This essay does not describe an existing computer program, just one that should exist. This essay is about a suggested student project in Java programming. This essay gives a rough overview of how it might work. I have no source, object, specifications, file layouts or anything else useful to implementing this project. Everything I have prepared to help you is right here.
This project outline is not like the artificial, tidy little problems you are spoon-fed in school, when all the facts you need are included, nothing extraneous is mentioned, the answer is fully specified, along with hints to nudge you toward a single expected canonical solution. This project is much more like the real world of messy problems where it is up to you to fully the define the end point, or a series of ever more difficult versions of this project and research the information yourself to solve them.
Everything I have to say to help you with this project is written below. I am not prepared to help you implement it; or give you any additional materials. I have too many other projects of my own.
Though I am a programmer by profession, I don’t do people’s homework for them. That just robs them of an education.
You have my full permission to implement this project in any way you please and to keep all the profits from your endeavour.
Please do not email me about this project without reading the disclaimer above.
I live in Victoria, BC. Greater Victoria has a population of about 1/3 million. All the stores in the region I have visited sell only black or navy blue socks and white sports socks with a tiny sprinkling of grey socks. Unlike most other people, I enjoy brightly coloured socks. I spend most of my time at home, so my socks need please no one but me. Surely there are other people in the world who think like me. I discovered an online socks store in the UK called The Sockshop that specialises in colourful, patterned and striped socks. Your job is to roughly clone this website for your own country, which will then be able to ship more cheaply than the British version.
It would be nice to let the customer pick a particular shade, then see articles as close as possible to that shade. The shades that people pick would be useful in choosing new inventory.
You will need an SQL (Standard Query Language) database and a shopping cart. You will need to accept money by PayPal and various credit cards. You will need to track inventory, wholesale orders.
You could use this same software for selling any sort of out-of-fashion or specialty clothing.
You might branch out into creating custom socks that have embroidery, or are even woven/knitted to spec.
Some socks have sentimental meaning — hand knitted by someone. You might offer a sock hospital. You could do a much simpler website based on the idea of a Teddy bear hospital. One of the gifts I most appreciated in my life was when my grandmother made my Teddy bear a new eye, new felt feet and a new woven nose. She understood I wanted my old Teddy back, not a new one.
You might join forces with tailors in Singapore or Hong Kong and let people have custom suits, shirts or other clothing made. If the venture were successful, you might consider cutting the cloth by laser.
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