Club Demo Membership Access System

Flying Club Membership Access

Introduction

The Flying Club membership access system provides a simple demonstration of a client/server application with a Java client communicating with a server using an object database for storage. Communications between the client and server uses a TCP/IP socket connection and transports entire objects between the two. Because both the client and server are written entirely in Java they will run on any of the usual platforms - Solaris, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, etc..

The system is designed to allow members to view and update their own information as well as seeing the basic information about the club executives such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. In addition, members who are willing to share their information with other members can view the information on file for those other members.

Installation

To use the Club Demo systems the Sun Java^TM Virtual Machine, sometimes referred to as the Java Run Time Environment (JRE), version 1.6 or better must be installed. Most computers, from cell phones to servers, have Java installed and nothing extra is required.

All you need to do is click here to install and run the Club Demo system¹.

To check that you have an appropriate version, a simple check is available that will see what version is installed and if it is suitable.
Alternatively open a console window and type

java -version

and press Enter. If it returns something starting with java version "1.6. then an appropriate version of Java is installed.

The latest version can be downloaded from the Sun Microsystems web site at http://www.java.com . Follow the instructions on that page to download and install the Java Virtual Machine.
Note if you are behind a firewall that firewall must be configured to allow return traffic on port 7006 - the Club Demo client communicates with the server on socket 7006. Most firewalls are configured to allow return traffic on any port the client initiated the traffic but sometimes a firewall administrator will configure their firewall to block all but specific ports. If you cannot connect to the server check with your network administrator...-:).

Once you have run the system once, it is automatically installed and updated by Java Web Start, you do not even need to open this web page again, you can run the membership system from Java Web Start and/or have Java Web put a short cut on your desk top.

1. If your browser is not configured to run Java Web Start when it encounters a .jnlp (Java Network Load Protocol) file then you will see the raw XML displayed rather than the application being launched. If this happens open a console window and type (or copy and paste):

javaws http://www.jcst.com/ClubDemo/ClubDemo.jnlp

and press Enter.

Using the System

The first time you start the system you will get the security warning that you must acknowledge and then you will be into the system.

Check the Always trust content from this publisher box to avoid seeing this warning every time you run the system.

Choose Run to continue. This is will allow the application to write output to your local disc.

The log in window is displayed:

To connect to the server, enter the membership number 1003, a password of guest and press Connect to connect to the server and start the Flying Club Membership Demo system.

When you are finished and then press Disconnect before closing the window.

Things to note:

multiple windows - you can have multiple windows open at once. You do not, for example, have to close one membership detail before opening another. In fact you can open as many windows as you like until either you or your computer run out of memory.

export to spreadsheet - lists can be exported to a spreadsheet file and the spreadsheet process, Excel, OpenOffice, etc. - launched automatically with the file. Press the Export button where it appears and choose a format the ends in ".xls".

remembers last position - When you move or resize a window the system remembers the last size and position when you close it. The next time you open the window it will be restored to that size and returned to that position.

e-mail linkage - In a screen that has an e-mail address you can send mail to the person with that address. To send mail to an e-mail address displayed on a screen simply right click on the e-mail address and your mail process will be launched with the selected e-mail address in the "To:" field and "[ClubDemo]" in the "Subject:" field.

text markup - type something into the comments field in a membership detail. Highlight some or all of the text and right click. Chose a text enhancement from the popup menu.

automatic updates - It's not immediately obvious but updates to the application are handled automatically by Java Web Start. If new software has been installed on the server this is detected and the new software automatically downloaded and installed. This gives excellent control over the whole update process.

Flying Club Membership System

developed at
and hosted by

Prepared: June 16, 2004

Modified March 16, 2009