image text only when absolutely necessary. Icons Design any icons that you will use in your website. HTML Elements You can take a screen shot of other webpages with form fields etc. [Prt Scr key on your computer keyboard] and paste it into your layout to get an idea of how it will look in your layout. Images Resize your images and shape them to work with the rest of the elements of the layout. Flash You can plan in space for any flash animation that you will be using, within your layout. The layers panel is useful when there are many objects and you want to get to something behind. You can click on the eye icon to to hide a particular layer. You can move a layer over another to bring it in front. 27 Layers Panel Once you are satisfied with the layout it is time to slice and export the images that you will be using in the html page. Sample Layout Slice and Export the Images Once you are satisfied with the layout, deside which parts can be recreated within HTML and which parts will need to be exported as slices. Text can usually be recreated in HTML except when it is using some special font that is not commonly available on all computers. 28 Use the slice tool to draw out areas that will be exported as slice. Each slice will appear in the web layer of your layers panel. Give each slice a name which will be the file name of the exported image. If a full image needs to be converted to a slice you can also just select it, right click and select insert rectangular slice. This can be done for mutiple objects too. The slices will apear as green objects on the page. Each slice needs to be optimized to look good and yet have a low file size so that it loads quickly on the web page. This can be done from the Optimize Panel [Windows Optimize]. Optimize Panel Select each slice and optimize it in the Optimize Panel. Image with flat colors are usually better optimized as . gif files while images with many colors like photos are usually better optimized as . jpg files. You can compare the quality and file size of different options by clicking on the Preview, 2-up or 4-up options at the top. Once you have optimized all the slices you can export them into a images folder. 29 30 †¢ Right click each slice and export Export Select Slice †¢ File Export Export: Images Only Slices: Export Slices 3. 5 Swishmax SWiSH Max is a flash creation tool that is commonly used to create interactive and cross-platform movies, animations, and presentations. It is developed and distributed by Swishzone. com Pty Ltd, based in Sydney, Australia. SWiSH Max primarily outputs to the . swf format, which is currently under control of Adobe Systems. SWiSH Max is generally considered to be a simpler and less costly Flash creation tool in comparison with Adobe Flash. SWiSH Max does not support some Adobe Flash features such as ActionScript 3. 0, shape tweens, and bitmap drawing capabilities. It does, however, include general Flash creation features such as vector drawing, motion tweens, and symbol editing. In addition, SWiSH Max incorporates a number of automated effects and transitions, which make building certain Flash elements such as buttons, advanced transition effects, and interactive Flash sites simpler. One drawback of SWiSH Max is its inability to open or save . fla files, which limits exchanges between other programs to final . swf files. The scripting used in SWiSH Max is a variation of ActionScript, commonly known as SWiSH script. SWiSH script contains most ActionScript 2. 0 functionality, including support for ActionScript 2. 0 classes in SWiSH Max 3. SWiSH Max was designed for the Windows operating system and can run on a PC with a Pentium III 300 MHz processor, 64MB RAM, and a monitor capable of 1024768 screen resolution and 16-bit color display. 3. 6 PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language. Much of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java and Perl with a couple of unique PHP-specific features thrown in. The goal of the language is to allow web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly. But simply put, PHP is a powerful, behind the scenes scripting language that your visitors wont see! When someone visits your PHP webpage, your web server processes the PHP code. It then sees which parts it needs to show to visitors(content and pictures) and hides the other stuff(file operations, math calculations, etc. ) then translates your PHP into HTML. After the translation into HTML, it sends the webpage to your visitors web browser. It’s advantages is that PHP will allow you to: †¢ Reduce the time to create large websites. †¢ Create a customized user experience for visitors based on information that you have gathered from them. †¢ Open up thousands of possibilities for online tools. †¢ Allow creation of shopping carts for e-commerce websites. 3. 7 MySQL MySQL is currently the most popular open sourceand relational database server in existence. On top of that, it is very commonly used in conjunction with PHP scripts to create powerful and dynamic server-side applications. 31 MySQL has been criticized in the past for not supporting all the features of other popular and more expensive DataBase Management Systems. However, MySQL continues to improve with each release (currently version 5), and it has become widely popular with individuals and businesses of many different sizes. In a relational structured database there are tables that store data. The columns define which kinds of information will be stored in the table. An individual column must be created for each type of data you wish to store (i. e. Age, Weight, Height). On the other hand, a row contains the actual values for these specified columns. Each row will have 1 value for each and every column. For example a table with columns (Name, Age, Weight-lbs) could have a row with the values (Bob, 65, 165). If all this relational database talk is too co

What Does Mise en Place Mean In A Business Writing Course

What Does Mise en Place Mean In A Business Writing Course â€Å"Mise-en-place is the religion of all good line cooks†¦ As a cook, your station, and its condition, its state of readiness, is an extension of your nervous system†¦ The universe is in order when your station is set.† - Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential If it is time for you to cook up a business report, proposal, or other major document, you might want to take direction from the time-honored system used in restaurant kitchens around the world. Mise en place is a French term that means â€Å"put in place† and describes the way chefs get organized for dinner service in order to produce good food quickly and under great pressure. It involves precise preparation, so that when the work begins, everything and everyone is ready and knows what to do next. Because time, resources, and space are precious in a restaurant kitchen, chefs use this system to make the most of them. Professional chefs call it the â€Å"Meez† and say it is much more than a system. It’s a philosophy, and a state of mind. In a report from National Public Radio’s â€Å"The Salt,† Melissa Gray, a student at the famed Culinary Institute of America says she even knows people who have had mise en place tattooed on their body. â€Å"It really is a way of life†¦ a way of concentrating your mind to only focus on the aspects that you need to be working on at that moment, to kind of rid yourself of distractions.† PRINCIPLES OF MISE EN PLACE Preparation mindset: Chefs have designated workstations. They ensure their knives are always sharpened and tools placed within reach. Before service starts, they review recipes. Then they prep the ingredients, sometimes getting set for a three-hour dinner service with six hours of prep time. If you have a major business writing project coming up, do your mise en place before beginning. Compile the information/statistics you know you will need and create an information mapping system that works for you. Line up the team of people who will be contributing to the project and make sure each person knows their role. Sharpen your business writing skills by taking a business writing course. Plan ahead so that when the deadline approaches, your document is cooking away and almost ready to serve. Working â€Å"clean†: Working clean is a matter of pride to a professional chef, and crucial to ensure that nobody gets sick from their food. Proponents of mise en place keep their work stations picked up, as they go, so there are no dirty pots stacked on the cutting board or vegetable clippings clogging the sink. Working clean on a writing project translates to keeping your work area organized in a concept map or outline and checking in with the team to see if they are meeting deadlines. A document is created with a process. It also includes saving pertinent information (where you know you will find it) for future projects. A good business writer who works in a mise en place manner doesn’t have to start from scratch with each writing project. Slow down to speed up: Proponents of the Meez know that it is better to work in a controlled manner, even if it means slowing service a little bit, than to risk putting out inconsistent, poorly presented dishes. After all, if a diner has a problem with the dish, they might return it, and then it has to be cooked all over again. That’s a big waste of time. The same goes for a business writing project. Rushing through and sending off a document that is not on target, or contains inaccurate information and typos, can result in having to redo the document or even worse- the loss of business. An effectivebusiness writing course with Instructional Solutions will get you prepared for your next project. You will get organized, get cooking on your document and learn to speak the lingo. GET ORGANIZED The majority of business documents follow a recipe of sorts. Readers expect that proposals will have X and reports contain Y. An appropriate business writing course will enable you to write efficiently (spending 30% less time writing), with the goal of getting a positive business response from the document. Most importantly, you will learn to analyze who the target audience for the document is. Too often, documents like business proposals are shaped around what your company offers, instead of what the client needs. That approach is like making a dish from what you have in the fridge, instead of using the ingredients that the recipe calls for. GET COOKING â€Å"No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.† - Julia Child The same is true for great business writers. Make sure you get right into the kitchen and work on one of your writing projects. SPEAK THE LINGO Do you speak chef? Do you know that â€Å"in the weeds† means you are running behind? Just as a professional kitchen has its own language, so does business writing. Learn about language and style to ensure that your document speaks the lingo of its target readers. Instructional Solutions has abusiness writing coursethat will sharpen your writing skills and enable you to produce high quality business documents, no matter how crazy it is in your company kitchen. Contact usto learn more, and bon appà ©tit!