Xcoordination Coordination Space
The Xcoordination Coordination Space is a software library that facilitates the development of software with a high degree of interactions between concurrent software components. Its technological foundation is a shared virtual data space. Communication and synchronization is carried out by simply writing, reading and taking shared, structured, synchronized data, as if they were collections of local data.
Today, the developer must use several and difficult to learn technologies in combination to solve the problem of parallelization and distribution. Different technologies are needed for the communication between threads, between applications on the same computer, on different computers in the LAN/WAN, in the internet and in the cloud. This increases the number of interfaces, the possibility of errors and contributes to the intricacy of the solution.
The Xcoordination Coordination Space provides one single, solid and easy to use architecture model from thread to inter/extra/internet communication.
Today, on-line collaboration (between companies, individuals, software agents, etc.) is complex: it requires either specialized technical expertise (Web Services, remote access), or the use of relaying services provided by 3rd party providers on the web.
The Xcoordination Coordination Space is an easy-to-use infra-structure that allows anybody to create collaborative solutions on the Internet without any participation of a 3rd party or central services.
For example: Reliable and near-time task distribution to personnel equipped with mobile devices (e.g. employees in an insurance company, guard duty personnel, aircraft maintenance personnel, doctors in an emergency situation, fire brigade workers, etc). Workers shall receive the right tasks as soon as they come in. Due to limited connectivity, the possibility to work also in off-line mode must be supported. All results of workers shall be automatically synchronized back to the coordinating site (e.g. the head quarters of the enterprise).
Technical challenges:
- Unsecured export/import of data from the host system at the headquarters
- Inaccurate and faulty transmission between the field staff and the headquarter
- Orders delivered to the staff are not well structured, leading to possible misunderstandings
- Inefficient execution of dynamic tasks, i.e. varying orders of the headquarter
- Time consuming briefing of the field staff concerning the order
- Lack of security concerning the saving of data on the mobile devices of field staff
- Support of different operating system platforms
- Stability of the solution in face of changing and increasing requirements even in a late state of the project so that they do not become "architecture breakers"
- Re-usability of the solution in similar client scenarios ("product line")
The Xcoordination Coordination Space offers the following advantages:
- Drastically reduction of complexity of the technical solution
- Secure allocation of data from the mobile devices of the field force to the headquarters
- Easy and efficient structuring of internal data
- Flawless communication between field force and headquarters
- Server at headquarters is informed immediately and automatically about data changes
- Simple interoperability between .Net and Java platforms
- High abstraction of network and interaction resulting in highly reusable middleware infra-structure components
- High agility of the software architecture (i.e. robustness against changing requirements)
- Easy to understand and maintain solution that allows also new programmers to join the team of developers quickly
Technical valuation of the Xcoordination Coordination Space:
- Support for mobile devices: In case of a PocketPC with Windows Mobile (or Windows CE) this means that the space is compatible with .Net Compact Framework.
- Interoperability between .Net and Java Platforms: To make communication possible between a server that is running Java applications and a PocketPC that is based on .Net Compact Framework, interoperable communication between the Java and the .Net based coordination space is guaranteed.
- Data structures: It is possible to sort data using unique IDs, as well as other properties (e.g. date, location, status, etc.) and find/select data by these properties on the mobile device.
- Notifications in near real time: The mobile device can be informed about new/changed data, as well as the server the other way around.
- Data Replication: For data to be available at any time, data is replicated to the mobile device, allowing working even when there is currently no network connection.
- On/Offline mode for mobile device: Data transmission from the mobile device to the server and vice versa can only take place when there is a connection, and otherwise is delayed until a connection is re-established. By taking into account offline time periods where data sending/receiving functionality is automatically disabled, the energy resources of the mobile device are saved.
- Security: A mobile device can only access data that has been addressed to it, meaning that the server is secured so only certain users/devices can access it. Moreover, data on the mobile device is kept only as long as required in order to reduce the risk of unauthorized data access when a device is lost.
- Simplicity: Accessing data in the space is as easy as accessing an array or hash table.
Commercial valuation of the Xcoordination Coordination Space:
- Reduction of software development risk, time and costs by ca. 30%
- Sustainable economization: A high re-use factor and software architecture agility leads to cost savings that typically very quickly exceed the original investment into development costs by many-times
- Opening of new application and business opportunities in future markets (e.g. Web 2.0, Cloud Computing)
Information:
For more information about the Xcoordination Coordination Space and evaluation versions of it please send email to info@xcoordination.com with subject "Xcoordination Coordination Space Information Request".
Further Web links: