Archiving Electronic Information
Keeping records is vital for any organization, and as advances in technology increase apace, more and more of these records are now being generated, processed and stored in electronic format. This Technical Supplement examines the issues involved with archiving of electronic data, looks at the requirements for record keeping from a regulatory perspective, and examines some of the current approaches to the problem.

Asset Management & Monitoring
Industry is built upon critical assets: systems that are vital to the smooth and safe operation of business. These assets might be processing equipment, servers, railway track, or pipelines, but they all share a common problem: how can they be kept operational for as long as possible, and as economically as possible, without sacrificing reliability or safety?

Automated GUI Testing
As software becomes increasingly complex, testing has never been more important. Fortunately, many specialist tools are now available to ease the process of testing GUI-based applications. This technical supplement presents an overview of some of the capabilities required of such tools, and the issues that must be confronted when choosing one.

Bayesian Statistics
The essence of the Bayesian approach is to provide a mathematical rule explaining how you should change your existing beliefs in the light of new evidence. It allows scientists to combine new data with their existing knowledge or expertise. Bayesian Statistics deals with the concept of Subjective Probability.

Beowulf Computer Clusters
More and more organizations are turning to Beowulf clusters to provide solutions to their highly computationally intensive problems. This supplement seeks to understand what Beowulf computers are and how they can solve your computation problems.

Beyond LIMS: the integrated data pipeline
Integration of the LIMS with other systems to build a data pipeline can provide business benefits far beyond simple efficiency and quality gains. Integration is an enabler for a whole range of technologies and business processes from the laboratory to the enterprise level.

C++
This supplement provides a brief overview to the C++ programming language, in order to demonstrate how C++ is an improvement on C, and how its features allow it to be used as a language for implementing object-oriented software.

COM
COM (Component Object Model) is now used extensively in Microsoft products, with OLE being one of the most notable uses. Distributed COM (DCOM) is an extension to COM that allows the linking together of components across a network.

Computational Fluid Dynamics
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a rapidly developing discipline. This technical supplement aims to provide current and prospective users of CFD technology with an overview of emerging techniques, which may enhance their CFD capability. In addition, the guide will consider ways in which organizations using CFD technology can benefit from smart IT-based methods to make their use of CFD more productive.

Computer Image Processing
Image processing is a growth field covering a wide range of techniques for the manipulation of digital images. With the low cost and high availability of CCD cameras, more companies than ever before are able to utilize image processing software and reliable hardware in their research, production and quality control environments, as well as in their products.

Decision Support Systems
A Decision Support System (DSS) is any tool used to improve the process of decision making in complex systems, particularly where information is uncertain or incomplete. DSS is an old term that now applies collectively to a number of “new” systems such as OLAP (On Line Analytical Processing), EIS, ESS, expert systems and more. This technical supplement will present DSS as a whole.

Development for mobile platform
The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the availability of powerful, stable, well-connected mobile computing platforms at a reasonable price. As well as satisfying the demands of home users, these devices offer huge opportunities to scientific and engineering organizations who wish to have access to IT systems when on the move. This supplement will provide a discussion of the options available for software development on the mobile platform.

Digital archiving in the pharmaceutical industry
The most commonly cited reason for retaining digital information within pharmaceutical companies is to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and to protect intellectual property. This paper discusses the challenges posed by digital archiving – in particular those faced by the pharmaceutical industry – drawing on the experience of building practical archival solutions.

Digital Preservation - practical experiences
Digital preservation is an issue for any organization which produces electronic records with a lifetime exceeding that of the software or hardware used to create or read them. Failure to address the situation could lead to irrevocable loss of data. This White Paper discusses the key issues from data selection to future-proofing the records.

Electronic Data Capture (EDC)
Electronic Data Capture (EDC) is the gathering of data collected by humans into computer systems without the need for manual data re-entry. This technical supplement provides an overview of EDC techniques and then looks at some case studies where EDC has been used and has been a major benefit to organizations.

Electronic Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF)
The UK Government produces, maintains and publishes vast quantities of information. In the past this has been made available haphazardly, conforming to differing standards across different parts of the public sector. Interaction and sharing of data across departments has become both difficult and costly. This document deals with the main features of the e-GIF framework, including how it is set to evolve, its relation to other initiatives, and how compliance is enforced.

Electronic lab notebooks
Paper notebooks are the mainstay of the laboratory work of many companies but are looking increasingly outdated. Much laboratory data is generated electronically, then printed and stuck into lab notebooks or manually retyped. This is time consuming and can lead to transcription errors. Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) offer a cost effective alternative. This document discusses how an ELN can be implemented to meet legal, regulatory, technical and scientific requirements.

Excel
This article explores the potential of Excel, one of the industries most important applications by describing how VBA language can be used to create customizable applications, tailored to suit business needs.

Extending the life of software
The purpose of this report is to focus on the benefits of updating outmoded user interfaces and data presentation methods with more current approaches.

FDA 21 CFR Part 11
FDA rule 21CFR Part 11 describes the regulatory framework required for submission of electronic records to the FDA. This technical supplement describes the core requirements that need to be considered when adopting or developing an electronic records system to ensure that it meets the FDA's requirements.

Formulation
Formulation within manufacturing industries is an important and complex process. From conception through to production, the entire development lifecycle has to be managed. Within this overall process, the formulation stage (which includes product conception and manufacturing process design) is particularly difficult to manage, and in this highly competitive information driven world, the success of a business may ultimately depend on the quality of its formulation system.

Fortran 90
An introduction to FORTRAN 90, in comparison with its predecessors.

Grid Computing
Grid computing provides a way of sharing computer resources such as processing and storage capacity for solving massive computational problems. The resources may include a dedicated cluster in an organization's computer room, an unmanaged cluster of workstations in the next building, or potentially a home PC on the other side of the world.

High Throughput Screening
Drug discovery and development is big money and big business. The benefit of being the first to market with a new drug can be as much as $1bn revenue in the first year, with a 75% market share for the lifetime of the drug. The implementation of a High Throughput Screening system can significantly speed drug discovery and testing. This technical supplement looks at the role that IT plays in HTS.

Instrumentation
The control and automation of an instrumentation device through software has applications in a range of industries. This technical supplement discusses the issues involved in implementing an instrument control system.

Integrated Laboratory Systems
The process of conducting scientific research within a laboratory environment is a relatively complex one. The typical workflow for a research scientist will involve numerous steps using a variety of applications. Often the applications integrate poorly with each other and a researcher can spend a lot of time performing housekeeping tasks such as file reformatting. An Integrated Laboratory System offers a method of integrating each step of a process using a standard interface.

J2EE
Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) is a language and toolkit for developing software which answers modern corporate needs, including those of scalability, reliability and use of standard architectures to keep total cost of ownership low.

Java
Java is an object-oriented computer language, similar to C++. Its platform independence makes it ideal for applications that need to run on a variety of different computer systems, and over the past few years has also taken an important role in large-scale enterprise systems.

LIMS
Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) address a number of needs in laboratory environments: elimination of paper records, automatic data collection and management of laboratory data and personnel. This technical supplement looks at the options available to a company wishing to implement a LIMS.

Linux
During the last few years, the Linux operating system has been rapidly gaining in popularity. Once seen as solely the province of UNIX enthusiasts with PCs it has grown to become a viable alternative to other commercial operating systems, such as Windows. This article aims to explore this change in perception and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of switching to Linux for both home PC use and from the point of view of the business world.

Microsoft .NET
The term “.NET” has evolved to cover a broad range of technologies, concepts and products, and in this article we attempt to explain what these technologies are, and why we should consider investing in them. Microsoft .NET is a set of Microsoft software technologies for rapidly building and integrating XML Web services, Microsoft Windows-based applications, and Web solutions.

n-tier Architecture
The selection of an architecture or a development approach can be critical factors in ensuring that a software application continues to meet the changing demands of your organization. This article discusses n-tier architectures and how they can reduce total cost of ownership and improve scalability.

Object Oriented Programming
OOP refers to 3 steps in the application development life cycle: Object oriented analysis, Object Oriented Design and Object Oriented Programming. This supplement aims to give a brief insight into the key features of this development methodology.

Opensource
Open Source Software (OSS) can no longer said to be only an out-of-hours pastime for enthusiasts as more and more commercial organizations, including the likes of IBM, take strategic decisions to embrace OSS. This supplement will consider the relative advantages/disadvantages of OSS as a whole and then look at some concrete examples of real OSS used in IT infrastructure and software development.

Pocketpc
Designing and developing software for handheld computers is substantially different from conventional software development on desktop PCs. This supplement focuses on PocketPC 2002, Microsoft's most recent version of the Windows CE operating system for devices like the Compaq iPAQ and HP Jornada, and the new T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition.

Portable GUI Development
Portability of applications across different platforms is a subject that has attracted a lot of attention for some time. This report outlines the Java approach and some other methods and tools which can be used to create truly portable interfaces and can be maintained as a single application.

Real-Time Systems
The first part of this document looks at some of the aspects that distinguish a real-time system from other computing systems. The second part examines some of those aspects in the context of choosing between a common general-purpose operating system and specialized real-time operating systems.

Regression Testing
Regression tests are checks which are used to try to ensure that no new errors are introduced into a program during maintenance. They form one of the types of tests that a program should undergo during its lifetime. In this article we will look at testing in general to set the context before considering regression tests in more detail, using the example of a particular program, NOTATION.

Security and the Internet
The Internet has huge potential for businesses everywhere. Most companies are aware of the need to maintain the security of their internal systems and data. However this security often consists of a single poorly configured firewall. This technical supplement argues that security should be an integral part of a company's computer systems and sets out a model for how an appropriate security regime should be developed by a company.

Simulation
Modern business has to stay competitive by keeping development and training costs and times to a minimum, whilst still keeping high levels of quality for both. Modelling and simulation of systems can provide solutions for product development and personnel training without the costs usually associated with these. In this technical supplement the reasons for using software simulation, the types of simulation available and the factors involved in developing a successful simulation are introduced.

Soft Computing
Soft Computing is an umbrella term for a collection of computing techniques including evolutionary computing, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic and Bayesian statistics. Used together they can produce solutions to problems that are too complex or inherently noisy to tackle with conventional mathematical methods.

Software Development Cycle
A well structured approach is essential to the success of any software development project. This report details a set of procedures which describe how each phase of the software development lifecycle should be organised.

Software Documentation
Manuals are often written with little, or no consideration for the needs of new users: a fact reinforced by the number of 'Dummy's Guide' books subsequently written to interpret the manufacturer's own documentation. This supplement provides guidelines on writing software documentation, which, if followed, should ensure that users of your software will be fully satisfied.

Software Portability
End users are demanding the same functionality on the whole spectrum of systems available to them. This supplement aims to help the developer to recognize the need for portability as early as possible and to engineer the application with this in mind.

Software Re-Engineering Process
This report provides a general overview of the software re-engineering process. Its main purpose being to give a brief high-level guide on how old, poorly documented, poorly structured code can be brought up to an acceptable and maintainable standard.

Software Specification
This supplement aims to introduce you to some of the approaches used to specify software and give advice on the circumstances in which these approaches can be used.

SQL
This supplement is aimed at database users with little or no experience of SQL. Its purpose is to introduce the concept of a relational database and guide the reader through all of the stages required to store, amend and retrieve data.

UNIX Inter-Process Communication
Inherent in UNIX, perhaps due to the diversity of its origins, there are a fairly wide range of methods to allow processes to talk to each other. This supplement describes in outline how to use some of the inter-process communication features of UNIX.

W-Windows
X-Windows has become the standard system for graphical user interfaces on UNIX and VMS computers. Its strengths are its flexibility, portability and the ease with which it can be used over networks. This supplements describes this system, and how to make the best use of it.

Webscripting
Web scripting technologies are a group of tools – mostly in the form of programming languages – that enable you to provide dynamic web features.This technical supplement provides an overview of the common scripting technologies in use today.

Webservices
There has been a great deal of talk about Web Services. Much of this has been due to Microsoft, which sees them as central to the latest technology, .NET. A Web Service enables a company to make a service accessible to programs running elsewhere, in the same way that a web site could make the service available to remote users.

Windows 2000 Services
This supplement explains Windows 2000 services, defining them as background processes controlled by a server process called the Service Control Manager and also introduces the methods by which they are implemented.

Workflow Systems
Workflow systems are being used more and more in the scientific and engineering sectors to automate business processes. The needs for global systems, high throughput and regulatory compliance are driving forces for automation through workflow, and there is a wealth of technological options to choose from.

XML
The supplement outlines the technology behind XML, the current standard for content-based document markup.