PAD File Tidier

Disclaimer

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.

ASP

PAD

Portable Application Description

The format is picky and labour intensive to maintain. This program automates some of the common tasks:

Verify that the files pointed to by <application_info_url>, <application_order_url>, <application_screenshot_url>, <application_icon_url>, <application_xml_file_url> and <primary_download_url> are actually present.

Verify there are no < or > characters in <char_desc_2000>.

Verify there are no < or > characters in <char_desc_45>, <char_desc_80>, <char_desc_250> or <char_desc_450>.

Replace any newline characters with blank in <char_desc_45>, <char_desc_80>, <char_desc_250> or <char_desc_450>.

Update <file_size_bytes>, <file_size_k> and <file_size_mb> to match the actual size of the download.

Verify the <Application_Icon_URL> exists and is 32 × 32 precisely.

Verify that <Application_Screenshot_URL> exists and 200 × 200 or larger.

Remove any leading or trailing blank lines on any field.

PML

PADGen

PAD

There are many tools for reading and processing XML (extensible Markup Language) files. You don’t have to write your own parser. You probably won’t even need to write your own schema for the PAD file. You might have to translate ASP (Association of Shareware Professionals) ’s proprietary schema to something familily like XSD (XML Scheme Definition) or DTD (Document Type Definition).

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This page is posted
on the web at:

http://mindprod.com/project/padfiletidier.html

Optional Replicator mirror
of mindprod.com
on local hard disk J:

J:\mindprod\project\padfiletidier.html

Please read the feedback from other visitors, or send your own feedback about the site.
Contact Roedy. Please feel free to link to this page without explicit permission.

Canadian Mind Products
IP:[65.110.21.43]
Your face IP:[18.117.11.13]

Feedback

You are visitor number