News 2006

November / December
Payment | Oracle RAC | WebLogic cluster | AOP For and together with a new client we developed a new and highly innovative product in the field of online payment. The product went live without any problems. Amongst other things we used Oracle RAC cluster, BEA Weblogic Server, Java 5, Tapestry 4, Hibernate 3 and Spring 2. By applying Aspect-oriented Programming in an innovative manner, it is possible to enforce global project design guidelines throughout the whole source tree and across a large team of developers.
UMTS | GSM | visualisation We built a new visualisation solution in the area of UMTS and GSM900/1800 for one of our customers. We provided the customer, the customer service and the service providers with a concise display of the availability of high speed connections.
Processes We supported the selling processes of one of our clients: TNG designed and implemented a means of comparison between the available capacity in a network and the planned/estimated behaviour of business customers.
Java | Rewrite A component within a Tapestry framework at one of our customers visualises a knowledge base for problems and scheduled tasks. New requirements turned out to be difficult to implement, so we re-implemented and extended the component without any problems.
Talk One of our experts, along with a specialist from a client, gave a talk about "Quality Assurance with AspectJ" in the "Arbeitskreis Software Engineering Live" at the Gesellschaft für Informatik, Munich chapter.
Training We gave an instructive course for one of our clients on the OR mapper Hibernate, which lasted several days. In parallel, we developed and implemented a new concept to synchronize the databases of two versions of a SIP switch.
Community As in the last year - TNG supported multiple free software projects and community causes. They include OpenOffice.org e.V. and the "Adventskalender der Süddeutschen Zeitung".
TNG TNG has continued to grow and by the end of the year has more than 30 highly qualified employees.

September / October
Perl | Billing We analysed a large number of billing records for one of our clients. The records differed according to the version of the billing system and the tariff model of the end user. We used Perl to transform these data via complex regular expressions into multiple target formats. The data were then used for automated system tests.
Rational | Mediation | Perl We developed a comprehensive suite of component tests for one of the key companies in the german telecommunications market. We designed and developed a Perl framework to conduct automatic regression tests. The framework works in conjunction with the IBM Rational tool chain, in particular with Requisite Pro and TestManager.
Liferay | OfBiz One of our experts integrated parts of the open source eBusiness framework OfBiz into a JSR168-compatible portlet, which can then be used in a Liferay portal. The integration happens on the presentation layer, doesn't change the existing OfBiz source code and needs no interpretation logic on the portlet side.
EAI | TIBCO We accepted further responsibilities, using the TIBCO software suite, in the area of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) for a large company. We carried out first deployments and analyses.
Web services We conducted a study in which we analysed web services as an integration technology for the eBusiness portal of one of our clients. We evaluated different cost scenarios and then provided precise technical and project-strategical guidance for a step-by-step implementation of the technology.
Java | Oracle We extended the web application that we developed for a multinational corporation. The application can be used to manage critical personal data. It is built on an Oracle database and combines latest Java technologies such as Tapestry 4, Spring 2 and Hibernate 3.2.
Training We conducted a technology day for our employees and clients. Six of our experts gave talks about trends and Best Practices in the software industry and on other selected topics. These included ITIL, elliptic curves, LISP, presentation techniques, the ACEGI security framework and metadata management for large software development projects.

July / August
Study | Java In a cooperation with one of our partner companies, we wrote an extensive technology evaluation study about the Java middleware stacks SAP NetWeaver and IBM WebSphere. The review included the application server, portal server and message broker. In order to be able to make a comparison, we also looked at open source components, particularly JBoss and Apache Geronimo.
Testing We accepted substantial tasks in the areas of component and user acceptance test for a new customer - a B2B service provider for complex communication services. Numerous open source and commercial test tools were evaluated.
Talk One of our experts, along with a professional from an associated company, gave a talk on "Aspect Orientation in Specifications" in the "Arbeitskreis Requirements Engineering" at the Gesellschaft für Informatik, Munich chapter.
Perl | AJAX We extended the large web interface, which visualizes the operation states of several server services for a multinational company. For this a new presentation module with detailed statistics was added, which offered the option of downloading results to an Excel spreadsheet or csv list, which could be generated as the process went. In addition, client-side sorting within the browser was supported.
Hibernate We accepted several extension tasks for a complex Hibernate application, that require a sophisticated staging concept for those data that are subject to a release workflow. The work included a feasibility study into the migration from JEE to .Net/NHibernate.

May / June
Java We accepted a large proportion of the responsibilities for the technical architecture and implementation of an ambitious, large Java project for one of our customers. Even though the technical and time constraints were tough, the development team delivered what they had promised on time. The transaction system went live flawlessly, initially for the American market.
Study We wrote a feasibility report concerning the introduction of a mostly-automated workflow with integrated decision support systems. The decision systems were designed so that they could work semi-autonomously, after they have been trained with large data sets to categorize.
Perl | Workflows Faced with a big, existing web application of a multinational concern, we integrated a new workflow functionality into the application and delivered the first workflow. This was based upon a Perl standard module, which we adapted and extended. Further workflows were defined and are currently being realized.
J2ME We examined the Java Micro Edition toolchain for mobile phones. Then we developed small extensions and workarounds that allow - J2ME's limitations notwithstanding - certain Best Practices to be used, in particular, comfortable unit testing and continuous integration.
Billing We accepted extensive new duties in the areas of project management, administration and the operation of billing systems.
Drupal We designed a migration path in order to import the site into the open-source CMS Drupal for an existing, grown website. The look & feel of the site, including navigation and special cases, were retained. The system was installed remotely via SSH on the customer's servers in New York City.
Java | Agile methods We repeatedly extended the functionality of an existing system landscape, which consisted of seven web applications that we had writen in a component- oriented fashion. Upgrades to Tomcat 5.5, Java 5.0 and Apache Tapestry 4.0 were completed and new GIS components added. A further set of five specialized web applications was implemented on the shared code base. Agile methods, test automation and ongoing refactorings allow the customer to leverage best-of-breed technologies.
Liferay | Prototype We realized a prototype for a bilingual corporate portal based on the JSR-168-compatible portal Liferay. Using an extended single-sign-on concept, it was possible to integrate third-party applications such as Horde/IMP, TWiki and eGroupware. Authentication takes place transparently via a central OpenLDAP.
Java | Oracle We accepted and started the development of a new Java/Oracle server software. It contains complex business rules that allow it to react to key events in large data streams. A particular challenge in this project was the provision of suitable APIs and their integration into the present system landscape.
Oracle We consolidated seven databases and two network dumps into a new database within a production system with an Oracle high availability system. The source data were stored in differing Oracle versions and CSV-formats, some containing differing semantics for individual data fields. Even though no test system was available, the switch to the consolidated database was successful and required zero downtime.
XSLT Last but not least, we took part in a new development project that required in-depth know-how of Apache Cocoon/XSLT.
March / April
Perl | Backup We created a script that verifies the configuration of a multinational corporation's central backup system. The system carries out backups for several thousand servers daily. Backup areas vary for each system and are administrated by different people. The script rapidly scans the backup configurations independent of the underlying operating system. It then determines which parts of the directory hierarchies should be backuped multiple times or not at all. This makes it possible for the affected server administrators to adapt their configurations. The backup software itself does not support this kind of analysis.
SaaS | Prototype We developed a prototype software-as-a-service (SaaS) application based on salesforce.com infrastructure. The Java prototype integrates workflows that are driven both by external events and by regular salesforce.com applications. This demonstrated to our customer that it is possible to leverage salesforce.com as an integration hub for distributed business processes.
Consulting TNG prepared a consulting project for the introduction and implementation of modern automation tools for software development. Using the example of a successful reference project performed by TNG, the ideas were presented to the customer's management, who authorized the entire project.
Algorithms We extended the import filters based on Autocad and text databases so that they could deal with subtle error conditions for a service provider in the business-to-business geometry data area. This includes polygons that optically appear to be closed, but mathematically are not. It also deals with ambiguity introduced by overlapping polygons and by multiple parametrisation. Specialised heuristics allow almost all ambiguity issues to be solved.
Sympa We perform the upgrade of the Sympa-based mailing list system for a customer in New York City. This was done remotely on the company's MacOS X-servers via SSH-access accompanied by simultaneous telephone contact with the administrators. Despite the large number of lists and subscribers, the transatlantic coordination worked flawlessly.
Analysis One of our experts in complex, rule-based billing software assumed new responsibilities as lead analyst for a customer.
Study We evaluated Java-middleware based system architectures. The goal was to satisfy high load and high availability requirements at low prices on a high IT security level. Despite the inherent conflict between these objectives, it was possible to achieve and recommend a reasonable compromise.
Web services We extended the business API and published it as WebServices via Apache Axis 1.2 for an existing web application.
Talk One of our experts gave a talk about the Fit und FitNesse- frameworks for wiki-based acceptance tests for an IT service organisation. We also gave a talk on modern analysis tools at an IT workshop in Cologne, specifically tailored for the insurance industry.
DB | Linux On a firefighting job, one of our system experts analysed the bad performance of the central database of an online service provider. Access patterns were logged to determine usage hotspots. Using ingenious reconfiguration of the Linux-server and database, it was possible to reduce the response times by a factor of nine, which is crucial for the employees.
January / February
Security | BSI We conducted a security audit of the web site and backend systems of a big client. The project was performed with respect to the guidelines provided by the "Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik" (BSI) and is divided into three phases. An external and an internal assessment of possible security holes was followed by an attack day. The attack day was carried out after a thorough risk assessment in cooperation with our client in order to actually exploit the holes and evaluate the potential risks for our client.
Consulting | Distributed Shared Memory We created a Best Practices-map of modern enterprise technologies for a very ambitious web frontend for a new customer. This includes concepts such as distributed shared memory in the style of Tangosol Coherence. For each technology we discussed its benefit for the project, the risks and the required learning curve. Based on the reviewed results, a large internal development team started working, accompanied by a TNG-expert as a coach.
Logistics An automated ordering system that we helped to develop for a logistics company was being evaluated by the representatives of the American mother company. Since the result was positive, it is planned to roll out the system to all its European subsidiaries.
Training As part of the continuous training at TNG, more than ten percent of all consultants are now ITIL-certified.
Perl | Solaris We accepted a myriad of new tasks in the banking sector, among them administration and configuration of Solaris 10-systems and several programming tasks in Perl.
Software engineering In an environment of many heterogeneous development projects, we conducted a study into automated nightly builds. The goals were an increase in software quality together with a reduction of test expenses. A detailed cost/benefit analysis was prepared and reconciled with all stakeholders.