Design suggestion required

[venkateshg]

Dear All,

I request your suggestion for the following requirement.

One of the requirements of my applications is to gather data from
multiple vendors about their products - the number of fields vary from
50 to 150 fields. Based on the data collected from all the vendors, my
application should consolidate all the inputs and assess the value /
criticality / complexity of each product based on the business rules.
Also it has to provide facility to do multi dimensional analysis.

My application is being developed using C Sharp. No database is
expected to be used for data collection and analysis. This is purely a
windows application and not a web application due to some constraints.

My queries are,

1. What would be a best method to collect data from different vendors?
In one of the existing systems, an excel sheet is being sent to vendors
and data is collected. But automation of customization on the number of
fields that need to be captured is a difficult task in excel. Can it be
a light weight C Sharp windows application which can be installed in
Vendor's machine to collect data? Is it good to collect data in XML
format from Vendors? Or any other approach would be helpful?

2. For analysis purpose, Is it good to use a single XML to consolidate
all the data and analyse?

Your suggestions are welcome.

Thank you in advance

Venkat

[Michael Nemtsev]

I request your suggestion for the following requirement.

One of the requirements of my applications is to gather data from
multiple vendors about their products

Vendors are intranet or internet?

>- the number of fields vary from
50 to 150 fields

Do vendors expose interfaces to get this data?

>. Based on the data collected from all the vendors, my
application should consolidate all the inputs and assess the value /
criticality / complexity of each product based on the business rules.

Thus it requires only read-only way? Nothing should be send to vendor's apps?

Also it has to provide facility to do multi dimensional analysis.
My application is being developed using C Sharp. No database is
expected to be used for data collection and analysis.

Any reason? Where are u going to keep all your collected data?

This is purely a windows application and not a web application due to some constraints.
My queries are,

1. What would be a best method to collect data from different vendors?

There is no single the best over others

In one of the existing systems, an excel sheet is being sent to vendors
and data is collected.

Collected what? U noted that u need to get data *about* products.

>But automation of customization on the number of
fields that need to be captured is a difficult task in excel.

Can it be a light weight C Sharp windows application which can be installed in
Vendor's machine to collect data? Is

IT depends on you environment, policy and architecture.

it good to collect data in XML format from Vendors? Or any other approach would be helpful?
2. For analysis purpose, Is it good to use a single XML to consolidate
all the data and analyse?

Probably it's only the acceptable way to do it. But not single

--
WBR,
Michael Nemtsev :: blog: http://spaces.msn.com/laflour

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not
cease to be insipid." (c) Friedrich Nietzsche