Purpose of the Software Application Modules and Utilities.

The commercial model of dPId is to provide services to industry, not to sell products, except where those products are an integral part of service provision.  In line with this, it is intended that dPId provides every possible assistance to assist clients use their technology and gain maximum benefit from it.

Overview of Software Modules.

NVTech, A Perfect PC and dPId are all supporters of Open Source Software, seeing it as a means by which by which it is possible, in a cost affordable way, to accelerate the development of less fortunate countries.  It also holds a number of benefits for advanced economies in that it facilitates the sharing of knowledge and therefore the advancement of science and society to the benefit of all.  The software modules that are used by dPId for its customers are all drawn from Open Source.  The preferred operating system is Linux (at present the Ubuntu distribution) and the preferred programming language is Java.  (Even this web-page has been created on Linux using KompoZer!)

Creating Bar Codes for Printing.  

In order for clients to use NU-ERA numbers drawn from the registry, it is necessary there be available to them modules that enable them to easily produce files, in PDF file format, that can be printed.  NU-ERA codes do not have to represented in only a NU-ERA bar code.  Because the bar code reader technology is not yet mature and commercialised, for field trials to determine the benefit of using NU-ERA numbers, DataMatrix bar codes were used to represent these numbers.  This necessitated the creation of software capable of printing DataMatrix bar codes from NU-ERA numbers.

CAFE.

CAFE stands for Common Application Front End.  To learn more about CAFE, click here.  CAFE not only provides a standard for input forms comprising the front end of a database but also consists of a library of software classes to assist programmers to quickly create CAFE-compliant forms.  As such CAFE provides a valuable enabler for potential users of NU-ERA's technology suite.