Supermarket Database-Computer Coursework Essay Example for Free

Supermarket Database-Computer Coursework Essay Introduction There are many supermarkets around us, but there do you know how it works. In this coursework., we will anyalsis the problem of the old supermarket system and how to solve this problem. Besides, in this coursework, it will introduce a new supermarket system, introduce its advantage, how to set up, how to use it and what is its advantages. Old supermarket system Disadvantage: piles of papers are used to keep the records it is hard to back up the records, if you really do so, the cost of the ink and the papers can make you bankrupt the payments are calculated by men, if your mathematics is poor, you will bankrupt again you need to spend nights after nights to turn the pages by your hands in order to search the data of the customers and supplier snail mail is used, which means time and money is wasted your customers cannot immediately get the most update news of your product, simply the million-dollar contract will fly to other companies the piles of paper wont remind you when your product is expired, you need to search through the papers it is not easy to comunicate to your branch stores. Many workers are needed to check the store Solution of the problem To solve the problem in the old supermarket system,setup up a database system that would control local store inventory, and cover the ordering of stock from the customers. Advantages of the new system Digital record is used. Millions of information are stored in a 6-inch hard-dish. The records can be backed up inside a DVD or a hard dish drive. the payments are calculated by computer, which decreases the human error In order to search the data of the customers and supplier, you simply need to type the name, or tel. number. email is used, your customers can get the most update news of your product, at once the computer will remind you when your product is expired, so you can make preparations you can communicate the computer form one branch store to another. Information can be transferred immediately computer can do most of the jobs. Less workers are employed Old system Computer system Space needed to keep the records more Much less Back up Very difficult Very easy error High possibility Low possibility Search data Very complicated Very convenient mail Slow and expensive Quick and free Check expired stock By hand automatically Communication Slow and inconvenient Quick and easy Number of employees more less Requirement of the system. It is consider that the supermarket has original system which has only one computer with the following equirement. Working system Windows 2000, standard edition Processor Pentium III 733Mhz, RAM 256MB recommended Drive space 20GB Video 32MB shared ram In order to reach the requirement of the new system, the computers need to replace new ones and connected as the following instructions. Requirement of the server. Working system Windows server 2003, standard edition Processor Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 1024MB/1G recommended Drive space 250GB Video 128MB shared ram or better This computer is highly security. It needed the voice check and the password of the three highest manager to open the report of the profit and also to open the economy condition of the supermarket. Besides, the server is connected to a internet server with domain name. This is because this can convenient the customers to shopping or order products from the internet. Requirement of the other computers The other four computres is used to save data. They should have the following requirement. Working system Windows XP, Professional Processor Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, 550+ MHz recommended RAM 512 MB recommended Drive space 80 GB Video 128MB shared ram or better Software of the programme The supermarket can use Microsoft Access or Visual Basic The advantages of using MS Access are: * It is a relational database, which makes the data management easier. * It integrates easily with other Microsoft packages such as Word and Excel. * It is inexpensive. * It is a flexible product that cab be used for all kinds of databases. * It can be used to build extensive database applications. * All the information is held in one place and the information only needs to be updated once. * It can retrieve and update information quickly and easily. * Reports, standard letters can be easily produced. * Backup and archiving is easy. The disadvantages of using MS Access are: * It lacks in high volume capacity. * It is limited to a low transaction rate. * It can bring down the entire servers if it is not used properly. The advantages of using Visual Basic are: * It provides a user-friendly interface. * The modular structure in visual basic program helps the programmer to develop a large program without knowing all the variables and their relationships. * It is provided by an integrate development environment that helps the programmer in debugging syntax errors. The disadvantages of using Visual Basic are: * It is limited in the kind of application that visual basic can code. * That additional memory might be required because of the graphics. * That visual basic is not a matural programming language. * That successful operations are crucial. * It has a slower processing in some applications. * It is more difficult to recover. Set up of the programme In this system, the programme is based on the Microsoft Access Create a new database file first and then create a table which should contain the following item: * Image of the * item description * bar code * item code * item location in store * price * maximum (amount to order) * current stock * date ordered * date received * quantity received * expired date * supplier * supplier address * supplier email * supplier telephone number * The characteristic of each item of data, such as The data on the documents have been analysed, where on the next page tables have been completed to show what information is contained. The information that is contained includes: * What tables and column are presented. * The names of the current tables and columns. * Any validations on the values of certain columns. Data Item Description Data Type Validation * item description The description of the product Text * bar code The bar code of a product Text Letters only * item code The code of a product Text Letters only * item location in store The location of the product in the supermarket Text Letters only * price The price of a product Numbers * maximum (amount to order) The number of product in the supermarket Numbers * current stock Whether the book is hardback or paperback Text Letters only * date ordered The order of the product by the customer Number * date received The order of the product ordered by the customers Number After create the above table, by using the Microsoft Access, a new table will be created to input the data of each product. Besides, to show the out and in of each product, by using the Microsoft Access, a report can be created. Shopping from the Internet Some customers will order products from the internet. Therefore a website should be set up for their confident. In order to get associate with the system, some more items are needed to create in order to record the information of each customer. It can be done as shown: Contain of the table This table is about the information of the customers which order products from the internet. The table should contain the following item: * Customer name * Customer no. * Address * Contact method * Phone number * Credit card number Data Item Description Data Type Validation * Customer name Name of the customer Text * Customer id. The id of the customer in the system number * Address The home address of the customer Text Letters only * Contact method How to contact to the customer E-mail/phone choose * Phone number The mobile/home number of the customer Numbers * Credit card number The Credit card number of the customer Number This website should also be linked to the main server of the supermarket and the website should have the following function. Function A laiding form will need to be printed, which will accompany the shipment to the store, and should include the following information: * (from) address of supplier, (to) supermarket ID, * supermarket address, * department, * managers name * and order number, * as well as a list of item descriptions, * item codes, * amount requested, * and amount sent. When the shipment reaches the store, the manager initials the bill of laiding, confirming that the shipment has arrived. This form is then returned to the warehouse where an invoice must be generated . The invoice, which will be sent to the store should be in some form that can either be printed (and subsequently mailed), or simply sent via email to the specific store. The proccess is done as shown. Problem of the security As it is easily to shopping on the Internet, and is easily to hacked by the hackers in the Internet and the personal information of each customers will be stolen. Thus, to prevent this happen, security is needed. SECURITY of the system This system requires some form of a hierarchical security system which should consist of three categories. * Level one access should be for the Head Manager. The Head Manager should have access to everything in the system, and should be able to add new people to the system, and delete them when necessary. It should also be possible for the Head Manager to easily switch people between different security levels, and to add/delete departments as required. * Level two access should include privileges for Department Managers. These managers should have complete access to everything in their department, including the placing of orders and allocation of access for cashiers/stockers in their departments. However, they should not have access to any other department functions * Level three access is intended for cashiers/stockers. Basically they should be allowed to change the amount of stock in the current inventory, either through the selling of an item to a customer, or in the stocking of shelves with new inventory. In order to identify the power of the different manager in the system to increase the security. The table should contain the following items: * Worker ID * Worker Name * Working position * Power of the worker * Date of birth * Address * Phone number And then setup the table ass shown Data Item Description Data type Manager Id The Managers ID Number Manager name Manager name Text The working position working position of the manager Text Power Power of the worker in the system Text Date of Birth Birth of the worker Number address Address of the worker Text Phone number Phone number of the worker Number This table is used to input the data of each worker in the supermarket. It also identify the power of the worker in the system. It decides what the worker can see in the system. Work and power of the manager Managers also have the ability to cancel an order altogether, and to change the supplier. As new products hit the market, they should be able to add a new item to the database. Similarly, managers should be able to delete an item from the database in the case that it may not be selling, or is discontinued by the manufacturer Some mechanism allowing the manager to adjust the information contained in the database will be a beneficial tool. This mechanism should include among other things the ability to change the product point of order value, change the product maximum order value, transfer items between departments, and add and delete departments as necessary. Changing current inventory stock is a function that should be given to everyone in some form. For example, cashiers will automatically decrease the item count when a product is sold to a consumer. Stockers and/or managers will also need the ability to increase current stock count as new stock arrives. The order form should contain the default amount of stock to be ordered for each item, and should be able to be adjusted by the manager under special circumstances (such as a promo). When the manager gives his/her OK to the system, the system should send the order to the warehouse. If some product has been ordered, and it takes a while for that product to arrive, we do not want the same product ordered several days in a row. The system must contain some sort of list of items on order. As the items received come in, they should be taken off this list. The objectives of the proposed system are: * To make buying things an easier process. * To produce reports on overdue books. * To check which products are currently available in the supermarket. * For the staff to be able to obtain information of who has ordered a particular product. * To keep a record of customers and their details. * To be able to add, edit or deleted details concerning the customers * For each customer to have a unique id in case two people have the same name * For each product have a unique id * The system should only allow authorised people to the data. Problem of this system When using the Microsoft Access to setup the programme, it will take a long time to set up. As it needs to create a lot of tables, besides, each table is linked together and totally linked to the server to the internet. When linked to the internet,it is difficult to get a good domain name. Also, it is easily linked wrong. Solution of the problem To solve the problem * First, set up the system more carefully. * Try to buy a good Domain