My question to you guys is: Can you name technologies (New or THAT MY UNIVERSITY HAS NEVER HEARD OF) that I can start to build from scratch to integrate with my Zen-Cart? I am doing my final year project. The project I got was building a e-commerce website. The problem is: The tutor said I would not get good marks if I don't build the e-commerce website from scratch. But the problem is I am not experienced with PHP, so I cannot build an eCommerce website from scratch in a 1 1/2 to 2 months time frame. What I had started to do is build a Zen-Cart website and add a template to them. But the problem is this does not involve much coding. The solution: The tutor said a solution could be building and integrating a technology (THAT MY UNIVERSITY HAS NEVER HEARD OF) to my website that involves coding from scratch and work and complexity on top of already built Zen-Cart website with template. I could ask my tutor if he knows that technology, if he does not know them, then I can start to build them and get good marks for it. I am also integrating Xero accounting software, creating my own supplier module to place orders to the supplier and integrating to pay them at once using Xero, and get customers supplier orders as well and create them to look up the orders placed. My question to you guys is: Can you name technologies (New or THAT MY UNIVERSITY HAS NEVER HEARD OF) that I can start to build from scratch to integrate with my Zen-Cart?
I'd go back to your tutor... the online world has moved forward so quickly that it's unlikely you could build anything truly unique in that timeframe with other study commitments and your current skill set. So, either you've misinterpreted the task or the tutor has overestimated your abilities. Given that you're in NZ it's going to be pretty hard to fool them. Your tutors will be open to discussing the project with you.
Thanks Sarah for your reply, The project is worth 450 hours of work and that includes documentation, I would be spending around 250 hours on building the website itself. The funny thing is the tutor says that her 13 year old daughter can build the website I am building and so I could fail the project. He also understands that one person by himself cannot build an e-commerce website from scratch in 2 months time frame while 2 people can. I can build them on asp.net but I am new to PHP. What does this mean? "Given that you're in NZ it's going to be pretty hard to fool them." Thanks for you reply,
Well, Its unlikely that you will find something that your Tutors haven't heard of. So I agree with sarahk, you need talk with your tutor again. You can actually build something decent in 250 hours time frame, however, since you are new to PHP, it might not be too easy.
It means our tertiary institutions are going to be thorough and actually check that your work is what it claims to be. NZ universities know about copyscape etc and use those tools. From what I read in the media it appears that some parts of the world are slow to catch on. I'd be really interested to know the course you are doing. But, really, you need to go to your tutors with your concerns - document them really well, don't whine, just find out if you've misunderstood the scope of the requirement. If her daughter could build the site then check that you are meant to be writing from scratch as opposed to utilising existing systems and writing the odd plugin to give it a unique twist. Don't be too freaked about being a newbie with PHP. Once you've learnt your first programming language the second comes more easily.