Chapter 12: Manage the application life cycle

Question 1

What is an application life cycle?

Answer 1

The process of developing a web or software application from start to finish is also known as the application life cycle. There are eight steps invloved with the application life cycle.

Question 2

What are the steps in application life cycle?

Answer 2

1. Plan
2. Design UI
   3, Develop app and write code
3. Test and debug the app
4. Package
5. Validate app
6. Train or document
7. Deploy to client or store

Question 3

What is a planning phase?

Answer 3

The planning phase of the application life cycle is one of the most important phases because the plan will guide the design and development phases. If you don’t plan appropiately time may be lost redesigning or developing parts of the application that you didn’t plan for. A good plan is critical for large applications and applications that multiple designers and developers are involved with. If the application is being developed for a specific customer then consultation with the customer must occur at the beginning of the planning phase to identify the expectations of the client.

Question 4

What is a designing phase?

Answer 4

After planning the application, the user interface should be designed. Designs could start as sketches or sofware like Adobe Photoshop could be used to visually layout each page of the the application. Some development teams will have their professional designers create the HTML and CSS for the user interface, but the buttons, forms, and other interactive content will not be functional. If the application is being developed for a customer then approval is usually needed from the client to ensure that the non-functional interface meets the expectations of the customer.

Question 5

What is a development phase?

Answer 5

After the design has been approved then it’s time to start writing code and developing the application so that it’s functional. During this phase the developers will create all of the JavaScript needed for the application and will also make adjustments to the HTML and CSS to make the application fully functional.

Question 6

What is a test phase?

Answer 6

Although the developers will be testing and debugging the application as they are developing it, it’s impossible for the developers to throughly test the application like a customer or client. Because the developers understand what they are developing and how they expect the application to react to the user, they will not test the application like a user. For that reason it’s recommended to have the customer test the application and report all errors and bugs that they find in the application to the developers. If the application is not being developed for a particular customer, then a group of testers that were not involved with developing the application should be used to test the application and report all errors and bugs found to the developers. Once the testing phase has been completed the developers must fix all errors and bugs that were reported.

Question 7

What is a packaging phase?

Answer 7

The packaging phase is important for HTML5 applications that will be uploaded to an app store like Windows Store. Smartphone and many tablet devices must use an app store to install applications on their device. The process of packaging an application requires that the files used to install the application be identified and put in a container that will be used for installation. These package files will be the HTML, CSS, JavaScript and any other files required to run the application. In addition, an XML based manifest file must be created that will be used to provide information about the application to clients that are interested in installing the application. Some of the information in a manifest file includes the version of the app, the name, description, author, publisher, and information that will be used to install the application on the client device.

Question 8

What tool to use to package an app?

Answer 8

Packaging an application must be done using a software tool like Microsoft Visual Studio.

Question 9

What is a validation phase?

Answer 9

The application validation phase is performed by a software validation program that will test the manifest file and all application files to ensure that the package is ready to be submitted to an application store. Most application stores have a validator application that can be used prior to submitting the application to the app store. Windows Store has the Windows App Certification Kit that will perform several tests to ensure that your app is ready to deploy to Windows Store.

Question 10

What is training and documentation phase?

Answer 10

The tasks involved in the training and documentation phase of the application life cycle depends on whether the application was developed for a specific customer. If the application was not developed for a specific customer then there is no need to train the customer on how to properly use the application. However, regardless of who the application was developed for, the application documenation should be created that will either provide in-depth or general use information regarding how to use the application.

Question 11

What is deployment phase?

Answer 11

After the customer has been trained on how to properly use the application and documentation has been created, the application can be deployed to the client or the app store. The deployment phase involves making the application available to clients in a production environment. After the application has been deployed errors and bugs in the application may be identified that were not identified in the testing and debugging phase. Depending on the developer and the nature of the error that was identified, the application can either be fixed immediately, repackaged, and redeployed, or the developer may wait until more than one problem is identified before fixing the problem. For example, if there is a security or privacy issue with the application then those types of problems are usually fixed immedietly. But if the problem is just a cosmetic or functional problem then it may not be fixed immediately.

Question 12

What is windows runtime environment?

Answer 12

• It is an environment in which applications are launched and run in. The runtime environment can be thought of as a different layer of the operating system that applications run in.
• This environment allows applications to run a without negatively exposing the operating system that the application is running in.
• It is independent of the real operating system, if the app goes down  it does not affect the OS

Question 13

What is app container?

Answer 13

is a reserved memory space that is created while the application is running inside of the runtime environment.

Question 14

What does manifest xml file include?

Answer 14

The app manifest file is an XML based file that is used to provide general information about the application that will be displayed in the app store. The app manifest file also provides installation and technical information needed for the application to install and run properly on client devices

Starts with:

Question 15

How is the packaging of an application done?

Answer 15

Packaging an application is similar to compressing or zipping multiple files into one file.

Through microsoft visual studio

Question 16

What is the benefit of app container?

Answer 16

By running the application in a separate memory space than other programs it’s not likely that an error or crash in the application will cause the entire operating system or other programs to crash.

Question 17

What are the three ways to validate your app package?

Answer 17

1. Windows phone
2. Windows store (against your local machine)
3. Windows store (against your remote device)

Question 18

What are the ways to remove local and session storage?

Answer 18

You can remove local and session storage with Internet Options in IE, or by deleting the browser data in the settings of Google Chrome. It is also important to note that local and session storage is saved seperately for each browser, meaning that if local or session storage is set using IE it will not be set in Google Chrome because they are separate browsers that maintain separate local and session storage.

Question 19

What is debugging?

Answer 19

Process of finding errors in the code and fix them

Question 20

What is Windows App certification test kit used for?

Answer 20

The Windows App Certification Test Kit is used to test and validate an application prior to certifying an app that you would like to make available in the Windows Store.

Question 21

What are steps to installing app to windows app store?

Answer 21

Steps to Publish an App to Windows Store:

1. Review our app requirements and developer agreement.
2. If you don’t already have a Microsoft account, open one.
3. Open a developer account.
4. Choose and reserve your app name.
5. Decide what age rating will apply to your app.
6. Choose your business model.
7. Determine the countries and regions in which you want to sell your apps.
8. Write your app’s description and take screenshots.
9. Test your app using the Windows App Certification Kit.
10. Submit your app to the Store.
11. After your app is published, review metrics and reports to see how you can improve your app.

Question 22

What in smart phone and tablet devices new to developers?

Answer 22

gyroscopes, compasses, and accelerometers