End of Year Project Report

End Of Year Project Tracking Mobile

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, we would like to thank our supervisor for this project,

Ms. Sana BEN FADHEL for the valuable guidance and advice. She inspired us

greatly to work in this project. Her willingness to motivate us contributed

tremendously to our project. We also would like to thank her for showing us

some examples that related to the topic of our project.

In addition, our deepest thanks to our linguistic supervisor Ms. Ines

HAJRI for the valuable advice and support she has given us in the writing of this

report.

Besides, we would like to thank the authority of our University (ESPRIT)

for providing us with a good environment and facilities to complete this project.

Finally, an honorable mention goes to our families and friends for their

understandings and supports in completing this project.

Without help of the particular that are mentioned above, we would have

faced many difficulties while doing this project.


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ABSTRACT

A GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) tracking system works by locating a person via

satellite and sending the position to a mobile phone, personal computer or a call center.

The purpose of this project is to design a GPS Tracking application, which can be used in

different domains (to follow persons, vehicles…).

The concept of this project is based on the use of a cell phone which accepts to receive GPS

coordinates and send them to a server able to record them. Then from a web client, the

administrator can follow registered user (tracked person) on a map.

The development of the mobile application was based on J2ME technology. The web

application was developed with PHP/MySQL.

This report presents in detail, all required steps to realize the project.

Key words

GPS, tracking, mobile, J2ME, PHP, MySQL.


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Table of content

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 1

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... 2

List of figures ............................................................................................................................. 6

General Introduction .................................................................................................................. 9

Chapter1: State of the art .......................................................................................................... 11

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11

I. Some basic concepts ...................................................................................................... 11

I.1. Geo-location .............................................................................................................. 11

I.1.1. Localization technologies ................................................................................... 11

I.1.1.3. Localization systems comparison ................................................................... 18

I.2. GPRS ......................................................................................................................... 18

I.2.1. Definition ........................................................................................................... 18

I.2.2. GPRS device classes .......................................................................................... 19

I.3. Online mapping services ........................................................................................... 20

I.3.1. MapQuest ......................................................................................................... 20

I.3.2. Yahoo Maps ..................................................................................................... 21

I.3.3. Google Maps ................................................................................................... 21

II. Survey of the existing ................................................................................................ 22

III. Project presentation ................................................................................................... 23

III.1. Main issue .............................................................................................................. 23

III.2. The proposed solution ............................................................................................ 24

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 25

Chapter 2 Software development methodology and project planning ..................................... 26

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 26

I. Agile Methodologies ..................................................................................................... 26

II. Mobile-D: A methodology for the development of mobile applications: ................. 28

II.1. Mobile-D introduction: ...................................................................................... 28

II.2. Why Mobile-D for mobile application? ............................................................. 28

II.3. Mobile-D in details: ........................................................................................... 29

II.4. Mobile-D methodology evaluation: ................................................................... 31

III. Project planning ......................................................................................................... 31


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Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 33

Chapter 3 Project requirements analysis .................................................................................. 34

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 34

I. Project requirements ...................................................................................................... 34

I.1. Actors ..................................................................................................................... 34

I.2. Functional requirements ......................................................................................... 34

I.3. Nonfunctional requirements ................................................................................... 35

II. Requirement analysis ................................................................................................. 35

II.1. Choice of methodology ...................................................................................... 35

II.2. Application use case ........................................................................................... 36

II.2.1. Mobile application .............................................................................................. 37

II.2.2. Web application .................................................................................................. 39

II.3. Analysis Class diagram ...................................................................................... 40

II.4. State machine ..................................................................................................... 41

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 41

Chapter 4 Design ...................................................................................................................... 42

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 42

I. General Design ................................................................................................................. 42

I.1. System context Description ....................................................................................... 42

I.1.1. Context diagram ..................................................................................................... 42

I.1.2. Activity diagram .................................................................................................... 43

I.2. General View ............................................................................................................. 45

II. Detailed design ................................................................................................................. 47

II.1. Sequence diagram ...................................................................................................... 47

II.2. Class diagram ............................................................................................................ 48

II.2.1. MIDlet .................................................................................................................... 48

II.2.2. Package: Controller ................................................................................................ 49

II.2.3. Package: View ....................................................................................................... 50

II.2.4. Package: Model ...................................................................................................... 51

II.2.5. Package: Utils ........................................................................................................ 51

II.2.6. Package: Service .................................................................................................... 52

II.3. Entity Relationship Diagram ..................................................................................... 53

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 53


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Chapter 5 Implementation ........................................................................................................ 54

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 54

I. Work environment ......................................................................................................... 54

I.1. Programming languages ......................................................................................... 54

I.2. Location API for Java ME ..................................................................................... 58

I.3. Software environment ............................................................................................ 59

II. Realization ................................................................................................................. 60

II.1. Mobile application .............................................................................................. 60

II.2. Web application .................................................................................................. 63

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 68

Conclusion and future work ..................................................................................................... 69

Appendix A: Mobile-D phases ................................................................................................. 71

References and bibliography .................................................................................................... 76

Tracking Mobile: .................................................................................................................. 42

Mobile application ................................................................................................................ 42

Web Server ........................................................................................................................... 43


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List of figures

Figure 1 Geo-location ............................................................................................................... 11

Figure 2 Cell-ID ....................................................................................................................... 12

Figure 3 Cell-ID+TA ................................................................................................................ 13

Figure 4 TDOA Localization ................................................................................................... 14

Figure 5 GPS Satellites ............................................................................................................ 14

Figure 6 Receiver position on the periphery of the sphere ...................................................... 16

Figure 7 Receiver position on the periphery of the grey circle ................................................ 17

Figure 8 Receiver position on the sphere and cercle intersection ............................................ 17

Figure 9 Internet access overs GPRS ....................................................................................... 19

Figure 10 Weenee by Tunisiana ............................................................................................... 22

Figure 11 Global architecture ................................................................................................... 24

Figure 12Mobile-D ................................................................................................................... 29

Figure 13 Mobile-D phases ...................................................................................................... 30

Figure 14 Gantt Chart ............................................................................................................... 33

Figure 15 UML ......................................................................................................................... 36

Figure 16 General Use case ...................................................................................................... 36

Figure 17 Mobile Use case ....................................................................................................... 37

Figure 18 Web Use case ........................................................................................................... 39

Figure 19 Analysis class diagram ............................................................................................. 40

Figure 20 State machine diagram ............................................................................................. 41

Figure 21 Context diagram ....................................................................................................... 43

Figure 22 Mobile side: Activity diagram ................................................................................. 44

Figure 23 Web site: Activity diagram ...................................................................................... 45

Figure 24 : Different packages of the application .................................................................... 46

Figure 25 Mobile side: Sequence diagram ............................................................................... 47

Figure 26 Web site: Sequence diagram .................................................................................... 48

Figure 27 MIDlet class ............................................................................................................. 48

Figure 28: Controller package .................................................................................................. 49

Figure 29 Package View .......................................................................................................... 50

Figure 30 Package Model ......................................................................................................... 51

Figure 31 Package Utils ........................................................................................................... 51

Figure 32 Package Service ....................................................................................................... 52

Figure 33 Entity relationship diagram ...................................................................................... 53

Figure 34JavaME architecture ................................................................................................. 55

Figure 35 Mobile login interface .............................................................................................. 61

Figure 36 Mobile menu interface ............................................................................................. 61

Figure 37 Mobile set options interface ..................................................................................... 62

Figure 38 Mobile show position interface ................................................................................ 62

Figure 39 Web login interface .................................................................................................. 64

Figure 40 Web menu interface ................................................................................................. 64

Figure 41 Web search by user interface ................................................................................... 65


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Figure 42 Web Real time map .................................................................................................. 66

Figure 43 Web search by date interface ................................................................................... 67

Figure 44 Web map interface ................................................................................................... 68

Figure 45 Mobile-D Explore .................................................................................................... 71

Figure 46 Mobile-D initialize ................................................................................................... 72

Figure 47 Mobile-D productionize ........................................................................................... 73

Figure 48 Mobile-D Stabilize ................................................................................................... 74

Figure 49 Mobile-D Test .......................................................................................................... 74

Figure 50 Mobile-D Test&Fix ................................................................................................. 75


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List of tables

Table 1 Localization system comparison ................................................................................. 18

Table 2 GPRS classes ............................................................................................................... 20

Table 3 MapQuest .................................................................................................................... 21

Table 4 Yahoo Maps ................................................................................................................ 21

Table 5 Google Maps ............................................................................................................... 21

Table 6 Comparision between agile methodologies ................................................................ 27

Table 7 Mobile-D and mobile software development characteristics ...................................... 29

Table 8 Use case: Set options ................................................................................................... 37

Table 9 Use case: Show position .............................................................................................. 38

Table 10 Use case: Send position ............................................................................................. 38

Table 11 Use case: Follow tracks in real time.......................................................................... 39

Table 12 Use case: Search for a track ...................................................................................... 40

Table 13 Mobile-D Explore ..................................................................................................... 71

Table 14 Mobile-D initialize .................................................................................................... 72

Table 15 Mobile-D productionize ............................................................................................ 73


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General Introduction

Since its appearance the computer science is in constant evolution and became an

engine for development and growth for companies.

During these years, new technologies have emerged (embedded computing, wireless

networks, the geo-location...) and also new devices (PDA, smart phones, mobile phones ...)

with more compact size, performance and higher capabilities.

The rise of technology mainly affects networks and mobile phones, and that success

leads to the development of many services in many areas.

Mobile phones applications become increasingly popular due to their practical aspects.

Today, the major business applications have a mobile component and PDA clients;

mobile phones are increasingly in demand.

Users become more mobile and want access to their information from any location.

Mobile telecommunications related to the GPS is in rapid increase due to the

performance of mobile terminals and autonomous GPS, which represents now the digital

equipment registering the fastest rate of adoption by the general public in recent years.

This project aims to develop a web application for monitoring and tracking mobile

phones for surveillance, security, tracking goods or vehicles in real time, and the development

of Mobile application deployed on the mobile phone of the tracked person. The

communication between the two applications will be remotely done via GPRS (General

Packet Radio Service).

This report presents the main facets of the design and implementation of an

application of real-time tracking of mobile phones.

After presenting the stat of the art (Chapter 1), we will introduce the purpose of this

project, detail the objectives and requirements of this product in the section devoted to the

presentation and analysis of problems (Chapter 2).


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Then we will introduce the methodology we will use in our project (Chapter 3).

The design of the application is the subject of the next chapter called design solution

that explains the architecture of the proposed solution (Chapter 4).

The last chapter will be devoted to technical details of the development,

the working environment and the test of the application (Chapter 5).

Finally the general conclusion summarizing the main results obtained and the major

problems and prospects for this project.


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Chapter1: State of the art

Introduction

In this chapter, present concepts and technologies, needed in our project. First of all, we

will talk about the context of our project which is geo-location then introduce some

localization technologies like GPS, GSM… next, we will present GPRS. Finally we will deal

with online mapping services.

Then we will begin our project study, by presenting the project, the main issue and our

proposed solution.

I. Some basic concepts

I.1. Geo-location

―The science of geolocation is concerned with the methods and concepts used to locate

objects and features on the Earths surface, and in nearby space with respect to a terrestrial coo

rdinate system.‖ [1]

Figure 1 Geo-location

I.1.1. Localization technologies

Localization technologies define the position of a mobile phone. Several families of

positioning methods can be defined: the mobile network and technologies based on the GPS-

based technologies

Principal technologies used for geo-location are:


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GPS

GSM, UMTS

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

RFID

Internet

In what follows we will detail two of these technologies which are GSM and GPS and

compare them.

I.1.1.1. GSM network

In the mobile network-based solutions, the position is determined by the mobile

network which calculates the position of the terminal.

I.1.1.1.1. Cell-ID

A Cell-ID is the unique number of a GSM cell for a given operator. Your

phone is always connected to a Cell, and by knowing this number, you know the Cell,

and by knowing the position of the cell, you know where you are. There is some

accuracy issue, as the cell can cover from several hundreds of meters to several

kilometers, but this could be a very good starting point to locate yourself. [2]

Figure 2 Cell-ID


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I.1.1.1.2. Cell-ID+TA (Time Advanced)

The Cell-ID method described above can be enhanced by the use of different

data and in particular further measures, measuring the spread, time itself proportional

to the distance between the base station and the mobile feature.

Figure 3 Cell-ID+TA

I.1.1.1.3. TOA (Time of Arrival) and TDOA (Time Difference of

Arrival)

Time of Arrival (TOA or ToA), also named Time of flight (ToF), which both means

the travel time of a radio signal from a single transmitter to a remote single receiver. By the

relation between light speed in vacuum and the carrier frequency of a signal the time is a

measure for the distance between transmitter and receiver. However, in some publications the

fact is ignored, that this relation is well defined for vacuum, but is different for all other

material when radio waves pass through.

Similar to the TDOA technique, this Time of arrival called technology only differs in the

fact that it uses the absolute time of arrival at a certain base station rather than the measured

time difference between departing from one and arriving at the other station. The distance can

be directly calculated from the time of arrival as signals travel with a known velocity. Time of

arrival data from two base stations will narrow a position to two circles and data from a third

base station is required to resolve the precise position with the third circle when matching in a

single point. There are many ToA-based localization systems, including GPS. [3]


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Figure 4 TDOA Localization

I.1.1.2. GPS system

I.1.1.2.1. Definition

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based global navigation satellite

system. It provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on

a continuous basis in all weather, day and night, anywhere on or near the Earth which has an

unobstructed view of four or more GPS satellites.

Figure 5 GPS Satellites


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GPS is made up of three segments: Space, Control and User. The Space Segment is

composed of 24 to 32 satellites in Medium Earth Orbit and also includes the boosters required

to launch them into orbit. The Control Segment is composed of a Master Control Station, an

Alternate Master Control Station, and a host of dedicated and shared Ground Antennas and

Monitor Stations. The User Segment is composed of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and allied

military users of the secure GPS Precise Positioning Service and tens of millions of civil,

commercial and scientific users of the Standard Positioning Service (see GPS navigation

devices). GPS satellites broadcast signals from space that GPS receivers use to provide three-

dimensional location (latitude, longitude, and altitude) plus precise time.

GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for

map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and

hobbies such as geocaching and way marking. Also, the precise time reference is used in

many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a time synchronization

source for cellular network protocols.

GPS has become a mainstay of transportation systems worldwide, providing

navigation for aviation, ground, and maritime operations. Disaster relief and emergency

services depend upon GPS for location and timing capabilities in their life-saving missions.

The accurate timing that GPS provides facilitates everyday activities such as banking, mobile

phone operations, and even the control of power grids. Farmers, surveyors, geologists and

countless others perform their work more efficiently, safely, economically, and accurately

using the free and open GPS signals. [4]

I.1.1.2.2. Basic concepts of GPS:

A GPS receiver calculates its position by precisely timing the signals sent by the GPS

satellites high above the Earth. Each satellite continually transmits messages which include

The time the message was transmitted

Precise orbital information (the ephemeris)

The general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).

The receiver utilizes the messages it receives to determine the transit time of each

message and computes the distances to each satellite. These distances along with the satellites'

locations are used with the possible aid of trilateration to compute the position of the receiver.


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This position is then displayed, perhaps with a moving map display or latitude and longitude;

elevation information may be included. Many GPS units also show derived information such

as direction and speed, calculated from position changes.

Three satellites might seem enough to solve for position, since space has three

dimensions and a position on the Earth's surface can be assumed. However, even a very small

clock error multiplied by the very large speed of light—the speed at which satellite signals

propagate—results in a large positional error. Therefore receivers use four or more satellites

to solve for the receiver's location and time. The very accurately computed time is effectively

hidden by most GPS applications, which use only the location. A few specialized GPS

applications do however use the time; these include time transfer, traffic signal timing, and

synchronization of cell phone base stations.

Although four satellites are required for normal operation, fewer apply in special

cases. If one variable is already known, a receiver can determine its position using only three

satellites. (For example, a ship or plane may have known elevation.) Some GPS receivers may

use additional clues or assumptions (such as reusing the last known altitude, dead reckoning,

inertial navigation, or including information from the vehicle computer) to give a degraded

position when fewer than four satellites are visible. [4]

I.1.1.2.2.1. Position calculation introduction

The method used is the triangulation, at least three satellites are therefore necessary.

The first allows you to reduce the possible positions of the receiver on the

periphery of a sphere. The RADIUS is the computed X distance and the

center being the position of the first satellite.

Figure 6 Receiver position on

the periphery of the sphere


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The second satellite will reduce the position of the receiver to the

circumference of a circle at the intersection of the second sphere. The

second being the new RADIUS distance is calculated.

The third satellite can reduce the receiver position has only two points

through the intersection between the new sphere and the circumference of

the circle calculated earlier. The third being the new RADIUS distance

calculated.

The correct position for the GPS receiver is also the intersection closest to

the surface of the sphere corresponding to the fourth satellite. [5]

I.1.1.2.2.2. Correcting a GPS receiver’s clock

The method of calculating position for the case of no errors has been explained. One

of the most significant error sources is the GPS receiver's clock. Because of the very large

value of the speed of light, c, the estimated distances from the GPS receiver to the satellites,

the pseudo ranges, are very sensitive to errors in the GPS receiver clock. This suggests that an

extremely accurate and expensive clock is required for the GPS receiver to work. On the other

Figure 7 Receiver position on the

periphery of the grey circle

Figure 8 Receiver position on the

sphere and cercle intersection


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hand, manufacturers prefer to build inexpensive GPS receivers for mass markets. The solution

for this dilemma is based on the way sphere surfaces intersect in the GPS problem. [5]

I.1.1.3. Localization systems comparison

The following table to compare different localization technologies retaining two

important parameters: the degree of precision and the implementation cost infrastructure and

mobile terminals.

Technologies Precision Advantages Disadvantages

Cell ID 250m - 10 Km low price Low precision

Cell ID+TA 100m - 500m Good precision Deployment of antenna needed

(High price)

GPS 5m - 10 m Exact position GPS receiver needed &

Problems for indoor positions

Table 1 Localization system comparison

The choice of a technology rather than another one is based on its precision. We

should in fact, compare this technology with the services you want to propose and user needs

or expectations in terms or accuracy. We must also take into account the availability of

content.

I.2. GPRS

After presenting localization technics, we will now talk about GPRS. What is GPRS?

I.2.1. Definition

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is a method of enhancing 2G phones to enable

them to send and receive data more rapidly. With a GPRS connection, the phone is "always

on" and can transfer data immediately, and at higher speeds: typically 32 - 48 kbps. An

additional benefit is that data can be transferred at the same time as making a voice call.

GPRS is now available on most new phones.

GPRS is part of a series of technologies that are designed to move 2G networks closer to

the performance of 3G networks. The key characteristic of a 3G network is its ability to

transfer large amounts of data at high speed (up to 2 Mbps), enabling applications like video

calling, video downloads, web browsing, email, etc. By increasing the speed of a 2G network,

some of these applications become possible, e.g. web browsing and sending or receiving


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emails with large attachments. These technologies are called 2.5G and include enhancements

to the CSD technology, such as HSCSD and EDGE. [6]

Figure 9 Internet access overs GPRS

One may use a mobile phone, PDA, or notebook to connect to a GPRS network. A

mobile phone can be used as a GPRS modem too by linking it with computer using Bluetooth,

infrared, or serial cable.

I.2.2. GPRS device classes

The class of a GPRS phone determines the speed at which data can be transferred.

Technically the classes refer to the number of timeslots available for upload (sending data

from the phone) or download (receiving data from the network). The timeslots used for data

are in addition to the slot that is reserved for voice calls. These timeslots are available

simultaneously, so the greater the number of slots, the faster the data transfer speed. Because

GPRS transmits data in packets, the timeslots are not in use all the time, but are shared

amongst all users of the network. That increases the overall data capacity of the network, and

it also means that you are billed for the quantity of data transmitted, not the time that you are

online. It may mean that during busy times, data transfer rates slow down, because the

network will give priority to voice calls. [6]


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The most common GPRS classes in use are as follows:

GPRS Class Slots Max. data transfer speed

Class 2 3 8 - 12 kbps upload / 16 - 24 kbps download






Table 2 GPRS classes

Generally speaking, the higher the GPRS class, the faster the data transfer rates.

I.3. Online mapping services

Online mapping has come a long way in the last year. Google Maps entered the field and

added satellite imagery to spring itself into the spotlight – challenging the colorful cartoon-

like map images of longtime mapping frontrunner MapQuest. The Google Maps API enabled

developers to create new applications and Mashups, thereby pushing the Google Maps brand

to mainstream audiences. Google Maps, Yahoo Maps and MapQuest, are the online mapping

the most used everywhere; we will look at all them and examine their features and

performance. [7]

I.3.1. MapQuest

Advantages Disadvantages

Very good map detail, with fair

readability.

Initial map scale can be specified (but

only as one of ten zoom levels).

Offers driving directions to or from

the mapped location.

Automatically capitalizes street and

city names.

Only one location per map can be

specified.

Only one style of icon is available for

initial specification, and it cannot be

labeled.

Maps cannot be embedded in pages--

only map links are available.

Map size cannot be controlled.

Map is labeled only by the address

associated with the icon.

No pre-specified customization can

be done

Does not automatically capitalize

country names

Advertising sometimes creates popup


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windows, which will annoy some

visitors if not blocked.

Table 3 MapQuest

I.3.2. Yahoo Maps


Excellent map detail and readability.

Map page is moderately fast to load.

Offers driving directions to or from the

mapped location.

Only one location per map can be

specified, and that must be done by street

address.

Only one style of icon is available.

Maps cannot be embedded in pages--only

map links are available.

Map is labeled only by the address

associated with the icon.

Map size and initial scale cannot be

controlled.

Table 4 Yahoo Maps

I.3.3. Google Maps


Excellent map detail and readability.

Maps are available worldwide.

Overlays of aerial photography are

optional.

Uses a software technology which enables

dynamic changes to a map without reloading

the entire Webpage. (Panning is especially

smooth.)

Works with only a few Web browsers

(though those are among the most popular).

Displaying more than one point per map

requires sophisticated programming

techniques using the API.

Graphical interface does not reveal lat/lon

of search results (though that can be found

from a custom map which uses the API; but

then the search feature is not available).

The level of detail in the maps varies

widely by country.

Table 5 Google Maps

Based on this comparison and according to our needs, we chose Google map for its precision

and worldwide availability.


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II. Survey of the existing

There are already a lot of applications in the world which use the geo-positioning. We

will focus on what Tunisia is offering.

Weenee by Tunsiana

Tunisiana have released the first Tunisian GPS solution called ―Weenee‖ because it

was really time to catch up in this area.

Figure 10 Weenee by Tunisiana

Here are the features and services provided with this GPS:

Coverage: all Tunisia

Voice guidance

Display 2D and 3D mapping

Multilingual: Tunisian, German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian and

Portuguese

Finding proximity points of Interest, sorted by distance

Address Lookup throughout Tunisia

Automatic Route Recalculation

Calculation of optimized routes (time / distance)

Favorites and last recorded addresses

Alerts when speeding (Hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc...)

But this solution can’t be used for tracking, it just inform you of your current position, and

guide you to reach your destination


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GPS Tracking by Tunisie Telecom

After the solution proposed by Tunisiana, Tunisie Telecom offers a GPS Tracking

solution, this is an innovative mobile solution for companies wishing to manage and monitor

their fleets of vehicles (cars, boats, trucks, trailers, ...) and this at a location system involving

satellite technology (GPS) and mobile (GPRS).

With this solution, the company benefits from services with high added value such as:

The real-time visualization of the park on a mapping system.

The speed control for each vehicle

The display of routes and stops of each vehicle

Reports generation

The service is available in GSM blankets, more than 99% of the Tunisian population.

We can notice that, unlike the rest of the world, the list of geo-positioning solutions in Tunisia

is not huge.

III. Project presentation

After presenting some existing geo-positioning solutions in Tunisia, we will turn now to

an overview of our project.

III.1. Main issue

Security is very important in some activities, whether for the safety of persons or

equipment.

Having the possibility to follow physically the position of a person during a road trip can

be comfortable for family, relatives or others. Accidents do happen and you’ll be safer by

enabling others to keep tabs on you, just in case.

Also some enterprises need to follow trucks carrying their goods, to intervene in case of

breakdown or accident.

So we can notice the importance of a GPS tracking application showing a real-time

position.


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III.2. The proposed solution

This project is meant to propose a simple and portable solution for people to get trace. The

application is web based and should be available for every people who have the possibility to:

1. Run a small Java application on its mobile phone.

2. Has link between a GPS device and its mobile phone.

3. Has Internet access.

As mentioned above, this concept is not new and some applications involving GPS are

available on the market, but, the concept to this project is a bit different. We are not focusing

on "where are we?" but more on "where he/she is?‖ For this the idea is to use a cell phone

which accepts to receive GPS coordinates and send them to a server able to record them under

the account of a register user (tracked person). Then from a web application, the user can be

followed on a map in real time mode.

So, we will develop an application that uses a cell phone with integrated GPS, which

receives and records the coordinates of the tracked person.

Tracks can be uploaded to a web site and the server side application receives the GPS data

from the mobile application and processes it (drawing track via Google maps).

The web administrator will be able to follow every tracked person in real time or just

search for a track by specifying the name of the tracked person and the period of his travel.

Figure 11 Global architecture


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Conclusion

In this chapter, we made a bibliography about what we will need in this project to

better understand their use.

In the next chapter, we will pass to the project analysis.


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Chapter 2 Software development methodology

and project planning

Introduction

Currently, there are several methods for software development. It is called the agile

methods. This chapter aims to present and compare these methods and will introduce the

methodology used for the planning of our project.

I. Agile Methodologies

The "agile methods" are designed to reduce lifecycle software by developing a minimum

version, then integrating the functions through an iterative process based on listening the

customer and tests throughout the development cycle.

The origin of agile methods is related to the instability of the technological environment

and the fact customers are often unable to define their needs comprehensively from the

beginning of the project. The term "agile" is referring to the ability to adapt to context

switches and changes in specifications during the intervening development process. In 2001,

17 people started and developed the Agile Manifesto whose translation is as follows:

Individuals and interactions rather than processes and tools.

Software development rather than exhaustive documentation.

Collaboration with the client rather than contract negotiation.

Openness to change rather than following a rigid plan.

With agile methods, the client is the full driver of his project and obtains very quickly

the result of his software.


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Comparison between agile methodologies

Methodology Key points Characteristics Imperfections

RUP

(Rational

Unified

Process)

Complete model of

software

development,

includes support

tools. Task of role-

led activity.

Modeling business,

supporting tools.

RUP has no use

limits.

Lack of explanation:

how to reduce, how

to change.

XP

(Extreme

Programming)

Reduced

development per

client, small team

and daily

construction.

Refactoring - Have

to remake the system

design continuously

to improve

performance and

response to change.

Individual practices

are appropriate in

many situations but

management

practices are less

careful.

FDD

(Feature

Driven

Development)

Process with 5 steps,

development based

on object-oriented

components. Very

small iteration: from

hours to 2 weeks

The simplicity of

methods, conception

and implementation

characteristics,

And object modeling

FDD only focuses on

the conception and

implementation.

AM

(Agile

Modeling)

Agile principles to

model agile culture,

work organization

and simplicity.

Agile thinking is

also applied to

modeling.

It is a good

additional

philosophy for

modeling work.

However, it is

through another

method (RUP)

ASD

(Adaptive

Software

Development)

Adaptive culture,

collaboration,

iterative

development based

on component-led

mission

Organizations are

seen as adaptive

systems.

ASD is more based

on concept than

culture and software

practice.

Crystal

A family of

methods. Each one

has the same core

values and core

principles.

Technics, roles, tools

and standards varies.

Method design

Principle. Able to

choose the most

suitable method

based on project

size.

Too early to

estimate: Only 2 to 4

methods are

suggested.

Scrum

Independent, small

teams with automatic

development

organization, cycles

of 30 days.

Transfer ―defined

and repetitive for

new Scrum product

development‖

Scrum specifies in

detail how to

manage 30 days

cycles, but the

integration and

acceptance test are

not detailed.

Table 6 Comparision between agile methodologies


28

II. Mobile-D: A methodology for the development of mobile

applications:

II.1. Mobile-D introduction:

While many agile methods have been presented, none of them is specifically targeted

for the development of mobile software.

Mobile-D is an agile approach for mobile equipment, based on Extreme Programming

XP (practice), Crystal methodology (scalability) and Rational Unified Process (insurance

lifecycle). It is designed to reply to the specific development of the mobile application and the

quality standard of the industry. The ideal case is to have less than ten developers working in

an office.

The directors aim to provide a fully functional incremental mobile application in

several iterations. The development work is divided into different phases are exploration,

initialize, productionize, stabilize, and test and set system.

The practices of different phases consist of nine major elements: phase and stage,

online architecture, mobile test-driven development, continuous integration, pair

programming, metrics, process improvement software agile, customer off-site, and

concentration of the User-Centered. [8]

II.2. Why Mobile-D for mobile application?

By combining the benefits of three agile XP, Crystal and RUP, Mobile-D meets the

characteristics of the development of mobile application. This is shown in Table 2. [9]

Mobile-D and mobile software development characteristics

Mobile-D characteristics Rational Mobile software

High environment volatility Due to high change of

requirements, less need for

up-front design & planning,

need for incremental and

iterative development

approach.

High uncertainty, dynamic

environment: Hundreds of

new mobile phones

published each year.

Small development teams Small teams are able to react

more rapidly, share

information, less is

documentation needed, etc.

Majority of mobile software

is developed in micro or

SME companies, or

development teams.

Identifiable customer To avoid business

misunderstanding

Potentially unlimited number

of end-users. Business

customer easier to identify,

e.g. distributor.

Object-oriented development Failures do not cause loss of Majority of existing mobile


29

environment lives. More agility can be

pursued.

software is for entertainment

purposes. Mobile terminals

are not reliable.

Non-safety critical software Failures do not cause loss of

lives. More agility can be

pursued.

Majority of existing mobile

software is for entertainment

purposes. Mobile terminals

are not reliable.

Application level software Large embedded systems

require extensive

communication &

verification mechanisms

While mobile systems are

complex and highly

dependent,

mobile applications can be

stand-alone applications

Small system Less upfront design needed Sizes of mobile applications

vary, but generally they are

less than 10000 lines of

code.

Short development cycle For the purposes of rapid

feedback

Development cycles vary.

Generally mobile

applications and services can

be developed within 1-6

month time frame

Table 7 Mobile-D and mobile software development characteristics

From the table above, we can conclude that Mobile-D is suitable for mobile application

development.

II.3. Mobile-D in details:

Mobile-D methodology is composed by 5 principle phases: [8]

Figure 12Mobile-D

1. Explore:

The purpose of Explore phase is the planning and establishment of the incipient

project. ―A well planned is half done‖ is a saying to be remembered also in the software

development context. Explore phase can be timely unattached to the latter phases of Mobile-D

and also overlap with 0 Iteration phase. Explore phase is an important phase to set the ground

for controlled implementation of the software development product regarding, for example,

issues related to product architecture, software development process and environment

selection. Different stakeholder groups are needed to provide their expertise in the Explore

phase.


30

2. Initialize:

The purpose of the Initialize phase pattern is to enable the success of

forthcoming project phases by preparing and verifying all critical development issues so that

they all are in full readiness in the end of the phase for implementing requirements selected by

the customer.

3. Productionize:

The purpose in the Productionize phase is to implement the required functionality into

the product by applying iterative and incremental development cycle.

4. Stabilize:

The purpose of the Stabilize phase pattern is to ensure the quality of the

implementation of the project.

5. System test & fix:

The purpose of System Test & Fix is to see if the produced system implements

the customer defined functionality correctly, provide the project team feedback on the

systems functionality and fix the found defects.

The figure below represents each phase steps:

Figure 13 Mobile-D phases

Mobile-D phases are detailed in appendix A.


31

II.4. Mobile-D methodology evaluation:

The mobile-D methodology has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

o Mobile-D is well adapted to mobile software development in small teams.

o Able to satisfy changing needs of users through short iterations (phases initialize

productionize, stabilize).

o Pair programming for each iteration working day step, is very efficient.

o Software documentation is complete.

o Every step is clear and detailed.

o Easy to monitor project progress

o Every step task is detailed.

Disadvantages:

Mobile-D is designed to fit the small system developed by a small team -> cannot be

adapted to complex business system (eg M-commerce) on the phone mobile in the future.

There is no teacher on the technologies and tools selection for mobile software

development.

III. Project planning

Our application is composed by a mobile application, and a web application. We decided

to follow the methodology proposed by mobile-D, because it’s the most appropriate for our

project. First, it exploits the advantages of other agile methods and it’s appropriate for mobile

applications. Moreover it’s very efficient for pair programming and it will help us to monitor

the progress of our project.

Therefore, we adopted this methodology for the planning of this project.


32

We used Gantt Project which is a GPL-licensed (free software) Java based, project

management software. It features a Gantt chart for project scheduling of tasks, and doing

resource management using resource load charts. It has a number of reporting options (MS

Project, HTML, PDF, spreadsheets).

The major features include:

Task hierarchy and dependencies

Gantt chart

Resource load chart

Generation of PERT chart

PDF and HTML reports

MS Project import/export

Exchange data with spreadsheet applications

WebDAV based groupwork [10]

The Gantt chart of our project is like the following.

-Project Planning

-Project note book

-Case Study

-Documentation

-Project Analysis

-project Conception

-Project setup

-Documentation

-Mobile development

-Web development

(iterative and incremental life cycle)

-Improve the quality of implemenation

-Finish documentation

-Mobile application test

-Web application test

Explore Initialize Productionize

Stabilize System test & set


33

Figure 14 Gantt Chart

Our project planning is based on mobile-D methodology. We will try to follow it

during all the project.

Conclusion

In this section, we talked about the methodology we will follow during the project

from its beginning to its realization and test.


34

Chapter 3 Project requirements analysis

Introduction

In this chapter, we will talk about our requirements by defining the various features of the

application. A requirement is said functional if it has to be accomplished at the end of the

development phase, otherwise it is said non-functional.

I. Project requirements

I.1. Actors

The actors of our application are:

The Mobile User (or the tracked user), he is the proprietary of the GSM.

The Web User (or the web administrator), he is the supervisor of the application;

he can view and follow tracks in real time.

I.2. Functional requirements

I.2.1. Mobile application

In this area the Mobile user had to:

Connects to the mobile application.

sets options such as:

o Enter the URL of your server side application.

o Adjust the GPS access period in seconds.

o Enter login/password

Send a position to the web server

o Displays latitude, longitude and other position relevant info.

I.2.2. Web application

In this area the Web user had to:

Connects to the web site.

Follow track in real time

Search for a track


35

I.3. Nonfunctional requirements

Some nonfunctional needs are required for our application:

Scalability: According to the mobile-D methodology, our application should be

extensible. We used the design pattern factory, to allow the possibility of developing

an additional part on the application.

Ergonomic website: applying some ergonomic rules in the Web application:

Simple web interface: The user doesn’t have to do a lot of clicks to access what he

seeks.

The map is centered on the middle of the page

Secured authentication, by using an MD5 password encryption.

II. Requirement analysis

In this part we will present the different use cases of our application then analyze each of

them.

II.1. Choice of methodology

A method of analysis and design provides a methodology and ratings standards helping to

develop quality software. It is essential to achieve a common understanding of the different

parts of an application.

Modeling is the designing of software applications before coding. Modeling is an

Essential Part of large software projects, and helpful to medium and even small projects as

well. A model plays the analogous role in software development that blueprints and other

plans (site maps, elevations, physical models) play in the building of a skyscraper. Using a

model, those responsible for a software development project's success can assure themselves

that business functionality is complete and correct, end-user needs are met, and program

design supports requirements for scalability, robustness, security, extendibility, and other

characteristics, before implementation in code renders changes difficult and expensive to

make. Surveys show that large software projects have a huge probability of failure - in fact,

it's more likely that a large software application will fail to meet all of its requirements on

time and on budget than that it will succeed. If you're running one of these projects, you need

to do all you can to increase the odds for success, and modeling is the only way to visualize

your design and check it against requirements before your crew starts to code.


36

So we used Unified Modeling Language (UML) which is a standardized general-purpose

modeling language in the field of software engineering. The standard is managed, and was

created by, the Object Management Group.

UML includes a set of graphical notation techniques to create visual models of software-

intensive systems.

Figure 15 UML

II.2. Application use case

Figure 16 General Use case


37

The diagram shows the use case for the application. There are 2 actors, 8 use cases which

represent for different action what actors can do with the system.

II.2.1. Mobile application

II.2.1.1. Use case diagram

Figure 17 Mobile Use case

II.2.1.2. Use case descriptions

II.2.1.2.1. Set options

In the following table we will describe the use case ―set options‖

Name Set options

Summary Allow the user to set GPS options

Actors The tracked person

Preconditions The user is logged

Basic course 1. The user choose the option menu

2. The user enter the server URL

3. The user adjust the GPS refresh period

4. The user validate the options

Alternative course N/A

Exceptions E1 the entered URL is not valid

2’. the system shows an error message

Post conditions The options have been saved

Table 8 Use case: Set options


38

II.2.1.2.2. Show Position

Name Show Position

Summary Showing actual GPS coordinates on the mobile application



Basic course 1. The user choose the Show Position menu

2. The system get coordinates (position) from the

GPS

3. The coordinates appears on the screen


Exceptions N/A

Post conditions N/A

Table 9 Use case: Show position

II.2.1.2.3. Send position

Name Send position

Summary Sending GPS coordinates to the server using mobile data

communication



The position is shown

Basic course 1. The user choose the Show Position menu

2. The system get coordinates (position) from the

GPS

3. The coordinates appears on the screen

4. The user select ―Send position‖

5. The system establish a GPRS connection

6. The system send the position


Exceptions N/A

Post conditions N/A

Table 10 Use case: Send position


39

II.2.2. Web application

II.2.2.1. Use case diagram

Figure 18 Web Use case

II.2.2.2. Use case descriptions

II.2.2.2.1. Follow tracks in real time

Name Follow tracks in real time

Summary Showing tracks on the map in real time

Actors The Web user


Basic course 1. The user select the options ―Real time track‖

2. The system extract tracks from database every

2seconds

3. The tracks are shown on the map

Alternative course E2. There are no tracks in the database

2’. There are no tracks shown on the map

Exceptions N/A

Post conditions N/A

Table 11 Use case: Follow tracks in real time


40

II.2.2.2.2. Search for a track

Name Search for a track

Summary The web user can specify the characteristics of the track

and view it on the map

Actors The Web user


Basic course 1. The user select the option ―search for a track‖

2. The user specify the track characteristics

3. The user specify the tracked person

4. The system extract tracks from database

5. The track is shown on the map

Alternative course E2. There are no tracks in the database

2’. There are no tracks shown on the map

Exceptions N/A

Post conditions N/A

Table 12 Use case: Search for a track

II.3. Analysis Class diagram

This diagram shows the classes without attributes or methods that we will use in the

conception section, it consists to see the whole working of the application

Figure 19 Analysis class diagram


41

II.4. State machine

UML state machine, known also as UML state chart, is an object-based variant of

Harelstate chart adapted and extended by the Unified Modeling Language. UML state

machines overcome the main the limitations of traditional finite state machines while

retaining their main benefits. UML state charts introduce the new concepts of hierarchically

nested states and orthogonal regions, while extending the notion of actions. UML state

machines have the characteristics of both Mealy machines and Moore machines. They support

actions that depend on both the state of the system and the triggering event, as in Mealy

machines, as well as entry and exit actions, which are associated with states rather than

transitions, as in Moore machines. [11]

Figure 20 State machine diagram

Conclusion

In this chapter we specified the functional and nonfunctional requirements of our

application which extends over two main areas which are Mobile application and Web

application.


42

Chapter 4 Design

Introduction

A design method defines the procedure to follow to establish a robust, reliable and

scalable application. In this chapter, we will present the different design stages of our

application and use some UML diagrams to model these steps.

I. General Design

I.1. System context Description

UML includes a set of graphical notation techniques to create visual models of

software-intensive systems. To design the operation of our application, we must study its

interaction with outside.

Our application has two parts:

The first one is the mobile application which will connect to a GPS.

The second one is the web site which will receive information from mobile side

and will be able to draw a real-time track and search for tracks

So now we are able to draw the context diagram of the application must identify actors.

I.1.1. Context diagram

A System Context Diagram (SCD) in software engineering and systems engineering are

diagrams that represent the actors outside a system that could interact with that system. This

diagram is the highest level view of a system, similar to Block diagram, showing a, possibly

software-based, system as a whole and its inputs and outputs from/to external factors. [12]

In our application, we distinguish two diagrams context located below:

Tracking Mobile:

Mobile application

Web Server

GPS

(JSR179)

Mobile user

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_modeling


43

I.1.2. Activity diagram

After presenting the context of our application, we will illustrate, in this part, activity

diagrams that describe functionalities of the application, and give an overview of all modules

of our application.

Activity diagrams are graphical representations of workflows of stepwise activities and

actions with support for choice, iteration and concurrency. In the Unified Modeling Language,

activity diagrams can be used to describe the business and operational step-by-step workflows

of components in a system. An activity diagram shows the overall flow of control.

This diagram presents the activity of the mobile side.

Figure 21 Context diagram

Web Server

Tracking Mobile:

Mobile application Web user


44

Figure 22 Mobile side: Activity diagram


45

The next diagram presents the activity of the web side.

Figure 23 Web site: Activity diagram

I.2. General View

The general approach is to declare the different packages used during the application

development.

A package diagram in the Unified Modeling Language depicts the dependencies

between the packages that make up a model. These packages are represented in this figure:


46

Figure 24 : Different packages of the application

In the application we used the Model–View–Controller (MVC) which is a software

architecture, currently considered an architectural pattern used in software engineering. The

pattern isolates "domain logic" (the application logic for the user) from input and presentation

(GUI), permitting independent development, testing and maintenance of each.

Model: collects the classes which are persistent classes like position and tracks

View: renders the model into a form suitable for interaction, typically a user

interface element. Multiple views can exist for a single model for different

purposes.

Controller: receives input and initiates a response by making calls on model

objects.

Service: contains the application services like the connection to the GPS

Utils: contains the utilities used to send on the GPRS and checking the GPS

device


47

II. Detailed design

In this section we will detail the design of our application by exposing the static view of

the system, using class diagrams and with the view dynamic sequence diagrams.

II.1. Sequence diagram

A sequence diagram in Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a kind of interaction

diagram that shows how processes operate with one another and in what order. It is a

construct of a Message Sequence Chart.

Sequence diagrams are sometimes called Event-trace diagrams, event scenarios, and

timing diagrams.

This diagram presents the Sequence of the mobile side.

Figure 25 Mobile side: Sequence diagram


48

The next diagram presents the activity of the web side.

Figure 26 Web site: Sequence diagram

II.2. Class diagram

In software engineering, a class diagram in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a

type of static structure diagram that describes the structure of a system by showing the

system's classes, their attributes, and the relationships between the classes.

II.2.1. MIDlet

Figure 27 MIDlet class


49

This class is the main class of the application, it contains the abstract method of a

MIDlet to run or destroy the application.

This class instantiates the controller of the application to run all services and it allows

the display

II.2.2. Package: Controller

Figure 28: Controller package

This package contains the class called ―Controller‖, it is used to control all the

inputs/outputs of the application. It must use a singleton pattern to have only one instantiated

Controller, contains a method like ―goTo(UI)‖ which is used to command the view package.


50

II.2.3. Package: View

Figure 29 Package View

This package ―View‖ contains all the human interface of the application, we see classes

like LoginUI, PostionUI, StartUI… All of these classes will use method done by the

controller.


51

II.2.4. Package: Model

Figure 30 Package Model

This package contains all persistent classes like the position information and tracks…

This information will be sent to the web server to be drawn on maps.

II.2.5. Package: Utils

Figure 31 Package Utils


52

This package contains classes that the application will use externally; ―GpsUtil‖ will

check the presence of the Jsr179 and ―HttpUtil‖ will make the GPRS connection between the

mobile side and the web side.

II.2.6. Package: Service

Figure 32 Package Service

The JSR package contains the class ―DeviceJSR179‖ which will connect to the JSR179

and collects all the information (Qualified Coordinates) about the position, speed and date.

This class uses the singleton pattern to instantiate only one device

For the next extension of our work, we prepared the service package with the design

pattern factory which is an object-oriented design pattern to implement the concept of

factories. Like other creational patterns, it deals with the problem of creating objects

(products) without specifying the exact class of object that will be created. The factory

method design pattern handles this problem by defining a separate method for creating the

objects, which subclasses can then override to specify the derived type of product that will be


53

created. More generally, the term factory method is often used to refer to any method whose

main purpose is creation of objects. used to make a factory to create a device connected to the

GSM (internal or external GPS).

II.3. Entity Relationship Diagram

An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a snapshot of data structures. ERDs show

entities in a database and relationships between tables within that database. It is essential to

have one of these if you want to create a good database design. The patterns help focus on

how the database actually works with all of the interactions and data flows, although another

useful tool is a Data Flow Diagram (DFD) which more directly describes this. [17]

Figure 33 Entity relationship diagram

Position: contains information about a position collected by the GPS and sent by the mobile.

Web_admin: contains login and password to the admin authentication.

Conclusion

In this section we have presented the detailed design of our application.

In the next chapter we will pass to the technical details of the development,

the working environment and the test of the application.


54

Chapter 5 Implementation

Introduction

This section represents the accomplishment phase of the project. We will first present our

work environment, then, we will outline the different steps of the realization of the

application.

I. Work environment

To accomplish this project, we have used many resources. We will detail them in the

following.

I.1. Programming languages

I.1.1. Programming languages for Mobile application development

Currently, there are many languages for mobile application development, but the two

the most used technologies are the Sun's J2ME technology using the Java language, and .NET

Mobile technology (or Microsoft Internet Toolkit) using Microsoft and .NET technology

languages.

In the following we will present the more known technologies in the market Sun's

J2ME.

I.1.1.1. Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME):

Java Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME, is a Java platform designed for mobile

devices and embedded systems. Target devices range from industrial controls to mobile

phones and set-top boxes. Java ME was formerly known as Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition

(J2ME).

Java ME was designed by Sun Microsystems; the platform replaced a similar

technology, Personal Java. Originally developed under the Java Community Process as JSR

68, the different flavors of Java ME have evolved in separate JSRs. Sun provides a reference

implementation of the specification, but has tended not to provide free binary


55

implementations of its Java ME runtime environment for mobile devices, rather relying on

third parties to provide their own.

Java ME devices implement a profile. The most common of these are the Mobile

Information Device Profile aimed at mobile devices, such as cell phones, and the Personal

Profile aimed at consumer products and embedded devices like set-top boxes and PDAs.

Profiles are subsets of configurations, of which there are currently two: the Connected

Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) and the Connected Device Configuration (CDC). [18]

Figure 34JavaME architecture

I.1.2. Programming languages for Web application development

I.1.2.1. PHP

PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor and is a server-side language. This means that

the script is run on your web server, not on the user's browser, so you do not need to worry

about compatibility issues. PHP is relatively new (compared to languages such as Perl (CGI)

and Java) but is quickly becoming one of the most popular scripting languages on the internet.

[19]

Why PHP?

The source code availability (PHP is licensed GNU LPG);

The simplicity of scripting


56

The ability to include PHP script in an HTML page

The ease of interfacing with databases (many Database Management System (DBMS)

are supported, such as Oracle)

Integration in many Web servers (Apache, Microsoft IIS…)

I.1.2.2. MySQL

The MySQL database is an open source system that offers a range of features

useful for our application. MySQL DBMS is powerful and used by many companies

A server database MySQL is very fast, reliable and easy to use; it runs on most

operating systems like Unix, Linux and Windows NT/2000/XP.

The MySQL software has the advantage of being free and highly adapted to the Web. For

these reasons it is the DBMS used by most web hosts to store data. [20]

I.1.2.3. JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language embedded in an HTML document. Indeed, this

programming language improves HTML in order to run some commands on the client side.

JavaScript was used to develop our web application with Google map API.

I.1.2.4. AJAX (Asynchronous Java And XML )

Ajax means a set of commonly used Web technologies such as:

XHTML, CSS, DOM and JavaScript, XML and XMLHttpRequest.

The heart of Ajax is mainly based on XMLHttpRequest, originally developed by

Microsoft that allows playback of asynchronous resources on a Web server.

He can be used to partially modify the page displayed by the browser and save the

updated without reloading the entire page. For example the contents of a form field can be

changed without having to reload the page with the title, images, menu…


57

I.1.2.5. XML

XML is not a language, but a format that allows languages definition. The

XHTML is an XML language; it is also a standardized form of HTML.

XML is a general language data formatting. This language has the advantage of being easily

transportable.

The main advantages of XML: [21]

Simplicity: Information coded in XML is easy to read and understand, plus it can be

processed easily by computers.

Openness: XML is a W3C standard, endorsed by software industry market leaders.

Extensibility: There is no fixed set of tags. New tags can be created as they are

needed.

Self-description: In traditional databases, data records require schemas set up by the

database administrator. XML documents can be stored without such definitions,

because they contain meta data in the form of tags and attributes.

Contains machine-readable context information: Tags, attributes and element

structure provide context information that can be used to interpret the meaning of

content, opening up new possibilities for highly efficient search engines, intelligent

data mining, agents, etc.

This is a major advantage over HTML or plain text, where context information is

difficult or impossible to evaluate.

Separates content from presentation: XML tags describe meaning not presentation.

The motto of HTML is: "I know how it looks", whereas the motto of XML is: "I know

what it means, and you tell me how it should look." The look and feel of an XML

document can be controlled by XSL style sheets, allowing the look of a document (or

of a complete Web site) to be changed without touching the content of the document.

Multiple views or presentations of the same content are easily rendered.

Supports multilingual documents and Unicode: This is important for the

internationalization of applications.

Facilitates the comparison and aggregation of data: The tree structure of XML

documents allows documents to be compared and aggregated efficiently element by

element.


58

Can embed multiple data types: XML documents can contain any possible data type

- from multimedia data (image, sound, video) to active components (Java applets,

ActiveX).

Can embed existing data: Mapping existing data structures like file systems or

relational databases to XML is simple. XML supports multiple data formats and can

cover all existing data structures.

I.2. Location API for Java ME

The Location API for Java ME is a compact and generic Java 2 ME API that produces

information about the device's present physical location to Java applications. This API can be

optionally supported by mobile phone and PDA manufacturers, with the minimum Java

platform required for this API being CLDC v1.1.

The Location API was developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 179, released

in September 2003 and updated to version 1.0.1 in March 2006. Nokia is the main author and

maintainer of this JSR.

OpenLAPI is an LGPL implementation for use in emulator environments where the Nokia

reference implementation does not exist and for devices which can access a GPS device over

Bluetooth. [22]

Features

The Location API is designed to work with many different positioning methods.

Generic interfaces let application developers implement systems that can retrieve location

data from multiple sources, based on their availability on the device. It has advantages over a

single means of tracking, including fail-over, indoor/outdoor transparency, and a choice

between the speed and accuracy trade-offs between GPS, cellular, or other positioning

methods. The API supports:

Current location - current latitude, longitude, altitude, direction, and speed of the

phone, and methods to convert it to text.

Landmark proximity - a store of landmarks can be stored on the phone's memory, and

the current location can be added as a landmark.


59

Address data - the nearest landmark's textual details, such as postal address, phone

number, country, and the building and its URL.

Location listeners - for dynamic location-based applications that will be triggered by

when the current location changes.

I.3. Software environment

I.3.1. Software environment for mobile application development

I.3.1.1. Visual Paradigm for UML

Visual Paradigm for UML is a Unified Modeling Language (UML) design tool that

supports all UML diagrams, SysML diagrams and entity relationship diagram. Visual

Paradigm for UML provides extensive use case modeling features including full function

UML use case diagram, flow of events editor, use case/actor grid and activity diagram

generation. Visual Paradigm for UML produces system documentation in PDF, HTML and

MS Word formats. Developer can design system documentation with template designer.

System analyst can estimate the consequences of changes with impact analysis diagrams, such

as matrix and analysis diagram. Visual Paradigm for UML generates Java code. [23]

I.3.1.2. NetBeans IDE Bundle for Java ME

The NetBeans IDE Bundle for Java ME is a tool for developing applications that run

on mobile devices; generally mobile phones, but this also includes entry-level PDAs, and Java

Card, among others.

The NetBeans IDE comes bundled with the latest Java ME SDK 3.0 which supports

both CLDC and CDC development. One can easily integrate third-party emulators for a

robust testing environment. You can download other Java platforms, including the Java Card

Platform 3.0, and register them in the IDE. [24]

I.3.2. Software environment for Web application development

I.3.2.1. Easy PHP

Launched in 1999, EasyPHP was the first and only WAMP software bundle available.

EasyPHP installs web server services onto the Windows computer and allows quick-and-easy


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development of PHP and MySQL on a localhost (also known as 127.0.0.1). The package

includes an Apache server, a MySQL database, and the PHP extension. [25]

I.3.2.2. Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Dreamweaver (formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver) is a web development

application originally created by Macromedia, and is now developed by Adobe Systems,

which acquired Macromedia in 2005.

Recent versions have incorporated support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript,

and various server-side scripting languages and frameworks including ASP, ColdFusion, and

PHP. [26]

II. Realization

The overall architecture of our project is mainly composed of two major phases. The first

is the mobile part. The second phase is reserved for the web part.

This section is divided into two parts. In the first one we will talk about the mobile

application and in the second one, we will pass to the web application.

II.1. Mobile application

Due to the mobile phone technology progress, we have now the opportunity to have a

phone with integrated GPS, we decided to exploit this technology and develop a mobile

application that uses this type of device.

After receiving the GPS coordinates, the mobile application will establish a GPRS

connection to send HTTP requests to the server and save them in the MySQL database. This

information contains: date, time, speed, the position of the tracked person (latitude,

longitude).

And there is some screenshots to explain explicitly the work our application step by step:


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Figure 35 Mobile login interface

To start with the mobile application you must

logon.

A form with two Textboxes (username &

password) used to authenticate and this

authentication will send later the username of

each track to the web server.

Figure 36 Mobile menu interface

Once you are logged on, you will have the

main menu, it’s a List containing ―GPS

Position‖, ―Options‖ and ―Exit‖


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Figure 37 Mobile set options interface

If you click on the ―Option‖ from the main

menu you will be redirected to the option

form where you can modify and save your

configuration such as the URL of the web

server, the refresh period of collecting

information about position from the GPS

device and finally the login and password

Figure 38 Mobile show position interface

And if you click on the ―GPS Position‖ on

the main menu you will be redirected to a

form which allows you to see information

about your position collected for a GPS

device such as latitude, longitude, altitude,

speed, and the time.

And each position is sent to the web server to

be shown on the web site.


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II.2. Web application

The administrator has to login to access the web application. After that he will be able to

view and follow different tracks of each tracked person, and manage them (editing or

deleting).

How to get positions from database?

A good solution is to have

A back-end script such as PHP, generating the XML file as required: parameters

are passed to this back-end script to refine which points are returned and this script

will return an XML document containing only points in that area.

Example of XML document:

And a JavaScript front end. Very basic, allowing interaction on pages and the map

display.

The web site is a human interface which will be used by the administrator so he must

authenticate to the server with a cool and attractive input boxes


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Figure 39 Web login interface

Once the administrator is logged on, he will be redirected to the menu web page with to links

to let him the choice of what he wants to do.

Figure 40 Web menu interface

If he chooses a ―Real-time tracking‖ he will see a popup to choose the name of the tracked

person.


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Figure 41 Web search by user interface

The administrator enter the name of the tracked person, and he will see a map showing real

time the moving of the person and each point shows the speed, altitude and other information.


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Figure 42 Web Real time map

Or if the second link which is ―Search for a track‖ is chosen, also a popup will be shown to

enter criteria of the search such as the start date, end date and the name of the tracked person,

dates are entered with an attractive calendar to facilitate the input of dates.


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Figure 43 Web search by date interface

The administrator enter the name of the tracked person and two dates, and he will see a map

showing tracks made by the selected person between those two dates and for each point track

he will see the speed, altitude and other information. And also he can do another searches.


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Figure 44 Web map interface

Conclusion

In this chapter we presented the work environment and required tools of our application. We

have also detailed the different steps of the project realization.


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Conclusion and future work

With the speed by which technology evolves, it is not a surprise that the world has

become 'smaller', in the sense that communicating with another person from the other side of

the world has become instantaneous.

Nowadays, almost everything is possible with the latest that technology has to offer,

which brings numerous advantages to users around the world. One of the products of the

continuous and advancing developments in technology is the GPS or Global Positioning

System.

The GPS technology is currently being used for a multitude of applications such as

GPS tracking systems which can be incorporated in mobile phones, vehicles, even a person -

or any type of object - that you would like to locate.

In this context, we have developed our application which is able to do mobile tracking,

allowing the administrator to manage tracks for each tracked user, by viewing, editing or

deleting them.

During the development of this application, we faced many problems, especially to

send data from the mobile to the Web application, but with a little perseverance and patience,

we were able to solve it.

Indeed, working on this project allowed us, first, to deepen our knowledge in

computing and particularly in mobile applications development. We also improved our skill in

J2ME and discovered different technologies such as GPS, GPRS.

In addition, we have learned through this experience to organize our work using the

mobile-D methodology, which in our case was an efficient way, to realize this project and to

make this work professional.

Our works can be helpful for many domains: It’s useful for employers, allowing them

to know how fast their employees are driving, how long a break they are taking (vehicle

hasn’t moved), and where they are! GPS Tracking can also eliminate your worry about your

goods, by allowing you to follow your truckers. This application can be used in many other

fields.


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Besides, we can add other features when needed. For example, due to the fact that

some peoples can’t afford a mobile phone with integrated GPS, we can solve this problem, by

extending the same mobile application with the use of an external GPS and a Bluetooth

connection. We can also improve our application by adding a real time tracking. And so on…

this application is very extensible.


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Appendix A: Mobile-D phases

Each phase is detailed in the following parts:

Explore:

The goals of Explore are to:

1. Establish the stakeholder groups needed in the planning and monitoring the

software development project,

2. Define and agree the goals and scope for the software development project, and

3. Plan the project regarding environment, personnel and process issues.

Figure 45 Mobile-D Explore

Table 3 : explore phase tasks

Steps Tasks

Stakeholder Establishment Client establishment

Stakeholder group establishment

Scope Definition Determine initial requirements

Project initial planning

Project Establishment Environment selection

Personal allocation

Architecture line definition

Process establishment

Table 13 Mobile-D Explore

Initialize:

The goals of the Initialize phase pattern are to:

1. Gain a good overall understanding of the product for the project team based on

initial requirements and architecture line descriptions.


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2. Prepare physical, technical and human resources as well as customer

communication, project plans and all critical development issues so that they all

are in full readiness for implementing requirements selected by the customer

during forthcoming project phases.

Figure 46 Mobile-D initialize

Table 4 : Initialize phase tasks

Steps Tasks

Project setup set-up the physical and technical resources

for the project as well as the environment for

project monitoring

train the project team as necessary,

Establish the project specific ways to

communicate with the customer group.

Planning day in 0 iteration Architecture line planning,

Initial requirement analyses

Working day in 0 iteration Conduct the planned checks of critical

development issues

Solve open issues if possible without writing

source code.

Table 14 Mobile-D initialize

Productionize:

The goals of the Productionize phase are to:

1. Implement the customer prioritized functionality to the product.

2. Focus on the crucial core functionality by implementing them in the early

increment to allow multiple enhancement cycles.


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Figure 47 Mobile-D productionize

Table 5 : Productionize phase tasks

Steps Tasks

Planning day Analyze requirements

Iterations planning

Acceptance tests generation

Acceptance test review

Working day Documentation

Reduced test development

Pair programming

Continue integration

Refactoring; improve current software

Inform client

Release day System integration

Pre-release test

Acceptance test

Verify if this iteration was good

Table 15 Mobile-D productionize

Stabilize:

The goals of the Stabilize phase pattern are to:

1. Finalize the implementation of the product.

2. Enhance and ensure the quality of the product.

3. Finalize the documentation of the product.

In this phase, there are 4 steps: Planning day, working day, documentation wrap-up,

release day. Planning day, working day, release day are the same as in productionize phase.


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The purpose or the documentation wrap-up step is to finish the conception

documentation, UI and software architecture. We must ensure that documents made at this

step are short, useful, comprehensive and coherent with the source code.

Figure 48 Mobile-D Stabilize

System test & fix:

The goals of System Test & Fix are to:

1. Test the system based on the documentation produced in the project

2. Provide information of found defects

3. Allow the project team to plan fix for the found defects

4. Fix the defects

5. Produce as error free system as possible

There are 4 steps: one for system test, and three for correction.

The purpose of the system test step is to identify a software default and produce

information about theses defaults to correct them.

Figure 49 Mobile-D Test


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The three steps to correct defaults are a normal iteration similar to productionize

phase.

Figure 50 Mobile-D Test&Fix


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References and bibliography

[1] Geolocation essay, Kevin Jones, 2002

[2] Cell-ID

http://www.opencellid.org/ , last visit on February 2010.

[3] Time of arrival, Cell-ID location technique, limits and benefits: an experimental

study, Computer Society, 2004

[4] Global Positioning System

http://boltindia.com/gps.html , last visit on January 2010.

[5] GPS, Position calculation introduction

http://www.cmtinc.com/gpsbook/ , last visit on January 2010.

[6] GPRS (General Packet Radio Service),

http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/gprs.htm , last visit on January 2010.

[7] Online Mapping Services - a comparison,

http://www.gcna.org/data/MapsComparison.html , last visit on January 2010.

[8] Mobile-D,

http://agile.vtt.fi/mobiled.html , last visit on January 2010.

[9] Keynote: Mobile software development - the business opportunity of today,

Pekka Abrahamsson, 2005

[10] GanttProject,

http://www.ganttproject.biz/, last visit on January 2010.

[11] UML state machine

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/stateMachineDiagram.htm, last visit on

February 2010.

[12] System context diagram

http://www.pqsw.com/hjsasp/gn02.cfm?SI=43479230767&ID=921210469186, last

visit on February 2010.

[13] Activity diagram

http://radicaldevelopment.net/index.php/2010/02/17/uml-modeling-visual-studio-net-

2010/ , last visit on February 2010.

[14] The MVC Pattern

http://theweb3.net/articles/mvc-pattern.html , last visit on February 2010.

[15] Sequence diagram

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/sequenceDiagram.htm, last visit on February

2010.

[16] Class diagram

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/classDiagram.htm, last visit on February

2010.

http://www.opencellid.org/

http://boltindia.com/gps.html

http://www.cmtinc.com/gpsbook/

http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/gprs.htm

http://www.gcna.org/data/MapsComparison.html

http://agile.vtt.fi/mobiled.html

http://www.ganttproject.biz/

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/stateMachineDiagram.htm

http://www.pqsw.com/hjsasp/gn02.cfm?SI=43479230767&ID=921210469186

http://radicaldevelopment.net/index.php/2010/02/17/uml-modeling-visual-studio-net-2010/

http://radicaldevelopment.net/index.php/2010/02/17/uml-modeling-visual-studio-net-2010/

http://theweb3.net/articles/mvc-pattern.html

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/sequenceDiagram.htm

http://www.agilemodeling.com/artifacts/classDiagram.htm


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[17] Entity relationship diagram

http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Entity_Relationship_Diagram , last visit on

February 2010.

[18] J2ME tutorial

http://developers.sun.com/mobility/midp/articles/wtoolkit/ , last visit on March 2010.

[19] PHP

http://www.webdotdev.com/nvd/content/view/1039/211/ , last visit on March 2010.

[20] MySQL

http://www.mysql.fr/, last visit on March 2010.

[21] XML

http://www.softwareag.com/xml/about/xml_ben.htm , last visit on March 2010.

[22] Location API for JavaMe

http://java.sun.com/javame/reference/apis.jsp, last visit on March 2010.

[23] Visual Paradigm for UML

http://www.visual-paradigm.com/product/vpuml/ , last visit on March 2010.

[24] Netbeans

http://netbeans.org/, last visit on March 2010.

[25] EasyPHP

http://www.easyphp.org/, last visit on March 2010.

[26] Adobe Dreamweaver

http://www.adobe.com/fr/products/dreamweaver/, last visit on March 2010.

http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Entity_Relationship_Diagram

http://developers.sun.com/mobility/midp/articles/wtoolkit/

http://www.webdotdev.com/nvd/content/view/1039/211/

http://www.mysql.fr/

http://www.softwareag.com/xml/about/xml_ben.htm

http://java.sun.com/javame/reference/apis.jsp

http://www.visual-paradigm.com/product/vpuml/

http://netbeans.org/

http://www.easyphp.org/

http://www.adobe.com/fr/products/dreamweaver/

Documents

End of Year Project Report