Friday 10 May 2013

What is ASP.NET? -Top 9 Advantages of ASP.NET

When choosing a programming framework to build our own website, the most important things which you should keep in mind are the benefits the framework brings in terms of security and scalability, the support it offers and the reliability it offers in terms of its community of developers. And ASP.NET framework incorporates of these and has a keen eye for precise performance. It is known as Active server pages which is the advanced version of ASP. This framework is responsible for web application development supporting inheritance, polymorphism and other standard OOP features. With the help of this open-source framework, developers build robust applications using DLL class libraries and other latest features of the web server.

Hence it does not come as a surprise that ASP.NET powers thousands of applications which are used world-wide. Be it a small business website or be it a mammoth backbone application for any large enterprise being used across geographies and accessed over distributed device network, ASP.NET powers them all. Since it provides all the features you could possibly require, you could build dynamic web applications which are easy to envision, create and maintain.

Let us look at the top 9 advantages which make ASP.NET the most sought after technology amongst programmers and why customers want .NET application development done.

Greater Speed: ASP.Net can build websites quicker by making use of richer controls which can create calendars, wizards, grids on the fly.

Higher Scalability: ASP.Net has some great scalability features built into it, including maintaining session state across servers and multi-processor load balancing, thus building interactive and scalable products.

Code Less: It is complemented by a rich toolbox and designer in the Visual Studio integrated development environment. It has some easy ways of deploying applications like WYSIWYG editing, drag-and-drop server controls. This powerful tool provides automatic deployment by making use of its advanced features. ASP.NET uses the multi-language abilities of the .NET Common Language Runtime, allowing Web pages to be coded in VB.NET, C#, J#, Delphi.NET, Chrome, etc.

Efficiency of web server: The web server continuously monitors the pages, components and applications running on it. If it notices any memory leaks, infinite loops, other illegal activities, it immediately destroys those activities and restarts itself.

User Authentication: ASP.Net supports forms-based user authentication, including cookie management and automatic redirection of unauthorized logins. ASP.Net allows for user accounts and roles thus providing a high degree of granularity for controlling access to objects and pages.

Object and Page Caching: ASP.Net objects and pages can be cached to dramatically increase performance. The caching system is very advanced, allowing you to specify what needs to be cached and what doesn’t and when to recall the cached information rather than perform a new request. Thus making it easier for the programmers.

Open Source: Its vision is to create a best practice architectural framework, leveraging the ASP.NET MVC framework with NHibernate and whole other Open Source libraries. All processes are carefully controlled and managed by ASP.NET, so that if the process is dead, the new process can be created in its place, which helps to keep your application constantly available to handle requests.

Enhanced Reliability: ASP.NET automatically detects and recovers from errors such as dead locks and memory leaks to ensure that your application is always available. For example, when a memory leak is detected, ASP.NET automatically starts up a new copy of the ASP.NET worker process and directs all new requests to the new process. Memory Leak, Dead Lock and Crash Protection are all controlled by this platform.

Security: The data-validation and authentication is well executed under ASP .NET framework. Using .NET inheritance, base classes can be developed which can serve the authentication purpose before displaying the information to a user. One can customize the page information regarding what the current user is entitled to view. If any page’s displayable data is not secure, that information can be secured by content encoding in ASP .NET framework. ASP .NET does a better performance by early binding and compilation, native optimization and catching facility which decrease security risks.

All smartphone apps and modern web apps are built in ASP.Net as it has many interesting application features, functionalities which are easier to use. It has gained a steady market due to its mass acceptance among corporate houses for providing reliable, customized solutions with custom web application development. Upgrading to ASP .NET will help us build richer and interactive applications. Therefore in the coming years it will give us more secure and versatile online applications dominating the web in a smarter way and helping our business to grow.

We provide .Net development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert asp.net developer, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Thursday 9 May 2013

Load Testing: The Ultimate Way to Control the Queue

As the current trend goes, developers are into the habit of releasing brand new mobile apps with an aim to generate a queue for the users before a comprehensive support system can be built up for their app to fix evident issues. From the usability point of view, implementing a queue is indeed a great idea. It generates a lot of excitement within your users and also succeeds in adding that exclusivity factor to an application while the developer can deal with the scalability concerns in parallel.

However, let’s have a look at the other side of the coin. Having a queue may indeed be exciting for a few days but making users wait for the applications while the issues are being sorted out may prove to be a very risky bet for the developer or application owner, particularly when the switching cost for a user is very low. This gives a lot of scope to the impatient user to cross out your application and switch over to the subsequent one, without even getting the chance to appreciate the quality of your application.

There is off course a brilliant way to reduce this risk factor, and that’s where Load Testing comes in. It is the process of subjecting your system to high load and participation and evaluating the response. So, before making your application/app public, try to figure out the application’s performance against peak load conditions, maximum anticipated load. This will help you understand whether all the systems will synchronize in the proper manner and manage the burden of the entire user base.

Significance of Load Testing Services The fundamental goal of Load Testing is to make sure than an application will register a good performance, in the production stage itself. With the help of load testing, you will be able to find out whether you application will cease to function or function inappropriately under heavy load and if the application is sturdy enough to fulfill the pre-determined performance levels. Moreover, load testing also gives a fair idea as to the number of users the website or application can simultaneously handle.


Some of the common performance issues that applications may face are the following:

  • Issues related to software configuration (for database, web server, load balancers and so on)
  • Problems arising from improper network configuration
  • Imperfect software code
  • Inadequate hardware assets


The sole means to identify these performance setbacks at the production stage is load testing, i.e., simulating a plethora of concurrent users. It also has a positive impact on the company’s Return on Investment by reducing the financial cost arising out of service interruptions and poor performance.

Generally speaking, this type of testing is most applicable to multiple-user systems, usually those operating on a client-server model, like web servers. But load testing can also be done for other software systems. For instance, you can always verify whether a financial package is suitable enough to process years of data and create a report accordingly or if a word processor can read an exceptionally bulky document. Things to consider while Load Testing

  • The following things need to be considered in order to ensure that your load testing is successful:
  • The load goals should be clearly defined and measurable in terms of relevant parameters like requests per second, concurrent users, etc.
  • Specify the goals based on real-time scenarios. For example, when you are setting the load goals in terms of number of concurrent users, specify according to the expected number within a particular time span.
  • In case your application is brand new and there are no previous or specified server logs, take help from those involved in the company’s promotional activities and decide the peak.
  • Set the response time based on the user acceptance quotient.


Load Testing is the ultimate means to identify the shortcomings in your website or application before launching, to ensure that even the user who is the earliest in the queue, is not facing any performance setbacks. In the long run, this will help you rise above the low ratings and unfavorable reviews, and make your application seamlessly sail through.

We provide software performance testing services. Our certified load testers can help increase the robustness of your application. To know more how, please visit Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

How Often Are Doctors Switching From One EHR System To Another?

Similar to other professionals, doctors and medical practitioners also have to store, manage and process a huge amount of information and data. The medical information also needs to be organized based on certain grades and specific structuring. So many doctors, nowadays, use specially designed electronic database systems to access and process a variety of medical information smoothly. The electronic health records (EHRs) are used by large number of doctors to manage the electronic health information about a specific patient or certain groups.

As per the ISO/TR 20514 definition, EHR can be defined as, “Collection of computerized information referring to the health state of a certain subject stored and transmitted in complete safety, accessible to any authorized user. It has a logic pattern for information organization implemented, universally accepted and independent from the system. Its main aim is to assure continuous, efficiently and quality integrated health services along with retrospective and prospective information “.

So EHRs can be used to store, access and share a variety of medical data including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal stats like age and weight, and billing information. The complex nature and constantly increasing volume of medical data encourage many companies to upgrade EHR by incorporating more advanced features and customized functionality. These features make it easier for a doctor to share a patient’s digital medical information across different healthcare settings.

At the annual conference of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society held at New Orleans in March 2013, the results of a survey conducted by American EHR was presented, which highlighted that doctors frequently switch from one EHR to another to achieve certain objectives. According to AmedNews, “A survey by AmericanEHR Partners of 4,279 clinicians, including primary care physicians, specialists and diagnostic professionals, found that user satisfaction declined from 39% in 2010 to 27% in 2012. The rate of those “very dissatisfied” increased from 11% to 21% during the same period.“ What Makes a Doctor Switch from One EHR to Another
Easy-to-Use Features:
The medical information of a patient is accessed by several professionals. Along with the physician, the digital media data is also accessed by the dietitian, nurse and other staff. As the technical knowledge and skills vary from one professional to another, most doctors look for EHRs that can be easily used by their staff. So many doctors choose EHRs that comes with a set of simple and easy-to-use features. These features further allow them to train the new staff without putting any extra effort.

Option to Access Information Anytime:
Similar to other users, a doctor also looks for option to access the medical information of a patient anytime, anywhere. Many doctors even look for fast and convenient options to share the medical data. So many doctors replace their conventional EHRs with the advanced systems that allow them to access and share the information over internet. Many companies have launched Cloud based EHRs to enable doctors to store all medical data in a centralized location, and access these at their own pace and convenience.

Integrating Data from Various Sources:
Each doctor wants to provide the best healthcare service to his patients. So, doctors often consult with external physicians and specialists to choose the most effective treatment for his client. As the choice of EHRs varies from one doctor to another, many professionals look for systems that can collect medical information from several data sources. Also, the EHR must be compatible with multiple devices, so that the doctor can easily access and evaluate a specific patient’s medical report.

Installation and Operational Expenses:
As the doctors are not sure about using an EHR for a longer period of time, they often avoid the expensive systems. Along with buying and installing the healthcare system, a doctor also has to put some amount of time and efforts in training other physicians, dietitians and nurses. So many doctors prefer investing in inexpensive EHRs to make it reduce their operational expenses. Also, the inexpensive EHRs make it easier for them to switch to avail additional benefits by switching to a more advanced system.

Some companies upgrade their EHRs frequently to overcome the common problems faced by users. The recent reports will compel many companies to standardize medical data processing, so that a doctor can change his existing EHR in a smooth and hassle-free way. And that is when need for healthcare software maintenance is felt.

We provide clinical software development services. To know more about the expertise of our healthcare software developers, please visit Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 6 May 2013

Why Dot Net Is the Most Preferred Framework in Application Development?

The constant changes in the lifestyles and choices of modern people have made it challenging for developers to make robust and popular applications. Along with the people using desktop and laptop computer, each applications nowadays also have to target the huge base of smartphone, tablet and other mobile device users. Microsoft has launched Dot Net with the intention of revolutionizing the web application development and related technologies.

The software platform works on Windows operating system, but it allows developers to choose from a wide variety of tools and libraries to develop robust web application without putting much time and effort. A developer can further create, deploy and manage the security enhanced applications to interact with different web services and computers connected to the internet. At the same time, the applications can be used by the end-users simply by installing the Dot Net Framework on their computers.

In addition to being more scalable and highly secure, the applications are also effective in integrating email, fax, phone services and other communication technologies. Since its launch, Microsoft Dot Net framework has been used by developers to make applications for clients belonging to different industries. There are also a number of reasons why Dot Net has become the most preferred framework in application development.

Support for Several Programming Languages Each developer has his favorite programming language. But the choice of the programming language often varies based on the software framework. Unlike the conventional frameworks, Microsoft Dot Net supports several languages. Along with C# and VB.Net, a developer can also write code using Java Script. So one can easily pick his favorite .Net framework-supported-programming-language, and make robust web applications that will run in a virtual environment. The apps will further complement all types of devices and hardware used by the end-users.

Compilation of Code to Intermediary Language Before execution of the code, all Dot Net supported languages are compiled into an intermediary language instead of a machine code. The lower level language is known as the Common Intermediate Language (CIL). The Common Language Runtime (CLR) engine only uses the CIL code. So a variety of languages become compatible to each other. Further, a developer has option to interchange components from multiple languages. The Common Language Specification (CLS) also makes it easier for languages to become compatible with the Dot Net framework, while enabling developers to sare arrays, strings, components and numbers across different languages.

Large Number of Ready to Use Classes Many developers also love Dot Net framework to due to its large set of ready to use classes. The system classes can be used by any app that is developed on the platform. For instance, the code written for your website using the system classes will make the apps run seamlessly on computer desktops and mobile devices. Further, Microsoft has developed the Dot Net framework based on object oriented architecture. So each tag or code written by you will be treated as an object. So you can easily retrieve an object, and use it to develop multiple applications, while writing lengthy codes and programs.

Innovative Web Services The asp.net web development service has made it easier for developers to make interoperable and distributed applications. The term web service is described as “component of programmable application logic that can be accessed using standard web protocols.” Your application can easily interact with other information providers, regardless of their running at the font-end or back-end. The service also enables webmasters to gather relevant information and data from various sources without worrying about the changes in the design and structure of other websites. A developer can use the web service feature to engage the website visitors by offering relevant, fresh and latest information.

In addition to developing web application using the Dot Net framework, a developer can further easily integrate the required changes and updates. Also, a single website can be accessed by users through their conventional PCs and mobile devices.

We provide .net development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert asp.net programmers, please visit Mindfire Solutions.

Thursday 2 May 2013

Top Quark Xtensions & Why Should You Customize One?

QuarkXPress is design software for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor. It supports 36 languages and runs on any mac or windows machines. Larger publishing houses and designers love using Quark Express as it can produce variety of layouts, from single-page flyers to the multi-media projects required for catalogs, magazines, newspapers and the like. QuarkXPress has significant marketshare about 95% for page layout software among professional users. It was released in 1987 for the Macintosh and got finer with more and more new, xtensive features.

QuarkXPress incorporated an application programming interface called XTensions which allows third-party developers to create custom add-on features to the desktop application. XTensions software cover a wide range of applications, from advanced spell check, pre-flighting and exporting products to translation applications, image-management software and many more thus help in customizing beautiful layouts. It was awarded as the best product of the year as “MacWorld Awards 2011: Grand Prix Winner” by many mac magazines. It offers layout synchronization, multiple undo/redo functionality, XML and web page (HTML/XHTML) features and support direct PDF import and output. The latest version QuarkXPress 9 offers cascading styles, cross media publishing approach and can be used to export to eBooks and native apps. Companies can enable printing copies with customized content digitally when they need them.This is what makes Quark Xtensions development so important.

Xtensions enhances Quark program, as it increases its overall performance. One can easily build an xtension from scratch by adding new feature as one desires thus enhancing and customising QuarkXPress extension that can specifically address to the needs of the document that one is creating. Xtentions come in variety of classifications and price ranges. Some top XTensions are productivity tools appropriate for nearly all publishing tasks.

OpenNow Pro is the best tool in QuarkXPress manages pictures and image links time get detailed and comprehensive picture information. It shows the picture attributes in detail- name and file icon, full path, file size, dimensions, scaling, format, color model, absolute and effective resolutions, date modified, picture status, color profile, preview resolution and default editing application. One can easily reveal the picture or any of its enclosing folders in the Finder, bring the picture up to date after it has been modified, change the preview resolution from high to low or vice-versa and open the Picture Usage window to search for missing pictures etc.

While there are a collection of XTensions that are simple and focused on just one or two feature enhancements, some XTensions are geared toward solving the more complex problems of a specific document type, such a Kytek’s Autopage, which auto-generates complex text books including sidebars, headers, footers, chapters and more. AutoCorrectXT allows users to mark misspelled words and correct common typing mistakes while typing, just like Microsoft Word. MadeToPrint enhances the reliability of PDF creation and optimizes print-output processes as well as exports to other file formats. FullMeasure is a powerful tool for controlling palette that gives you instant access to more than 160 functions, attributes and tools right at your fingertips. The FullMeasure strip has 12 panels that comprise text and paragraph formats, rule settings, picture information, document preferences and more. Xdata is used to auto-generate price lists and directories. This XTensions software enables you to import database text files into QuarkXPress and add style formatting on the fly. This is perfect for price lists, phone books and other types of directories. MadeToPrint XT and Annotator from Xinet enhances PDF optimise other print processes. CoDesCo are working diligtently on XTensions to auto-generate content for an iPad and other electonic gadgets. CloudForm is another XTensions module for QuarkXPress that allows users to quickly and easily add dynamic forms controls to define form templates and workflows. It delivers powerful forms management without the need for any programming.

Developers across the globe are developing products specifically for their markets or for their end users who are publishing documents designed for consumption by those countries. There are thousands of XTensions solutions for Quark software. It enable you to customise Quark software and meet your exact requirements. Support for Mac and Windows users, across the multiligual sites. Distributors around the world make it easy to find and buy. Quark Solutions contain industry-specific applications for enterprise publishers who want to cut costs while improving productivity and accuracy. These solutions are tailored to the particular needs of the industries but can be customized to suit almost any business.

It is beneficial for various financial services which focuses on the efficient publishing of real-time information to analyst reports and fund fact sheets. Improves client engagements, gain a competitive edge and drive more revenues with high-value, high-quality customer communications. Many government organisations build a secure publishing platform for both the policy-making and intelligence communities. Regulatory and legislative processes can be streamlined with Quark Solutions for eGovernment enables immediate and protected information sharing. Manufacturers meet customer expectations for product information. Technical documentation, marketing collateral and training manuals can be delivered quickly and accurately to print, in the web and digital devices such as tablets and the smartphones. It gives a complete solution for dynamic publishing that allows users of Microsoft Word to contribute content in unstructured or XML form. It automatically populate richly designed templates publications in hardcopy prints, web, digital and other electronic gadgets used today. It suffices all kinds of business needs.

To know more about QuarkXPress development services at Mindfire, or to know what makes us expert QuarkXpress developers, please visit us at Mindfire Solutions.

Pentaho’s Big Data Support: What’s in Store for You?

Pentaho’s strategic move in the arena of Business Intelligence is all set to power up the business world. Yes, the recent release by Pentaho extends support for Big data, that is sure to aid the business processes of small, medium and big enterprises. Well, before we explore what this open-source Business Intelligence provider has in store for you, let us see how businesses can leverage Big Data to their advantage.

Big Data Analytics: Benefits for Businesses The infiltration of big data analytics into the business territory is all the more powered by recent technological advancement which is one of the critical driving factors allowing small, medium as well as large enterprises to leverage big data analytics. But what is the significance of Big data? Well, getting access to good amount of information allows organizations to effectively comprehend the priorities of their customers and make clear-cut strategic decisions to attain their goals. With the help of big data analysis, communications between businesses and consumers can be interpreted in a better manner.

Large enterprises have always benefitted from Big data analytics, but when it comes to small and medium businesses (SMBs), they are also rapidly learning to draw advantages from big data. This is true even for businesses which are not operating in the technological sector. For instance, Farmstead Table, a restaurant based in Boston, effectively leverages data solutions for processing credit card payments and tracking client details such as choicest meals, anniversaries or birthdays. With more and more SMBs looking for data solutions, it is expected that these enterprises will constitute a considerable share of big data projects this year. As far as small or medium players are concerned, the focus will be more on incorporation and integration of information with the entire operation, with an aim to retain existing clientele and acquire new customers.

Regarding large enterprises, big data is adding a new dimension to innovation, growth and consumer surplus. Big data analytics has the potential to generate considerable value for leading players in all the prominent sectors like healthcare, public sector, retail and manufacturing. This is because of the fact that data has rapidly penetrated the different business functions in every sector, and has become a key factor in production. For large players, big data implies enhanced information transparency and usability, intensive segmentation of clientele, effective management decision, superior performance level and more focus on development of new generation services and products.

Pentaho’s Big Data Support: A Real Boon As big data continues to become one of the key growth and competition factors for small, medium and large enterprises, Pentaho’s support for Big Data is indeed expected to fulfill a much awaited solution for designing, modeling, visualizing and surveying data sets, especially those stocked in NoSQL databases like HBase, Cassandra, MongoDB. Pentaho for big data allows deployment of potent analytics for data stored in NoSQL databases, either through the process of interactive visualization or reporting or by simplifying the procedure of data extraction from NoSQL databases.

Pentaho’s big data support offers a brilliant business analytics and data integration platform empowering businesses to go for big data analysis through:
  • Interactive web interfaces that enable quality visualization for impromptu charting, reporting and dashboards.
  • Seamless exploration of data across different dimensions (geography, product and time) and measures (quantity and revenue).
  • Capabilities for impactful predictive analysis leveraging complex statistical algorithms such as regression, classification, association and clustering.
So, Pentaho reports development for big data enables organizations to go for proper integration of the big data store within the remaining data architecture. Pentaho supports a range of big data technologies and organizations leveraging these technologies are empowered to shift data within and out of the data stores by means of a seamless graphical ambience. Interestingly, Pentaho’s support for big data extends to web services, flat files, columnar databases, conventional databases, hosted applications and so on. This indeed paves the way for effective big data solutions, implying a bright future for small, medium to large enterprises. And thus the quest for business intelligence vendors begins.

We are one among the trusted business intelligence companies in India. If you would like to know what makes us expert pentaho report designers, please visit us at Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 1 May 2013

A Consistent Approach to Android Application Performance Testing

Android offers an open source software platform for mobile devices, initially created by Google and subsequently by Open Handset Alliance. The popularity of Android is on the rise as this platform is paving the way for a number of user-friendly apps. With more and more technological advancements, Android is making room for brighter features on Android phones. Irrespective of the time dedicated for Android design or the fact that an application developer is very careful with the programming part, nobody can deny the fact that mistakes can occur anytime leading to appearance of bugs. To reduce the impact of programming errors, and enhancing the productivity of the development procedure, it is crucial to adopt a consistent approach for Android application performance testing.

Phases of Efficient Android Application Testing Before going into the details of consistent performance testing, let us discuss the crucial phases involved in testing of Android apps.

  • Software Validation Testing: This testing phase can be sub-divided into functional testing, followed by non-functional testing, and finally documentation review. Code walk-through is a significant component of functional testing which involves tracing of the source code with the help of a miniature test case. The state program variables are monitored manually in order to analyze the assumptions and logic of the program. Most of the tests done revolve around the call flow and user-interface, involving a final testing done to locate new bugs. The non-functional sub-phase involves testing of user acceptance, compatibility and usability. Finally we have documentation review wherein things like design document review and architect reviews are performed.
  • Performance Testing: This involves two elements: performance elevation followed by performance consulting. Performance elevation involves testing of code profiling, database, endurance, end-to-end transaction and so on, while performance consulting comprises capacity planning and architecture validation.
  • Test automation: This phase ensures the quality assurance and comprehensiveness of the software through establishment of an automation framework, test execution, scripting and regression testing.
Significant Components of Android app performance testing So far as performance testing is concerned a consistent delivery model needs to be followed across varying scenarios. This enables Android app developers to comprehend the performance level of the application on any given device from the end-users point of view. Let us understand the significant components of consistent performance tests on Android apps by taking a banking application as an example.
  • Server Component: This component takes care of the business logic in case of the banking transactions initiated from a desktop browser or a mobile client.
  • Network Emulator: This helps in the recreation of a range of network conditions like jitter, latency, packet error, reordering or loss, bandwidth restrictions, and so on, enabling developers to replicate environment like LAN, WAN, GPRS, 2G, 3G, etc. The network emulator helps in the determination of the traffic load that the application generates under diverse network conditions.
  • Load Generator: This tool helps subjects the application to load under test conditions and evaluates the load times. Changes in configuration can be made like enhancing simultaneous users, increasing the load and boosting transactions occurring per second.
  • Android Device: Both high-end and low-end devices are used for testing because performance varies and it is essential for a device to be configured accordingly.
  • Performance Monitor: With the help of the performance monitoring tool ‘Perfmon’ which has windows mapping, the performance counters undergo configuration prior to the test. The data collector set once configured and started, leads to automatic data collection for every scenario.
  • Android Debug Bridge: This is a tool that accompanies Android SDK, enabling interface with and control of the Android devices.
  • Dalvik Debug Monitor Server: This tool for Android debugging makes room for things like screen capture, port-forwarding services, radio state information, location data spoofing, logcat and more.
It is very important to understand the plethora of resources involved before going for android app development. Performance testing is indeed crucial to understand how the application will perform with respect to satisfying the needs of diverse user groups.

We provide mobile app development services. If you would like to know what makes us expert android app developers, please visit Mindfire Solutions.