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Thread: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

  1. #1

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    Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    I went to my town's FD to look at software they use for "attendance management". It keeps track of what calls people go out on. I don't know much more about it than that.

    The Chief doesn't like it and wants it either enhanced or replaced. If I'm going to do it, it's gotta be enhanced. I don't have time on top of my full-time job to develop a new system. Ideally, I'd like to have my 16-year-old do it as volunteer work, which would help her with college scholarships .

    So pursuing that line, I am trying to contact the vendor to see if they will give me their source code. LOL.

    From the splash screen when the software loads (yes, obviously this is old s/w!) it says: Dramatic Innovations 2006 Attendance Management System Version 3.0 Standard Edition. www.windowsattendance.com and support@windowsattendance.com. I have not emailed them, because the website doesn't look right. It looks like someone else has taken it over, maybe.

    Any ideas what I can do? If they're out of business and someone still has it, you'd think someone would give me source code? (Yes, I live in a dream world).

    Thanks.
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  2. #2
    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    I agree that the site certainly doesn't look like it has anything to do with that software anymore. I don't agree that it's so unreasonable to hope that there is somebody willing to give you the source. If the company has gone out of business....anything is possible. It doesn't sound like it was a company with a staff of thousands. It might have been just one or two people, in which case they could have any opinion under the sun. However, you'd have to be able to contact them, and that seems likely to be the hardest part.

    On the other hand, if you play around with the software you can probably get a pretty good idea of how complex it is. How many screens are there? How many are actually necessary for what the chief wants? Is there an existing database behind it that the chief wants to maintain compatibility with?

    It doesn't seem to me that such software is necessarily very complex, though it may have loads of options that exist, but which the chief has no interest in. If that's the case, then replicating the software is certainly an option. If there is an existing database....that would complicate the situation.
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    Thank you, and I like your optimism about getting the source code!

    Can you say more about the database? There is one. There would have to be, right, unless everything is flat files? But I asked and he said yes.

    They also have some kind of IT support at a consulting firm in a nearby city. I didn't know what that guy would know about the software. Maybe a bit and every bit helps.

    The FD might have it on file who their contact was at the now defunct company? And most likely they'd be on social media somewhere, like Linked In? Maybe I can search on LI for this company.

    Replicating it would be an option...but without a business analyst I am not sure how well the chief and I would communicate. He was already half an hour late to meet with me. Because he had to go drop flowers off at a cemetery. The less I have to deal with him directly the better. I know that's not the best attitude to have at the start, but it kind of felt like an Old Boys' Club. I don't know if he would've blown me off like that if I was a large loud man instead of a fit, thin female stopping in on my way home from the gym... (a guy I currently work with was the liaison who hooked us up, but he and I stood around then when Chief returned the liaison split).
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    Fanatic Member 2kaud's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    Possibly asking a 'stupid question', but this isn't by any chance just an Access application is it? A lot of 'old software' for this kind of thing was done just using Access. I did one myself very similar in function many moons ago in Access 6!
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    MS SQL Powerposter szlamany's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    The WHOIS data for that site tells me that it's a dead site - picked up by some kind of domain shop...

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    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    A Fire Department being an Old Boys Club??? Never happens!! Never, I tell you!! I'm sure I can think of at least a dozen organizations that are more stereotypically patrimonial....well, maybe at least a few....well, maybe one....ok, I guess not.

    Also, even if the DB is not just an MDB, it may well be a flat file, or some other simple thing. The key is whether or not the data currently in the DB is of any value. If you can start with a fresh slate, then you have a whole lot more flexibility, of course. People tend to hold onto data, but of what real value is last years attendance list? Perhaps it has some value for a certain number of years, perhaps not.
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    If it's .Net 2.0 based then Telerik's JustDecompile should give you the source (though not the form code) well enough that you could duplicate it with a little effort. I assume there is (was) something similar for VB6 (or .Net 1.1). Since the company is no more I see no harm in reverse engineering it.

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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    OK, thanks for posts. Especially Shaggy whose humor is appreciated! I guess I didn't know what I was getting into, but of course. I am glad I left my daughter at home for the initial meeting.

    The application just screamed "old and outdated" to me as I observed it being used, so I was just thinking it has to be VB6 but maybe not. And it could also be Access. That wouldn't "matter" right; I was would just need to know?

    Haven't had time to get onto Linked In or call consulting firm yet... Will let you know.
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    Fanatic Member 2kaud's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    The application just screamed "old and outdated" to me as I observed it being used, so I was just thinking it has to be VB6 but maybe not. And it could also be Access. That wouldn't "matter" right; I was would just need to know?
    Depends upon whether you want to 'enhance' the existing or replace - and as Shaggy mentioned in post #6, if replace whether you need to import the existing data into the replacement or start afresh with new data.
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    Superbly Moderated NeedSomeAnswers's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    so I was just thinking it has to be VB6 but maybe not. And it could also be Access. That wouldn't "matter" right; I was would just need to know?
    If its Access the code will be available, probably on the users machines, as it isn't compiled into a separate exe, it will be inside the Access mdb file.
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    MS SQL Powerposter szlamany's Avatar
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    I'm going to guess FoxPro - lots of little municipal products were created with FoxPro.

    Right click the shortcut to the app and go to the target folder/file location. What files do you see at this location? What is the name of the actual shortcut file itself??

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  12. #12
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    Re: Fire Department wants their software enhanced

    My quick opinion is your daughter can probably make progress faster, or just as fast, without the source code.

    I've inherited a lot of features and projects over the years, and it's always harder to maintain something than rewrite it. It's easiest if both you and the original author are experts well-versed in the same design patterns and practices. It turns out your own skill level doesn't matter if the original author was a hack, but novices obviously aren't quite as good at code archaeology as experts.

    Point her at it and see how she does. I bet she'll surprise you!
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