ECT 433: Survey of Web Programming Technologies

Autumn 2003

Assignment 4

Using ASP

Due Monday November 3 before 11:30pm

Summary

For this assignment, you will use ASP to create yet another currency conversion application. This program accesses the exchange database to obtain the rates. It is simpler than the previous conversion assignment in that it only converts to and from US Dollars.

Set up

Download and study the starter folder for this assignment. This folder contains a demo page that shows basic statements for accessing the exchange database. To run the demo page, you will need to edit the ShowCurrencies.asp file so that the database path points to the database folder in your account (look at the text file in the ftp database folder to find out your path). Then, place the demo page (ShowCurrencies.asp) in your ftp folder and the exchange database in your database folder inside your ftp folder. We will go over this process in class.

You can view the ECT Web page for instructions on how to transfer files to your FTP folder (look under Using Internet Explorer FTP FAQ).

Test to make sure the demo application works. After you transfer your files to your FTP folder, the demo page should appear as http://ectweb.cs.depaul.edu/YourLogin/ShowCurrencies.asp in a Web browser. Please test this as soon as possible.

Requirements

Your Web application should provide the following functionality:

• The application should provide a form that allows the user to specify the amount, a currency and whether the amount is in US Dollars and needs to be converted to the specified currency or whether the amount is in the specified currency and needs to be converted to US Dollars.
• The application should obtain the rates and list of currencies from the Currencies table in the exchange database.
• The application should use the currency abbreviations when summarizing the result.
• Test for any possible invalid amounts. Provide a helpful error message if any invalid amounts are entered.
• The result should be displayed on the same page as the form. The form should also show the values that led to the summarized result.
• Name the starting page Convert.asp.

Always take an incremental approach as you implement your application!

Documentation

For this assignment, create a separate text file that documents the following:

• The presentation layer -- this should describe what the user sees and what controls the user interacts with.
• The control layer -- this describes input and output and what kinds of information is displayed under different conditions.
• The application logic -- this describes how data is obtained and what calculations are performed.

Chapter 10 in Fields, Kolb and Bayern explains these layers. You may only need a paragraph for each of the three layers.

Submission

You should submit a zip file that contains your asp file(s) and documentation text. This may be just two files.

If you are completing this assignment with one other student, make sure both names are commented in all submitted files. Only one submission is needed.