Case Study

Solution:

Based on thorough research of the mathematical problem of finding a longest common subsequence of characters. Softwarium was contracted to design and develop a prototype of such utility. The analysis of dozens of currently available algorithms showed that the Rick's algorithm was the best and most acceptable one. Subsequent development work allowed to create a universal module that could be used in text compare as well as in binary compare modes.

The strategy chosen for the design was to divide the application into two different modules - user interface and core comparison functionality. The design makes an attempt to include all functionality of the currently available software to increase the marketability of the product and make it more competitive.

Previously the application has been distributed as a part of the currently existed product customer has created but now it's a full featured competitive standalone application.

Product features

• Folder Compare Features
  1. Favorite files and folders now allow for a quick access to commonly used items
  2. Explore source or destination folder by right click in folder mode
  3. Compare individual directories
  4. Recursive compare of directories (includes subdirectories)
  5. Difference Summary includes:
     • same named files with different sizes
     • same named files with different creation dates/times
     • file type: Binary or ASCII
• Merge Features
  1. Enhanced merging - allows changes to be added to changes in other file
  2. Merge compared lines/blocks between files
  3. Merge contents of compared directories
• Print Features
  1. Print right/left file from File menu
  2. Print difference summary showing matching lines or differences only
• File Management Features
  1. Open Left/Right File independently
  2. Drag and drop from Explorer
• Display Features
  1. Full width display of active line of each file at bottom of application
  2. Graphical scrolling display to easily locate changes
  3. Synchronized horizontal scroll
  4. Flip frames to switch source/destination files/directories
• Miscellaneous Features
  1. Set Filter to specify file types to be displayed during Folder compare
  2. Set font for compare panes

Benefits:

As a result of a successful cooperation with Softwarium the Company was able to secure further its position in this niche market while increasing the value of its main product and attracting attention of new and existing customers. The Company chose Softwarium to be their long-term partner through providing support for their products and creating new solutions.