FEDEX CREATES SYSTEM TO TRACK MAINTENANCE AND PERFORMANCE.Internet solutions company Ampersand The ampersand (&) normally means "and" as in Jones & Company. However, in the computer world, it is used in various ways. In Windows, it is used as a code to precede an underlined character. Software, Glendale, Calif., has announced that zeroCode, Ampersand's browser-based development environment that automatically builds Web-based applications from database schemas, was used by FedEx to develop a tracking system, saving the company 94 percent of its development time. FedEx selected zeroCode to create a system to track maintenance records and performance statistics for fleets of various airlines, including Northwest, Delta, United, FedEx and UPS. FedEx will use an existing application to populate To plug in chips or components into a printed circuit board. A fully populated board is one that contains all the devices it can hold. this database with raw information, while the zeroCode-built Web-based application allows all participating companies to view and interact with the data. Using zeroCode, FedEx engineer Richie Bailey spent a total of 51 hours developing the tracking system -- 30 hours of which were spent transforming the existing database from Microsoft Access A database program for Windows, available separately or included in the Microsoft Office suite. Access is programmable using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Access can read Paradox, dBASE and Btrieve files, and using ODBC, Microsoft SQL Server, SYBASE SQL Server and Oracle data. to Oracle and refining the graphical HTML HTML in full HyperText Markup Language Markup language derived from SGML that is used to prepare hypertext documents. Relatively easy for nonprogrammers to master, HTML is the language used for documents on the World Wide Web. front-end. "Using traditional programming tools, this project would've probably taken 800 hours to complete," said Bailey. "4GL tools could have cut that time down to half, possibly; zeroCode took only a little over 50 hours, including training. zeroCode saved me 85 percent to 94 percent of my development time on this project, and helped me quickly and easily design a top-quality, reliable database system." Bailey further elaborated, "This application works out to about 120 function points, which would normally mean a nearly five man-month development effort. With zeroCode, I completed the whole project in just over a man-week, and that includes the learning curve on a product I never touched before." Previously this year, zeroCode won the prestigious Java Developer's Journal "World Class Product" award. The publication deemed zeroCode "a significant step toward the goal of developing applications with minimal handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. code." About Ampersand Ampersand enables its customers to harness the power of technology to build outstanding business solutions. The company constructs e-business enabling systems for its enterprise customers, while providing product co-development services for technology companies. It provides software services that span custom application development, e-business consulting, eCRM & SCM (1) (Software Configuration Management, Source Code Management) See configuration management. (2) See supply chain management. implementation services, mCommerce application development and re-engineering services in communications, distribution, entertainment and health care. For more information, visit http;//www.AmperCorp.com and http://www.zeroCode.com. About FedEx With annual revenues of $20 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including FedEx Express FedEx Express, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is the world's largest cargo airline. It is a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation and delivers packages and freight to more than 220 countries each day[1]. , the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground FedEx Ground is a shipping company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Originally a small regional package shipping company called Roadway Package System (RPS), it was created to be a discount competitor to UPS. , North America's second-largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Freight, a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload freight services; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited, time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade facilitation See also Trade Facilitation and Development. Trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across national borders can be improved to reduce associated cost burdens and maximise efficiency while safeguarding legitimate solutions. For more information, call 818/662-4130. |
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