Artem Artemov
Master of DonNTU Artem Artemov

Faculty: Computer Science and Technology

Department: Computer Engineering

Speciality: System Programming

Subject of master work: Research and development content management system

The scientific adviser: Anoprienko Aleksandr Yakovlevich

Abstract

  1. Purpose and objectives of the study
  2. Background
  3. Alleged scientific novelty
  4. Alleged practical value
  5. A review of research and development on the subject
  6. Problem Research
  7. Description of the assembly shop
  8. Proposed changes and additions to Prestashop
  9. Conclusion
  10. References

The purpose and objectives of this study

Objective: To study and improvement of site management on the example of modification of the standard distribution e-commerce system Prestashop [1] with its subsequent refinement to create a rapidly developing a software package for build an online store with adapted for the conditions of the Ukrainian state parameters, modules, settings, and modify the code system. The resulting system will have a minimum server requirements and level of programming knowledge at the end user. The result will be easy to use online store, which will relieve the user from the technical tasks of the plan and will fully focus on your business.

The result

thesis may also serve as a prototype for building SaaS -making.

The objectives of:

Background

In recent years, growing worldwide trend to computerization of all aspects of human life. This trend has also affected the e-commerce. Now the realities of a dynamic and constantly changing world, the relevance of information is very important. This greatly contributed to the huge push to move the sphere of trade and business in the real world of the Internet. Also, the dynamic growth of the industry and youth vividly illustrates the fact that in many countries, legislative regulation of commerce in the network is either absent or nahodidsya in its infancy. On the other hand separate the regulation of commercial activity on the Internet shows how important is this issue even for the States.

As aptly Alvin Toffler: "The world, which occurs at high speed from the collision of new values ​​and technologies, new geopolitical relationships, new life styles and ways of switching requires completely new ideas and analogies, classifications and concepts» [2] There is a demand for IT-products to address the technical side of business problems, which leads to a single direction in the industry: e-commerce solutions. Worldwide, there are many companies that develop software products. But to meet all the requirements of the business in this booming area is not easy. Therefore, in constant need of new systems development sales, management, logistics and other systems as well as refinement and modification of existing ones.

Alleged scientific novelty

Creating a distribution online store includes a deep study of e-commerce on the Internet, the adaptation of business processes within the system: product placement, purchase, refund the payments, logistics and communications between users and owners of the store. Also question the store with the rapid deployment of autoconfiguration mechanism requires a study of the optimal data modification and development of a software package for solving this problem. This mechanism is a simplified prototype to build a SaaS-systems that have yet to gain momentum in the field of electronic commerce. For the development and modification of the system will be offered a new and effective way to deploy the system on a Web server.

Alleged practical value

As is evident from the reviews Yandex [3] and resource watcher.com.ua [4] , a large presence in Ukraine, the demand for online stores. In turn, this contributes to the constant emergence of new trade offices and online stores on the internet. But for the start of business on the Internet are still required considerable initial financial investment, because adapted boxed solutions (1C-Bitrix, UMI.CMS) very expensive, and the free analogs require larger improvements before launch. Therefore, the need for such software product is very high.

A review of research and development on the subject

Similar solutions in e-commerce offering mostly large companies, which often are not free. The basic and widely known software products include Magento, Prestashop, 1C-Bitrix, UMI.CMS. All of them offer functionality for an online store, but they differ on a basic set of functions of the threshold entry for users and developers, costs and requirements to the web server.

Bitrix focused on corporate web sites, information and reference portals, social networks, e-commerce sites, media, suitable for creating other types of web resources. For data storage site used by the server filesystem and a relational DBMS. Supported databases: MySQL, Oracle, MS SQL. The product runs on Microsoft Windows and UNIX-like platforms including Linux.

of the benefits, we note the Quick Setup Wizard to create a site that allows you to quickly deploy a ready-to-work settings, as well as the presence in the Admin Panel to respond flexibly manage the site. But there are also disadvantages: the system paid for the construction and editing of e-business solutions is a lot of money, as well as user training is required with all capabilities of the system, as adminpanel difficult enough inexperienced user. Also, the appearance of refinement or functional treatment requires a specialist. System exhibits a number of requirements to a web server, so you need to pick up enough powerful hosting package.

UMI.CMS - commercial content management system (CMS), written in the programming language PHP. Created in 2004, a team of Russian developers' Yumisoft. " In the mass went on sale in 2007. There is a free and commercial versions. On the basis of UMI.CMS are sites of various themes and sizes, websites, business cards, catalogs, online stores. UMI.CMS requires little system resources. It is efficient on a shared host. Cross-platform. Uses the DBMS MySQL. Allows you to use other data sources. Supports dynamic load changes AJAX. Main feature of the ideological UMI.CMS - user-friendly interface. For example, supported the restructuring of the site using drag & drop. The latest version is used way to edit the page's content and features pages on the site without going to the administrative interface and dialog boxes. In UMI.CMS use behavioral technology. The system allows you to track how visitors move through the site, to customize advertising customized for each user. UMI.CMS uses the standard XSLT-template or template inside the system. To communicate with the database used by managed object model is built on top of CMS.

UMI.CMS in some respects similar to the Bitrix, because both systems are focused on developing standards-based solutions with minimal modifications. And a license to use the code provided for a fee. Deep revision of the system is very difficult for developers and requires a deep knowledge of system architecture.

Magento, unlike the above systems, provides a fully functional free version for use in their projects with open source. According to Alexa, Magento - the most popular management system with e-shops in the world in February 2011 for the user is invited to a really great set of features to build an online store. But it is also a disadvantage in the sense that the complexity of developing a Magento is very high because of the advanced architecture of the system. Therefore, the choice in favor of this system is worth doing only if a sufficiently large projects or standard solutions that require minimal revision.

Prestashop is an optimal solution for the construction of small and medium sites both in deployment speed and handling, and ease of operation for a sufficient simplicity of the system. In addition, this system is free and is actively developing the developers and the community. What makes Prestashop optimal system to achieve the objectives of the Master.

Problem Research

Traditional methods of installation and configuration of e-commerce systems provide only a limited set of basic configuration and subsequent configuration management requires specific skills particular system. To speed up the time of installation to a full run (not counting the set of templates) to investigate the optimal deployment mechanism on the server and a set of modules installed and configured to store and allow the user to select the initial settings (options package settings). Investigation of efficient and effective way to address this issue will implement the software, add-on Prestashop, which will facilitate end-users use the system, and developers to save time on basic deployment of the project and concentrate on implementing the technical objectives of the project.

Description of the assembly shop

Deployment process based on a standard installation script and will be held in 8 steps and is divided into functional blocks are:

  1. Download the server distro
  2. Opening a browser and start the installation wizard of the initial configuration of the server to start the installation process.
  3. Deploy file system structure. Copying files and additional modules in the system.
  4. Formation of the structure of the database and fill the initial data needed for the job, as well as examples to test the store out of the box.
  5. Use of additional revisions by default, developed during the writing of master's work
  6. Starting additional configuration wizard and enter additional parameters.
  7. Installing modules. Implement the changes.
  8. Completion of the installation process. Displaying guidance for further action to start working with a store, tips and links to useful resources and user guides.

Visually step process is illustrated in Figure 1.

Illustration of installation process Figure 1. The process of deploying the system
7 frames. Delay: after the first frame = 3.1 sec after the other frames = 3 second.
The number of repetitions of an animation = 3. The size of the animation: 628px х 358px.
File Size: 46.5 Kbytes. Created by Adobe Photoshop CS 5

The whole process is very simple for the end user and should not take more than an hour, including downloading to the server distribution. This can make even a person without special skills in programming and administration of websites.

Proposed amendments in Prestashop

expected that you will create an additional script to add and modify data in the basic setup of such data, as transfers, system settings, delivery services, rates, delivery services, the rules for validating addresses adaptation of reporting requirements under the Letter of users. Also to be included in the installation of a set of modules to improve and enhance functionality. No additional payment systems will not be able to accept payments. It is also expected to add several modules to improve the products: crossselling, sorting in categories, additional units, products, work with other discounts.

An important observation is that the changes will be minimal to touch the core system and affect the mechanism built into the system updates to new versions, therefore, in-process research and development should pay particular attention to changes in the system kernel, and if necessary use the mechanisms override the base classes, which are well described in the relevant article master's of library site.

Basic template for the site should be possible to adapt to the needs of most shop owners. You will need to implement:

To better understand the Deployment Wizard a user site will be added step by step instructions and a brief user's manual with the presence of links to the full documentation on interesting moments in the system.

Conclusion

Specificity ready-made solutions to the problem of existing software products is that the most convenient are not free. And now on the free analogues little attention to this matter, as the master of the initial configuration of Web sites. Therefore, study of existing mechanisms and develop new, not only will perform tasks on the basis of Prestashop, but will implement the mechanisms described for other popular software products. In the future, this technology can serve as a prototype for building SaaS-service for online retailers.

References

  1. Official Website e-commerce cms Prestashop
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://www.prestashop.com
  2. Toffler A. The Third Wave: Trans. from English. / .- M. A. Toffler: OOO "AST publishing house," 2002.-776p.
  3. Surveys Yandex: online stores
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://clubs.ya.ru/yandex-ua/replies.xml?item_no=1624
  4. 8.5% Ukrainian shopping in online stores (research GfK)
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://watcher.com.ua/2011/11/04/8-5-ukrayintsiv-zdiysnyuyut-pokupky-v-internet-mahazynah-doslidzhennya-gfk/
  5. Electronic Encyclopedia, article "Electronic Commerce"
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AD%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F
  6. Lau, S Q.: Domain Analysis of E-Commerce Systems Using Feature-Based Model Templates, 2006
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://gp.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/2006-lau-domain-analysis-of-e-commerce-systems-using-feature-based-model-templates.pdf
  7. Czarnecki, K., M. Antkiewicz, and C H P. Kim: Multi-level customization in application engineering, 2006
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://gp.uwaterloo.ca/sites/default/files/cacm06.pdf
  8. K. Bauknecht, S.K. Madria, and G. Pernul (Eds.): EC-Web 2001, LNCS 2115, pp. 81-90, 2001.
    © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2001
  9. Prasad B. Intelligent Techniques For E-commerce. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol.4, No.2, 2003, 65 - 71.
  10. Mihaela ROTARU, Comparative Analysis of Free E-Commerce Platforms. Journal of Applied Collaborative Systems, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2010, 97 - 112.
    [an electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://jacs.ro/2010-Volume02/number04/paper008-fullpaper.pdf
Copyright © 2011, Master of DonNTU Artem Artemov