We need victims to test software on
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Article #40
I have a stack of web apps that are sitting here in need of some real world torture victims to test them.
First is a Geospatial Information System that allows you convert government ARC file data into searchable databases that produce user-generated maps based on search queries. I have no idea who would really need such a system, but it's still pretty cool. I don't have a link up yet, but the GIS code I started building in December will let you pull up roads, rivers, streams, etc within a certain radius on the map based on a town name, a latitude-longitude co-ordinate or ZIP code. Results can be output as either a raster image or an editable vector file.
Second is a system that automatically converts an entire Excel file into a searchable database. Nothing too crazy. Find the file, click "upload" and then the web page idle for a few minutes. Once it says it is done, you have a complete database.
Third is a system to convert PDF documents into web pages. This system actually has quite a few other file formats it can convert from and output to, but for now the focus is on going from a PDF to a web page.
If you have any interest in any of those functions, please
email me and I'll try to include you in the first live testing phase. Also, I could use some feedback for a needs analysis about each web app, so that I can build a system that does what you need it to do.