Operating web

  Operating Web-based Applications

          An application that can be accessed via a web browser, over a network connection is            called a web-based application. A web-based application provides the convenience of            availability 24x7 across the world. Nowadays, web-based applications are used for                reservation of tickets and bookings, e-governance, online shopping with the provision          of making payments online using credit/debit cards, and learning using                                 online tutorials, tests etc. They allow access to the facilities via the Internet from                   the comfort of home, office, car, etc. 

      The web-based online applications can be broadly categorized into applications that              require financial online transactions and applications that provide information and                allow interaction via filling forms, posting query, viewing information, sending email or        chatting. The online reservation system, online shopping, and bill payments fall in the          first category and e-governance and online tutorial and tests fall in the second category.        In this chapter, we discuss both kinds of applications.  

     Online Reservation Systems

     An online reservation system allows booking /cancellation of tickets through use of               Internet. A user can retrieve information and perform transaction related to reservation           of ticket. Some examples of online reservation systems are 

•      Airline ticket
•      Railway ticket 
•      Bus ticket 
•      Movie ticket 
•      Hotel booking 
•      Car rental 
•      Tour and travel booking 

     Such reservation systems store information and allow the users to retrieve the                         information, for example, the information about all the flights from Delhi to Mumbai             like, timings, prices, air flight provider (Air India, Spice jet etc.) and availability of               seats.  A user who wishes to fly from Delhi to Mumbai can check the information about         the flight timings, rates, seat availability, etc., and book a ticket.

     Advantages of Online Reservation System

     Online reservation  systems are advantageous both for the company providing                       reservation services and for the consumer who uses the online reservation system for             booking. We discuss the advantages of the online reservation system:

     Advantages for consumers

     Convenient:  The  user/consumer can book tickets anytime anywhere - from                          home, office, while travelling, etc. All the user needs is just a computer, Internet access,        and a card (credit, debit, etc.) for payment. The user saves time (going physically to a            booking office in the defined timings, finding parking for car, etc., standing in a queue          in booking office) and energy. Making changes to bookings like, cancellation,                        upgradation is also easy. It is very convenient for the users with special needs. 

     Price Comparison: In this competitive world, a service may be provided by several             providers - cinema tickets on Wave cinema, PVR, Big Cinema etc.; online booking              allows the customer to check the prices, compare them and get the best deal. Several            websites which provide the comparisons across similar service providers exist. For                example, www.makemytrip.com provides comparative pricing of the air ticket providers      from a particular source to a destination Figure 2.2(a). This is in contrast to manual                system where a user is made to book his/her ticket for the airline that the travel                      agent recommends.

    Security: Most online reservation sites require the user to create their profile and provide      them with a username and password. The information thus remains secure until their            password is secure.

    Confirmation of Reservation: When a booking is done, the confirmation of the booking      just takes  a few seconds. It is fast and secure. The confirmed booking of your booked          ticket can be viewed on your mobile, iPad, iPhone, laptop, etc., and can also be printed. 

    Making Choices: In online booking, the user can see the arrangement of seats, select a          particular seat, etc. In railway booking, selection of lower berth/upper berth, type of food      required and booking for beddings is possible. You can read reviews posted by people          when making choices. 

    Time Saving: Online reservation consumes very less time in contrast to long queues at         the counter.

    Discount Scheme: The users can avail the special discount schemes provided by the            service provider like, season discount, advance booking discount and frequent user                discount. However, for using the online reservation system, it is important that the user          must have the understanding of using the computer for reservation.

     Advantages for Providers: The organization or the company providing the         online reservation facility to their users also has several advantages : 

     Requires Less Staffing: Less man-power is required as every task is done through               computers. 

    No Spatial Restrictions: The organization which is providing online reservation may be      operating from the basement of their house, a garage, an office space in a small building,      an office in a large commercial mall, or an office from their own building. The physical        location of the office does not really matter to a customer who is reserving tickets online.      So, the organization, big or small, can choose their office space depending on their                needs. Online reservation also reduces the bills for office rent, electricity, etc. although          initial costs need to be incurred on setting up the website and maintaining it.

    Global Access: Online reservation is available to anyone irrespective of their physical          location. The scope of access to the online reservation becomes large as anyone who has      access to the Internet can search for the reservation site and book the tickets.

   Precautions while Performing Online Transactions

    Internet transactions are susceptible to frauds. The precautions to be taken are as          follows:

    The combination of username and password is the most common method of user                    identification and authentication. There are several security issues with the use of                  password. An unauthorized access to an account through stealing/guessing a password          can get access to the system and a simple password can be easily cracked. Some actions        that can be taken to make the passwords safer are as follows: 

•  Make a password complex, like mix case, use numbers and special characters. This decreases ability of automated attacks by trying different character combinations. 
•  Be cautious not to leave passwords around and do not share them with friends.
•  Never use names of near and dear ones as passwords.