Comparatio Blog

Articles about interesting topics that our team encounters

Common EDI Questions Answered

by | Jul 18, 2016 | Uncategorized

We had our leading expert and CEO, Jan Poehland, answer some common EDI questions our team has encountered.   Your customers or vendors are providing Web portals to enter orders or invoices. Can we automate that with P21? Yes, many systems today provide options to interface. We define EDI as anything that allows sending data back and forth electronically. So, Excel spreadsheets, CSV files, XML files and many other data formats can be seen as EDI. Many of the Web portals also have APIs that allow retrieving data electronically and thus processing it automatically and vice versa. Examples are Amazon, eBay, Channel Advisors, Ariba and many others. The best of it all is that most of those systems allow connecting directly so there is no other third party or transaction fee involved. What is a VAN and do we need VANs when doing EDI with P21? VAN stands for value added network which essentially acts as a mailbox between different trading partners. In many cases today VANs are no longer needed because we can connect companies directly. However, customers or vendors sometimes require their trading partners to communicate with them through a VAN as a single point of contact. In such cases VANs are required and we can work with whichever one has been chosen by your trading partner. Most VANs have so-called interconnects which essentially relays information between different trading partners from VAN to VAN until transactions reach their final destination. We would like to provide the availability of stock to distributors. Can we do that with EDI via P21? Yes, there standard transactions for this type of information that can...
How to Set Up PHP, HTML & MySQL Development on Mac OS X

How to Set Up PHP, HTML & MySQL Development on Mac OS X

by | Apr 14, 2015 | Tech

The following are instructions for setting up a development environment on a Mac that can be used for HTML, PHP and MySQL. 1. Install NetBeans NetBeans is the IDE used for programming. Install NetBeans for HTML5 & PHP from this link: https://netbeans.org/downloads/ 2. Install MySQL & MySQL Workbench MYSQL is used for databases. Follow the tutorial at this link: http://www.macminivault.com/mysql-mavericks/ Install Workbench from this link: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/ 3. Activate the built-in Apache Server on the Mac Apache will provide a local server we can use to test websites. Follow the tutorial at this link: http://osxdaily.com/2012/09/02/start-apache-web-server-mac-os-x/ Test that Apache is properly installed by navigating to “localhost” in Safari The root of the Apache Web Server folder is: /Library/WebServer/Documents Change the permissions on the above mentioned Documents folder by right clicking on it, then click Get Info, then in the opened dialog box: click on the icon of a lock and input password, then under the Sharing & Permissions tab at the bottom, provide Read & Write Privileges to everyone who appears in the box. 4. Enable PHP in the built-in Apache PHP is needed to test PHP functionality in the web pages Follow the tutorial at this link: http://php.net/manual/en/install.macosx.bundled.php Restart Apache server in terminal using: sudo apachectl restart Test that the PHP server is functional by: 1. Navigate to /Library/WebServer/Documents 2. Copy the attached “index.php” file to this folder 3. In your web browser, navigate to: localhost/index.php 4. If you see a phpInfo page, then PHP is functional 5. Installing Xdebug XDebug is needed to debug issues with code XDebug is already installed in the computer, you simply need to enable...
Rapid Development of Business Applications

Rapid Development of Business Applications

by | Apr 14, 2015 | Tech

Businesses have varying needs for software, but they all have one thing in common: they want it delivered fast and reliable. At Comparatio, we are able to deliver on these needs for three main reasons: our in-house framework, our team, and history. By utilizing our new in-house Comparatio Framework based on HTML5, we can rapidly create new applications. It utilizes technologies such as Twitter Bootstrap and MySQL for database. These applications are responsive, so they automatically reorganize to look and work great on PC’s, Macs, Phones, Tablets. In addition, we incorporate PHP and MYSQL so there is a powerful backend for the apps that can support any amount of data. Developing great applications is typically a time consuming process, but our team is able to develop very quickly. Our team has trained extensively on the framework and all the technologies it uses and has already used the new framework to create several applications. The proficiency gained allows the developers to accurately gauge the scope of a given project, and complete it within a given time frame. Finally, having experience in writing business applications allows us to work very quickly. Comparatio has been developing applications for over a decade. Some of these include Inventory Systems, Asset Management Systems, Customer Management Systems, EDI and more. Our developers have a solid understanding of the business logic that needs to be implemented into the software. These advantages have enabled us to create robust business applications faster than ever and we are eager to create more. Learn more at...
Transition to HTML5

Transition to HTML5

by | Apr 14, 2015 | Tech

It’s clear that today there is a need to move towards platform-independent software solutions. Clients now have higher expectations for applications than ever before. They expect simple, intuitive, and powerful applications that solve the problem at hand in a clean and elegant way. Adobe has discontinued support for flash on mobile devices, creating a need for a new web technology to take its place: HTML5. In a stark contrast with the past, today’s applications need to be built mobile-first. With phones and tablets with fast processors and large displays, it’s possible to do more with a mobile than ever. This includes things such as inventory management, data entry, and more. There are many significant advantages to using HTML5: 1. Mobile-Ready – Applications are built with responsiveness in mind – meaning the app can change it’s view easily based on what device the client is using. Clients will love that they have one product that works amazingly well across desktops, tablets and mobile phones. 2. Powerful – By utilizing multiple web technologies such as CSS and Javascript, it’s possible to create desktop-class applications using web technologies that look and behave like they are running natively. 3. Elegant – HTML5 makes animations and the designing the user interface easier than ever. With these advantages in mind, it is clear that HTML5 is the way to go for developing new applications for clients. Because the software is web-based, clients can access the software on any device with a web browser, and because our framework is designed with responsiveness in mind, it looks great on desktops, phones, and tablets. More than that, HTML5 enables us to build robust, desktop-class...

Four Programs We Use to Develop HTML5

by | Apr 14, 2015 | Tech

After testing out several different software combinations over a number of months, we finally found the perfect combination for our development. We code with a number of languages (HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, etc), and our HTML5 team develops on both Macs and PCs, so we needed software that allowed us to work quickly, efficiently, and help us sync our projects so we always have the most up-to-date code. These four programs are essential to our workflow: PHPStorm – An IDE that works incredibly well when developing for the web. With it’s simple layout, fast responsiveness, and optional advanced features, it’s an ideal software package for our use. It also connects to the other following programs we use very easily. Bitbucket – When working on a project with a team, it is crucial to always have the most current code on your machine. Bitbucket makes managing this traditionally tedious process manageable. It integrates beautifully with PHPStorm and with just a couple clicks, the project code can be backed up or updated. Bitbucket also has a great website that can be used to see the history of the code, check statistics, and roll back changes. Firefox – We use firefox while in development because it is available on every major operating system, has good compatibility with HTML5, and makes it easy to debug code. XDebug – XDebug is used whenever we want to debug our PHP code. It integrates with both PHPStorm and Firefox to create an elegant, end to end debugging...

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