i.  Title    
AJAX driven photo album

ii.  Author(s)
Brock Arnold
Sheldon Chan

iii.  Abstract
We intend to develop a web-based photo album site, similar to sites such
as flickr.com. However, in place of flash, we intend on using the power of
AJAX to deliver a fast and dynamic application.
   
iv.  What
The photo site will have the ability to handle a multitude of users.  New
users will be able to register with the site and upload images to their
own section holding their own albums, separate from other people.  Each
user will have the ability to set different preference parameters, such as
the default image size to be displayed to the end user, a color scheme for
their album pages, and a they will be able to choose from a few canned
layout options for their albums.  These preferences pages will be saved in
an XML backend data store, the pages will be formatted with an XSLT
processor, and the images and text for the albums themselves will be
downloaded asynchronously via the AJAX method while the end user is
browsing the photo site.

v.  Why
This project is interesting in that we are taking an existing application
and applying advanced techniques to achieve the same general goal. Instead
of using well defined technologies, such as Shockwave Flash or straight
html, we intend to use AJAX to provide a robust user experience. The
motivation for this project is to develop an intimate understanding for
AJAX technology and to develop a web application that we can actually use
as an end user. Additionally, since we both take a number of digital
images, handling and sharing such images has been a tedious process.
Experience with online photo albums have left something to be desired in
both features and performance. We hope to try and address this user
experience in our project.


vi.  How    

The Infrastructure

AJAX - 
    * Create a standards based presentation using XHTML and CSS
    * Create dynamic display interaction using the Document Object Model
    * For data interchange and manipulation, use XML and XSLT
    * To download information in the background, use asynchronous data
      retrieval using XMLHttpRequest
    * JavaScript to glue everything together

Tomcat - 
    * Use this as a container for the web apps, and use it as an HTTP server

Java Servlets - 
    * Using a similar approach as project 3, use java servlets to interact
      with the user
	-handles user input, outputs desired pages
	-handles user login, setup, settings changes, and
         uploading/manipulation of images
	-possibily use imagemagick to handle image manipulation?  Or could
         use some sort of Java library

XML backend on the server - 
    * For a data store, use an XML backend to save data to disc.
	-catalog of users registered on the system
	-each users catalog of albums
	-preference pages
	-album information
		number of times viewed, number of times each image viewed,
                date uploaded
	-album structure?

Will need to investigate the following:
	The AJAX method, exactly how it works, and the best way to present
        all of this information to the end user

	The best way to handle all of the different users, and how to
        setup the structure for the albums

	The best method of uploading images to the server.  Should we make
        some sort of client application that uses XML/Soap to send images?  
        Should we force the users to zip their images together and we can 
        then unzip them on the server?  Or should we just have it so that 
        you upload one image at a time?  There has to be a better way.

Division of work - 
Brock: AJAX and Servlets/XSL
Sheldon: XML backend and Servlets/XSL

vii.  Questions
Is this scope sufficient for the final project? If not, are there any
suggestions to increase the scope to satisfy the requirements?