Built in Features

When you build an application with kinodb, the application automatically benefits from many built in features, which would often be too expensive to build into a normal bespoke application. With kinodb, no effort is required to make the most of these features. These include:

• Security
• User tracking
• Observer
• Audit trail
• System performance monitoring

Security

Security is integrated into every kinodb application.  The security model can be as simple or as sophisticated as required and, like all other parts of kinodb, is easy for the developer to configure and re-configure as and when needed.

The security model is based upon the concept of realms.  Each table and field belongs to a realm, and is given a series of access levels that control the viewing, editing, creating and deleting of that data.  Each user can belong to a number of different realms and be given different levels within each realm.

An application may contain as many realms, and as many different access levels within each, as are required.

The security model controls all aspects of the application's behaviour so that users only see menu options for which they are authorised and can only view or edit the data that their authorisation levels permit.  Because kinodb generates the user interface uniquely for each user based on their access rights, complex forms with numerous different access levels present no issues.  In conventional development environments each variant might take days to develop and test, and a minor modification to the security model might require weeks of rework.

User tracking

User tracking is the ability to record the actions of any user within the system.  There are a number of different levels of tracking, at its most verbose every action of the user can be tracked, the menu items they select, the records they view, edits which are made (even if they are later cancelled), etc.

Each user has a tracking level; this can be overridden in parts of the application so that (for instance) all changes to sensitive data are logged irrespective of who makes them.

Observer

Observer enables an administrative user to observe a users screen and watch as they navigate about the application. This functionality is particularly useful for help desks, as they can immediately see exactly where in the system a particular user is, and which data set they are looking at. As the user navigates around the system, the administrator's screen changes to keep in sync with their actions.

The administrator can also step backwards and forwards through the actions of the user to better understand how the user arrived at their current screen.

Audit trail

Update tracking is enabled on a per-table basis and records the user, date & time of the creation and last update of each record.

Performance monitoring

The performance monitoring continually monitors the performance of the kinodb system, and all the applications it's supporting.  It tracks the system response times to each users request as well as monitoring the memory usage.  This enables the service level agreements for an application to be monitored, as well as providing the system administrator with useful information about any performance issues with an application.

This information is available in graphical form to the system administrator making it quick and easy to monitor.