CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 Similar Mobile Application Study and Evaluation
2.2.2 Aladdinpro-expiry reminders by Aladdinpro Adopted from
2.2.1.3 Hardware Used 1. Phone Camera
The camera is used to capture the image of a product.
2.2.2 Aladdinpro-expiry reminders by Aladdinpro
Figure 2.7: User Login Interface of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.8: Sign Up Interface of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.9: Dashboard of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.10: Add New Category View of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.11: Add New Product View of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.12: View Product by Group Page of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application
Figure 2.13: Main View of The Aladdinpro-expiry Reminder Application 2.2.2.1 Main Features of Aladdinpro-expiry
1. Add Category and Product
From Figure 2.10, users can add categories like passport, credit card, food, medicine and many more. Users need to enter the number of days from the expiry date to allow the application to show the product as expiring or critical.
Based on Figure 2.11, users can add products with the details of the product such as reference number, description of the product, photos of the product and the expiry date in each category.
2. Manage product
Users can edit and delete products in each category. Users are only able to change the description and the uploaded photo for each product only.
3. Search product in a category
As shown in Figure 2.12, users can search for the product they want in every category.
4. Cross-Platform Notifications
The application sends reminder through email, push notifications if the user uses the application on a mobile device, and a notification app if the user uses the application’s web version on the user’s Personal Computer.
5. Multi-company/ multi-user support
The application allows user to create multiple users (called “company” in the application) in one account and assign a certain category to other users. This is convenient if the user needs to organize products for many departments.
6. View products by category or by the expiry date
Users are able to view products by category or by the expiry date. In the category view, shown in Figure 2.12, products are arranged by the date the product is added. The product added later will be on top. In the main/ dashboard view as shown in Figure 2.13, products are arranged by the expiry date. The product that is going to expire comes first.
7. Data is backed up by account
The application data is backed up by the account. Users can use the application on multiple mobile devices by login into the same account.
2.2.2.2 The User Interface Design 1. Minimalistic user interface
The main page or dashboard page of the application shows only the expiry date and the name of the product going to expire. Another function of the system is hidden in the side navigation bar on the left side. In the navigation bar, there is the username on the top-left side and today date on the top-right side. Below the username and date is the total number of due products, total number of critical products and the total number of overdue products. Then, there is a
‘Dashboard’ button that navigates back to the main page. Then, each category will be listed down. At the bottom of the navigation bar, there are three functions: adding a new category, navigating to settings and logout. On each category page, products will be listed down with their reference number, description, expiry date and level of importance in a tabular form.
2. Use different colours to distinguish the level of severity
The application uses different colours to represent the level of severity. In the main page or dashboard page, the application shows due products in blue colour box, critical products in orange colour box and overdue product in red colour box. In the side navigation bar, the application shows the number of due products in blue colour fonts, the number of critical products in orange colour fonts and the number of overdue products in red colour fonts. On the category page, the level of severity is shown in different colours. Blue colour box for the due tag, orange colour box for the critical tag and red colour for the overdue tag.
2.2.2.3 Technology and Hardware Used 1. Linode’s SSD Servers
The application is hosted on Linode’s SSD Servers. According to (Linode, no date), Linode is the largest independent open cloud provider. The application is hosted on Solid State Drive (SSD) server provided by Linode.
2. Using SSL secure data communication
The application uses a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols to encrypt the data communication between the client and the server. According to (Team, 2019), SSL is a protocol to create authenticated and encrypted connections between networked computers. It works by binding the identities of entities including websites and companies to encryption key pairs via digital documents known as X.509 certificates (Team, 2019). Every key pair features
a private key and a public key, which the private key is kept secure while the public key is spread widely through a certificate.
2.2.3 Expired – Grocery Reminder & Alerts App by Mobile Farm