SpecLink: The Next Generation, Part II

This is the second in a series of articles that Part II discusses BSD’s new generation of the SpecLink system. If you missed the first article, it’s in the Summer 2006 edition of LinkLine that can be found at www.bsdsoftlink.com/linkline/current/linkLine_archives.htm. Referred to as SpecLink-E (or E for short), it is new software from the ground up, designed to support an Internet-based information system continually supplying you with the most up-to-date data. E is packaged as easyto-install software that keeps itself updated from a network or Internet-based site controlled by you or your designated administrator.

In the first article we talked about the impetus behind development of SpecLink-E, its basic screen layout and user interface, and the new user-definable “Global Terms” feature. This quarter we want to go a little deeper and describe system configuration and installation, what the “server” component does, and how the “client” component works.

Configuration and Installation

Our goal with the new system is to make quarterly installations and updates a thing of the past while keeping both software and data even more up-to-date than we do now. To achieve this, we are separating software updates from data updates. Data updating is designed to be continuously available via the Internet. You or a designated administrator will decide when and how often updates are actually applied, allowing updates to the master database at night or other opportune times. We’ll cover more about data updates in a moment.

BSD’s E has two distinct components: a “client” component that runs on each user’s computer, and a “server” component that, in a multi-user environment, is installed on a (possibly remote) network server (Figure 1). In a single user situation the server can be installed and run on the same computer as the client.

The client installation is downloaded from the Internet by an administrator and placed on a single network server accessible to all users. For the initial install each user simply runs the setup file on the network to install and start the application. Because the software installs to a fixed location in the user’s Documents and Settings directory, there are no questions to be answered during installation or permissions required for completion of the installation.

The client software periodically checks the network installation site for available software updates. When updates become available, and you are ready for them to be installed on user computers, you simply download the update to the same network installation site as the original software. Each client then updates itself in the background.

The server component has a “standard” install program that installs two pieces: one is the BSD server software and the other is the Microsoft SQL Server instance that E works with to save, retrieve, and modify data. The server component, once installed on a single server (or a standalone computer), runs as a “service” on that computer. That is, the component is always running in the background and is automatically restarted when the computer is restarted.

The service runs continually, in part to allow off-hours updating. As BSD publishes new or revised specification sections or other documents, the server component will download them and apply updates on a schedule set by you or an administrator. Projects that have not been locked to prevent further editing or updating will be marked with available updates when and as the documents become available (when no longer checked out by individual users). As is now the case, the user will have the opportunity to review, and accept or reject updates at the project, document, and individual paragraph levels.

How the Client Works

As we’ve seen, SpecLink-E is a two-part system. As a user, you work with the client software. When you open the client, it tries to get a list of projects from the server. If the server is unavailable (say you’re on a laptop at home, or the network server is down) it uses the last list of projects you viewed. The server’s availability is indicated to you by a green “ON” box or a red OFF box on the application status bar (see Figure 2, bottom). The list of projects is saved on your local computer every time you look at it.

The same is true for each document you try to view. A copy of each document is saved to your local computer to support fast access even when the server is unavailable. If you’ve never looked at a particular project or a particular document, and the server is not available, then that item will be unavailable until you are able to reconnect to the server.

To edit documents you must connect to the server and check them out. However, once you check them out, you can continue to work on them even after you disconnect from the server (for example, to take the laptop on a trip). Concurrent license usage is measured by checked-out documents. That is, when you have one or more documents checked out, you are using a license regardless of whether you are connected to the server or are on the road. In Figure 2, documents that are not checked out display a “Read-Only” sign in the status bar while you are reading them.

Next quarter we’ll cover more about interoperability with CAD software, and how the optional security system can help you manage projects and users, protecting your projects in the process. As I’m sure you can tell, we’re very excited about E. We’re making it easy to use, powerful enough for the largest office and project, but still comfortable and configurable to the smallest office as well. Above all, we’re focusing on your productivity and helping you produce quality specifications with a really intuitive system.

If you have questions or suggestions about the new product or are interested in participating in our beta program downstream, drop a note to our support group at support@bsdsoftlink.com.