SECTION 5 - Technical Information About This Release

5.1   System and Operational Require-ments

5.1.1   Requirements for a Locally-Installed Application

This application can be locally installed on an end-user workstation and operated without connection to a centralized database or file server.  The application has been developed to operate on Intel x86 based PCs running Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or later operating system. Additionally, installation of a Java run-time environment 1.4.0 or later will be required. To install NADCON on a stand-alone workstation, refer to “Installing NADCON.

 

5.2   Installing NADCON

Installing NADCON can be accomplished by users running a system with the minimum equipment listed in “Requirements for a Locally-Installed Application”.   To install NADCON:

1.    Open the web browser and Navigate to:  http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PC_PROD/NADCON/

2.    Click Launch button.

3.    Check “Always trust content from this publisher” – one time only.

4.    Click the Run button.

Figure 5-1:   File Download screen

 

5.    A NADCON shortcut will be created on the desktop.  It can also be found under Start>Programs>NADCON.

 

5.3   Installing the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

 

 

A Java Runtime Environment MUST be installed on the local workstation.

5.3.1   NADCON Requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

Prior to installing NADCON, it is required that Java Runtime Environment (JRE), minimum version 1.4.0, is installed on the workstation.  Before attempting a download of NADCON, users should check to determine whether or not a JRE is already resident.

Please note that the download/install instructions presented here are for workstations running a Windows XP operating system and using Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser.  Users may encounter other download and installation scenarios, depending on the operating system and browser being used.

Additionally, these download and installation instructions refer to the Sun Microsystems™ website and are current as of 3 October 2006.  Since NADCON has no control over the methods for installing a JRE, it will be important for users to follow the instructions presented on that website, should they differ from those which are presented here.

5.3.2   Checking for Existing JRE Software

  1. Go to the control panel:  click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
  2. If the control panel is displayed in “Category View,” switch to the “Classic” view by clicking the link at the top left portion of the page, under “Control Panel.”

Figure 5-5:   Control Panel screen

  1. Scroll through the list of items and look for “Java.”  If the Java icon () does not exist, go to the next paragraph, entitled “Locating Java using Add or Remove Programs,” below.
  2. Double-click on the item to open the Java Control Panel screen.

Figure 5-6:   Java Control Panel screen

  1. Click the General tab.
  2. Click the About button.

A screen will appear showing the Version information for the currently-installed Java platform.  At a minimum, the version must be at least version 1.4.0.  If it is older than this, remove the JRE software and re-install a more recent version.

Figure 5-7:   About Java (Java Version Information)

5.3.3   Locating Java using Add or Remove Programs

If a Java icon does not show up in the Control Panel screen, Java may still exist on the local workstation.  Use the “Add/Remove Programs” feature to absolutely verify whether or not Java exists on the workstation. 

  1. Go to the control panel:  click Start  > Settings > Control Panel.
  2. Locate “Add Remove Programs” and click the link.  A list of currently-installed programs will appear.
  3. Again, look for items entitled “Java” or “J2SE” or “J2SE Development Kit”, “Java Runtime Environment,” etc.

Figure 5-8:   Add or Remove Programs screen

  1. Once located, click on the item to highlight it.  Then click the “Click here for support information” link.  A message box will appear showing the version information of the Java Product.

Figure 5-9:   Java Support Information screen

  1. If none of the Java products are located, or if the version is older than 1.4.0, then an updated JRE must be installed on the workstation prior to installing NADCON.

5.3.4   Installing the Java Runtime Environment

  1. Go to www.sun.com
  2. Click the “Run Desktop Apps Faster with Java” link, located at the bottom right portion of the screen.  A Free Download screen will appear.
  3. Click the Download Now button.

Figure 5-10:   Java Free Download screen

  1. A Begin Download screen will appear.  Click the Begin Download button.

Figure 5-11:   Java Begin Download screen

  1. Windows XP SP2 users: Check the top of the browser to see if the following message appears:  “This site might require the following ActiveX control: J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 7.”  If so, click on the information bar to enable ActiveX control and continue the Java software installation.

Figure 5-12:   ActiveX Control message

  1. A Security Warning screen will appear.  Click Install to start the installation process.

Figure 5-13:   Internet Explorer Installation Security Warning

  1. The download process will start. During the download, a progress window lets users know the estimated time remaining for the download to finish. The download can take anywhere from a few seconds on a fast Internet connection to half an hour or more on a very slow connection. Once the download is over the installation process will start automatically.
  2. The installer displays a setup-type screen that allows users to choose either a typical or custom setup. Java recommends the “Typical” option as the default selection except in the case of an advanced user who wants more control over the components that will be installed. After ensuring that the “Typical” setup is selected, click the Accept button to continue with the installation.

Figure 5-14:   Java License Agreement

  1. Once the installation is successfully completed, the “Verify Installation” page will appear, instructing users on how to verify the Java version installation.  Close the browser then reopen it.
  2. Go to http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp.  The Verification screen will reload.
  3. Click the Verify Installation button.  Make sure that the version installed is at least version 1.4.0 or later. 

5.3.5   Ensure that the Java bin Directory is in the Path Environment Variable

NOTE: This is a highly specialized activity that can result in system difficulties if performed incorrectly.  If you are at all uncertain about proceeding, contact technical support for your workstation or Java products.  Additionally, these instructions may vary based on your operational platform.

  1. Go to the Control Panel:  click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
  2. If the control panel is displayed in “Category View,” switch to the “Classic” view by clicking the link at the top left portion of the page, under “Control Panel.”
  3. Locate the “System” icon.  Double click the icon to open the System Properties box.
  4. Click on the Advanced tab.
  5. Click on the Environment Variables button.

Figure 5-15:   System Properties screen

  1. On the bottom portion of the screen under System variables, locate the variable named “Path” by scrolling through the list.

Figure 5-16:   Environment Variables screen

  1. Highlight that item and click the Edit button.
  2. Examine that path string to determine if it ‘points’ to c:\program files\java\jre1.5.0_06\bin by moving the cursor back and forth through the string using the ← and → (arrow) keys.  If this path is not in the string, it must be added to the end of the path string.
  3. To do so, go to the end of the string, type a semi-colon (if one does not exist), then type this text string as shown below (or as necessary to correctly reference your java installation “bin” folder):

c:\program files\java\jre1.5.0_06\bin

  1. Click OK to save the change and continue to click the OK buttons until returned to the Control Panel.
  2. Close the Control Panel.

 

5.4   Release Notes

 

5.4.1    New and/or Key Features

NADCON will provide geographic conversion services similar to the previous NADCON application.  The new NADCON application not only maintains existing key features, but also adds several new features and product improvements:

·         Provides a new interface.  This version includes a “user-friendly” interface, making the application easier to use, more intuitive, and therefore less prone to error.  (The command line interface has been eliminated.)

·         Accepts any valid geographic coordinate as long as it falls within a conversion grid.  The new application accepts any valid geographic coordinate.  Previous versions of NADCON would not accept coordinates with east longitude or south latitude; it was written for use only in the northern and western hemispheres.  In the new NADCON, north latitude is positive and south latitude is negative.  For longitude, east is positive and west is negative.  However, shift values will not follow this convention.  A westward shift will be positive to be consistent with previous NADCON versions in which shifts are relative to the positive west value.  Therefore, a shift from 80.0W to 81.0W would be considered a shift of +1 (even though those numbers could be displayed as -80 and -81.)

Figure 5-17:   Graphic Representation of Latitude and Longitude

·         Accepts three formats of coordinate data points:  decimal degrees; degrees/decimal minutes; or degrees/minutes/decimal seconds.

·         Provides a programmable interface:  so that the library of conversion functions is callable from other computer programs.

·         Is compliant with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d) regarding accessibility and usability of software for individuals with disabilities.

·         Provides support for several new datums.  Refer to Available Datum Conversions.

·         Allows user control of conversion grid selection.  The new application performs conversions based on the conversion type selected by the user.  The previous application automatically selected the first set of grids that covered an area that included the input point.  Since some grids overlap, but have very different shifts (i.e. the Pribilof Islands and Alaska), this occasionally resulted in an incorrect conversion grid file selection.

·         Provides datum conversions that are easily extensible:  requiring only the addition of new grids.

·         Supports additional input and output data formats.  “ESRI Shapefile” and “ESRI World File” have been added to the available formats. 

·         Maintains conversion integrity of previously available formats.  The previous NADCON application accepted data input as geographic coordinate points in one of four formats.  The new application numerically reproduces the conversions exactly the same except for the previously noted correction to the handling of the south latitude and west longitude.  The four previously available formats are as follows:

 

-          Single geographic point stated as a latitude/longitude pair in traditional degrees, minutes and seconds. 

-          NGS Horizontal Bluebook format.  See file bluebook.txt.

-          Data files in “Free format 1”.  See file Free Format 1.doc.

-          Data files in “Free format 2”.  See file Free Format 2.doc

 

·         Maintains user flexibility:  can be downloaded and run on a stand-alone workstation or accessed via the web.

·         Maintains and improves reporting.  Consistent with the prior application, the new application produces summary reports for the conversion(s).   Reports produced by NADCON will also have paging, complete with headers and page numbers.  It is important to note that if there is only a single point to be converted the report will print the details of the conversion but not a summary page. This is because the mean and standard deviation are not necessary when there is only one data point. 

 5.4.2   Brief Design Overview

The new application has been developed as a collection of software components which interact to provide the required geographic data point conversions (see Attachment A for definition of terms).  The components will be structured using the “Model, View, Controller” design architecture as described in “"Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object Oriented Software", 1995, by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides.

The core component is a Java Language software library of functional routines which perform the actual computations.  This library represents the “Model” component of the architecture.  A related component implemented as a separate library but still part of the Model will be routines necessary to interact with the underlying operating system platform.  The routines in this library are segregated so that any functions specific to a proprietary platform may be replaced easily in versions of the application deployed to other platforms.  The Model components will be responsible for logical representations of the stored data, serialization to and from physical storage, and implementation of all conversion algorithms.

The “View” and “Controller” components have two distinct implementations.

Implementation 1 consists of routines to present the user interaction when the application is run as a disconnected, locally-installed program on the end user’s standalone workstation.  In this instance, the application will consist of standard display forms, screens and documents to display information to the user and accept user input.  Event handlers and links to the Model (the “Controller” component) will be deployed integrated with the forms components as a single software package.

Implementation 2 will consists of web browser displayable documents and forms as the user interface, and server hosted Java “servlet” and “jsp” components to provide event services and links to the model layer.  This implementation will use stateless server components to reduce server component requirements.  Conversation state will be stored in the browser page and message content.

5.4.3   System Design Diagrams

This diagram represents the overall architecture of the NADCON application:

Figure 5-18:   NADCON Architecture

 

The next diagram presents the major system classes of the core NADCON conversion library and their logical relationship to each other. 

Figure 5-19:   System Classes and Relationships

 

This last diagram presents the module and class structure for the interaction of the Web Based User Interface (UI) with the Library Classes.

Figure 5-20:   Module and Class Structure for Interaction of UI and Library Classes

5.4.4   Software Description

The core conversion library components, the platform specific routines (as much as possible), and the locally-installed user interface/controller logic, have been developed using the Java programming language.  Development and testing will be completed using Java 2 Platform Standard Edition Version 1.5.0.

The user interface of the server based version of the application has been implemented using standard Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).  Development and testing has been completed using HTML version 4.01.  Some limited browser page automations have been implemented using ECMA-262 (JavaScript) Edition 4.  The business rules and event handling code for the server based version have been implemented as Java Servlets and JSPs using Sun J2EE version 1.4.0.  The application has been using the Apache Tomcat Application Server version 5.5.7 and Sun Java System Application Server version 8.1.

5.4.5   Data Flow Diagram

Figure 5-21:   NADCON Data Flow Diagram