PMComplete™ Architecture

PMComplete Physical View
PMComplete Low-Level Architecture

Technologies Used in the PMComplete Pty Ltd Web Site, PMComplete™ and PMMentor™

The minimum client workstation platform required to run PMComplete™ is:

  1. Personal Computer OR Apple® Macintosh®
  2. 64 MB RAM
  3. Mouse
  4. Keyboard
  5. Display size may be set to any of the standard screen settings.  It will be detected automatically and screen displays are adjusted accordingly.
  6. Disk space requirements are limited to web browser and Adobe® Flash® Player (approximately 150KB) requirements only
  7. All types of printers are supported through the Microsoft® Windows® and the web browser interfaces
  8. All reports are designed to be printed on A4/Letter/Quarto sized paper
  9. Most reports print in portrait mode.  Those reports which print in landscape mode are indicated as such by a landscape icon found in the heading of the report
  10. Microsoft® Internet Explorer (IE) v8.0.6001.18882, v9.0.8112.16421IC (9.0.3) OR Internet Explorer Mobile (IE) v4.01 OR Netscape Communicator v7.1, v7.2 OR Mozilla Firefox™ 3.6.2, 3.6.8, 3.6.11, 3.6.16, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0.1, 7.1, 8.0.1, 10.0 OR Apple® Safari™ 4.0.4 (531.21.10), 5.0.2 (7533.18.5), 5.0.5 (7533.21.1), 5.1.1 (7534.51.22), 5.1.2 (7534.52.7) OR Google Chrome 10.0.648.127, 12.0.742.112, 15.0.874.121m, 16.0.912.77m OR Google Android 3.2.1 web browser software OR BlackBerry 9000 web browser 4.6.0.126.  Note that Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.0 is NOT recommended, because it can timeout at the client workstation end during long jobs.  Usage of Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 is theoretically possible, although has never been tested
  11. Adobe® Flash® Player v8.0, v9.0.16.0 web browser add-in (this automatically loads the first time a chart is displayed if you do not already have it installed) (versions earlier than 8.0 are no longer supported by PMComplete™)
  12. Modem OR equivalent
  13. Telecommunications link to the Internet
  14. E-Mail connection if wanting to e-mail reports from within PMComplete™ or wanting to use the Alert, Escalation, Notification, Reminder and/or WorkFlow features
  15. NetCaptor is NOT recommended, because it looses monitoring of pop-ups
  16. For Microsoft® Internet Explorer, you need to ensure that Tools » Internet Options » Security Tab » Custom Level » Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins » "Enabled".  This is the normal setting.  The only ActiveX control used is Adobe® Flash® Player
  17. The following fonts are required on the client workstation:
    • Arial (fallback: Helvetica)
    • Courier New
    • Monotype Corsiva
    • Tahoma
    • Times New Roman
    • Verdana (fallback: sans-serif)
  18. All of these fonts are standard Microsoft® Windows® fonts
  19. All of these fonts are shipped with PMComplete™ for the extremely rare situation that these were not installed when the client workstation had Microsoft® Windows® installed
  20. All pages render using charset=utf-8
  21. There are some minor differences between how Microsoft® Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator and Mozilla Firefox™ operate when accessing PMComplete™.  Netscape Communicator, Mozilla Firefox™, Google Chrome and Apple® Safari™ will not:
    • Play mouseover clickable object "click" sounds (these can be turned off by a System User-controlled option)
    • Display mouseover clickable object "flip" images
    • Mozilla Firefox™ is far better at printing hard copy than Microsoft® Internet Explorer
  22. PMComplete™ provides explicit fromatting support for tablet computers (eg, iPad and Android).  Specifically:
    • Icons are bigger (to support selecting items with fingers rather than a mouse)
    • Spacing between records on lists is increased (to support selecting records with fingers rather than a mouse)
    • Icons are not pre-cached (to minimise telecommunications line bandwidth and speed up login time)
    • Static toolbar menus are replaced with a menu button (to minimise telecommunications line bandwidth and speed up login time)
    • There are no hover tips (because there is no mouse to do the hovering)
    • Charts are not displayed on iPads (because it does not support Adobe® Flash®)
  23. PMComplete™ takes a progressive enhancement approach to the support and implementation of new and emerging web technologies (eg, rounded corners, shadows and gradients)

There are some minor differences between how Microsoft® Internet Explorer and Microsoft® Internet Explorer Mobile (AKA "Windows® CE") operate when accessing PMComplete™.  These are designed to improve the usage experience on a small screen and are:

FeatureIEIE Mobile
Web SiteFullDoes not display graphics or PMComplete silver bar at top
Web Site In-Page Hot Link ReferencesWork correctlyWork correctly
Web Site PMComplete™ Demonstration, Newsletter and PMMentor™ RegistrationsWork correctlyWork correctly
Record Selection from ListClick anywhere on desired recordClick on special (red) Record Selector button
Language Setting (see below)DynamicFixed (USA)
Foreign Key Record SelectionAjax AutocompleteDrop-Down List
Menu TypeAs defined in "Options and Preferences"Dynamically overrides "Options and Preferences" at sign in time and is set to "2-Frames"
Number of Fields Displayed Across Maintenance ScreensAs defined in "Options and Preferences"Dynamically overrides "Options and Preferences" at sign in time and is set to "1-Up"
Error Message SoundPlayed correctlyPlayed correctly
Click on Checkbox LabelWorks correctlyWorks correctly
Maintenance Screen ButtonsWork correctlyWork correctly
Maintenance Screen Special Operations LinksWork correctlyWork correctly
Maintenance Screen ButtonsWork correctlyWork correctly
Maintenance Screen TabsWork correctlyWork correctly (but take a noticeable time to do so)
Maintenance Screen Foreign Key Pop-Up Displays and Record SelectionsWork correctlyWork correctly
Chart DisplayWork correctlyDoes not display (since required Adobe® Flash® add-in is not supported by the web browser)
Mouse-Over EffectsIcon rollover, playing of clicks and title pop-up tips work correctlySince there is no mouse and no "hover" capability, none of these effects work
Dynamic Screen Toolbar Buttons (eg, All, None, Go, etc)Work correctlyWork correctly
Web browser's Back ButtonWorks correctlyWorks correctly
Fieldsets and LegendsWork correctlyNot displayed
RoadMapsWork correctlyWork correctly but are hard to read
Help DisplaysWork correctlyWork correctly
PMMentor™Works correctlyWorks correctly

Mobile phones do not:

  • Display animations

Tablets do not:

  • Display animations

PMComplete™ uses the web browser's Language setting to dynamically tailor:

  • Spelling (eg, Organisation versus Organization)
  • Venacular (eg, Postal Code versus Zip Code and Mobile versus Cell (phone))
  • Date format (eg, DD/MM/YYYY versus MM/DD/YYYY)
  • Paper size (eg, A4 versus Letter/Quarto)
  • Currency symbol (eg, $, £, etc)

This setting is only detected at sign in time.  If you choose to change it, you should sign out, close your web browser and then re-start.

The minimum server platform required to run PMComplete™ is:

  1. Personal Computer server
  2. 512MB RAM (preferred 4GB on data base server and 4GB on Internet Information Services server) 1GB RAM is better, 4GB RAM is best
  3. 1 GB disk (300MB for initial data base with no data, 700MB for data base expansion, 40MB for application code and 10MB for miscellaneous software (.DLLs, etc))
  4. CD-ROM (for distributing software)
  5. Microsoft® Windows® NT (v5.0) or Microsoft® Windows® 2000 (Professional and Server) or Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional) or Microsoft® Windows® 2003 (Server)
  6. Microsoft® Internet Information Services (IIS)(v5.0, v5.1 or v6.0)
  7. Microsoft® SQL Server™ (MSSQL) (v2008 R2) (NOT SUPPLIED)
  8. Microsoft® Data Access Control (MDAC) 2.8 SP1
  9. PMComplete™ will use 2 data bases sometimes.  You should ensure that your Microsoft® SQL Server™ and/or ASP host CAL licences allow for this
  10. Persits Software ASPEmail (v4.5) (SUPPLIED WITH PMComplete™)
  11. InfoSoft Global FusionCharts (v3.1.1) (SUPPLIED WITH PMComplete™)
  12. Microsoft® XML Core Services (v1.0) (SUPPLIED WITH PMComplete™)
  13. The PMComplete™ data base can be on the same or different server to the application
  14. The module UploadclsUpload.asp is used to perform file uploads from client workstations to servers.  This module does NOT need to be registered on all servers that PMComplete™ may run on (since it is installed as an .asp module)
  15. The .DLL ASPMail.DLL is used to provide an SMTP e-mail interface on the server.  This .DLL needs to be registered on all servers that PMComplete™ may run on
  16. The .DLL MSXML.DLL is used to perform XML parsing on the server.  This .DLL needs to be registered on all servers that PMComplete™ may run on.  This .DLL is supplied with every copy of Microsoft® Internet Explorer and is normally found in the \Windows\System32 folder and is normally already registered

For our technical friends, the following technologies have been used to develop PMComplete™ and this World Wide Web site:

  1. Microsoft® Active Server Pages (ASP) (v3.0)
  2. Microsoft® Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) (v5.0)
  3. Microsoft® Personal Web Server (PWS) (v98)
  4. Microsoft® Personal Web Manager (PWM) (v2000)(svc2)
  5. Microsoft® ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) (v2.5)
  6. Microsoft® OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers (ODBC32.DLL)(v3.520.7430.0)
  7. Microsoft® Collaboration Data Objects (CDO.DLL) (v1.21)
  8. Mail Application Program Interface (MAPI) (32-bit)
  9. Microsoft® Visual Basic (VB) (v6.0)
  10. Java Scripting Language (JavaScript)
  11. Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML5)
  12. Extended Hyper Text Markup Language (XHTML) (v1.0)
  13. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS3)
  14. Microsoft® Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language (DHTML)
  15. eXtensible Markup Langauage (XML) (v1.0)
  16. Data Storage Name (DSN)
  17. UltraEdit-32 (v7.10a)
  18. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Text type
  19. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Audio type
  20. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Doc type
  21. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) PPT type
  22. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) XLS type
  23. Microsoft® Windows® Help (v98)
  24. Microsoft® HTML Help Authoring Workshop (v4.73.8302.0)
  25. Microsoft® Help Compiler (v3.10.505)
  26. Structured Query Language (SQL)
  27. Microsoft® Word (v6.0 and v2007)
  28. Funnel Web Profiler (v1.0)
  29. Microsoft® Paint (v6.0 Build 6001 SP1)
  30. GlobalSCAPE CuteFTP (5.0.3 XP Build 53.1.7.1)
  31. Corel® Paint Shop Pro® (v7.04)
  32. GLTC Technology used throughout
  33. DeepMetrix LiveStats XSP (v6.2)
  34. Microsoft® Windows® 2000 (Professional)
  35. Microsoft® Windows® XP (Professional SP1)
  36. Microsoft® Windows® Vista (Ultimate SP1)
  37. MindJet MindManager Smart (v2.1.3)
  38. Asynchronous JavaScript And XML (AJAX)
  39. Prototype Framework (v1.4.0)
  40. script.aculo.us (v1.6.4)
  41. Rico (v1.1.2)
  42. ClustrMaps
  43. Microsoft® Visio® 2003 SP3
  44. Dojo (Release 1.6.1)
  45. Deluxe Menu (version 3.15)
  46. MYOB® (Premier for Windows® Australia Release Version 12.5.0F)
  47. EJS TreeGrid v7.0
  48. vCard version 3.0
  49. vCalendar version 2.0

The following technical issues may be of interest:

  1. PMComplete™ doesn't use cookies
  2. There are no .DLL's downloaded to client workstations
  3. Nothing needs to be pre-installed on the client workstation except for the web browser software
  4. No Microsoft® Windows® system components are modified on the client workstation
  5. PMComplete™ is as "Thin Client" as you can get.  It is sometimes referred to as "Zero Client"
  6. PMComplete™ doesn't use the Session object to remember session or application state
  7. A data base is used for session and application state persistence
  8. There are no restrictions in running PMComplete™ from a server farm
  9. Frames are used for defining separate screen scrolling regions
  10. The PMComplete™ data base consists of over 440 tables
  11. You can set up PMComplete™ to run using SSL/Certificates.  This may be using your own signed certificate or one provided by an external Certificate Authority (CA)

The following performance information may be of interest:

  1. The web page with the largest amount of data that is down loaded is the Options and Preferences page
  2. The Options and Preferences page is approximately 100KB
  3. The largest image or sound file downloaded during normal operation is 3KB
  4. The largest image file downloaded during tutorials and RoadMaps is 76 KB
  5. The normal response time that you can expect is less than 3 seconds
  6. PMComplete™ is a low transaction volume application.  Network bandwidth usage requirements are low.  System CPU will be high when processing transactions.  Disk I/O is generally low
  7. Peak transaction processing time on the server is normally Monday mornings when staff are entering their timesheets for the previous week
  8. If you configure "Rich Client" functionality, then maintenance screens will be slower (and will be FAR slower in older web browsers (eg, earlier than Microsoft® Internet Explorer (IE) 8.00 and Mozilla Firefox™ 3.1)

The following are areas where Rich Client (AKA "Rich Internet Application (RIA)") functionality is deployed:

  1. Autocomplete fields
  2. TextArea fields
  3. Date fields
  4. "None and All" check box field selection buttons
  5. Project's Financial Spreadsheet's fixing of headers and left columns from scrolling
  6. Telephone number lookup
  7. Menus
  8. Personal Calendar Dynamic dashboard Agent
  9. "Make Same" button on Add a Business Card

The following information is about external hosting (Application Service Provider) support:

  1. PMComplete™ can be hosted on behalf of other organisations (eg, by ASPs providing Software as a Service (SaaS))
  2. Explicit support is provided for ASPs and SaaS
  3. Bulk provisioning allows for mass take-up of new System Users
  4. Multiple instances of the application on the one server
  5. Multiple instances of the data base on the one server
  6. Security control over system administration functionality
  7. No automatic linking to a "higher" web page
  8. No automatic resolution of e-mail addresses from Microsoft® Exchange Server
  9. Smaller sound files used on error messages
  10. Support for a generic e-mail SMTP service interface
  11. No checking of PMComplete™ licence expiry date
  12. No checking for exceeding of maximum number of active System Users

PMComplete™ is hosted for PMComplete Pty Ltd by:


Mort Bay Communications Pty Ltd
E-Mail: sales@mbcomms.net.au
Site: www.mbcomms.net.au
Telephone: (+61) (2) 9559 2629
Facsimile: (+61) (2) 9559 4955
Snail Mail: PO Box H159
Hurlstone Park
NSW 2193 Australia

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