User manual

2 Initial considerations and analysis
Within the initial discussions while approaching the problem of the web
interface, several issues immediately proved themselves important. As first,
management of the light show, and other administrative tasks related to the setup of
classes and their light programs on the event days, should have already been
accounted for in the system, before the pupils start logging into the system and
making their light programs. That consideration, coupled with the fact that a
multitude of online users are expect to save their programs in a centrally accessible
location, immediately poses the problem of designing an online database solution;
which in turn demands a design of an administration system. Hence, a strict definition
of levels of usage of the entire system is also needed as a part of an overall database
administration system.
The other problem is to find a platform that can render real-time 3D over the
web – and to practically solve the real-time rendering of a virtual world that is dictated
by a user-created light program; while at the same time keeping in mind that the end
target group are school pupils. More precisely, the exact target group are pupils from
the 7
th
to the 10
th
class within the Danish basic education system (which comprises
both primary and lower secondary education) – typically teenagers within 13 to 16
years of age. In the end, it is them who should find the user interface interesting,
motivating, and easy to use and understand. The problem of organising how a class
(composed of maybe 10-30 pupils), should divide the 15 minutes (allocated to the
entire class for a light show) between themselves, naturally arises as well, and it too
demands to be considered in the database design. Therefore, in addition to finding a
platform that can deliver 3D in a browser over the web, it must also communicate to a
database system. Naturally, the database system should discriminate between users,
and allow personalised storage of a light program for the event. As such, the problem
of user authorisation arises as well; both in the end user interface that the students will
use, and the administration interface.
The administration of users and database design is however not the only
problem of such a specific web interface. When talking about a physical light show,
executed by a number of projectors, and a web (or any) kind of interface through
"DMX Director" - Architecture of a 3D light-programming application, in a multi-user Internet environment
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