CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

commodity exchange information system Enugu State as a case study is an information system developed to provide necessary information about commodities produced in Enugu state.  It includes records of transaction made on these commodities.  These items range from Agro to mineral – based commodities of the state.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem has been largely on how to locate commodities where they are produced and the record in the state.  This includes grading of commodities. Standard measures and price attached to each grade.  This computerized system is aimed at providing a remedy for these problem areas.

1.2 PURPOSE OF STUDY

This study is of great importance to the entire public and me.  I will from the study develop in my area of study, and I will be enlightened more in the subject matter at hand.  Through the research, I will be experienced in my profession and from the interaction I made during interview with various individual in various offices concerning my research work.  I will learn a lot more things related to my project topic.

The people in the area will benefit from this study.  The problem they are facing has been detected and a solution recommended.

The new system will help to ease their burden in collection of data, store it and generate report if required for management decision and perharps for the development of the industries involved.

Enugu State of Nigeria, make up local government area is endowed with many rich natural resources Examples are crops, vegetables, fruits, mineral produced coal, etc.  These resources are located in different town throughout the state, moreover individual, groups, commodities.  Hence there are business transaction taking place daily in these commodities.  These is therefore need to keep record of the information required on how to locate and buy these commodities when needed.  This when done manually can not give details of all that is required and involved.  Hence the need for this exchange system.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

I have to recall here that this project work is an information system.  And as an information system, the aims and objectives is to serve the user with absolute information concerning the area is being built for.  Listed below are the collected aims of this project work as contained or the limit of my research.

(a) To provide information on available commodities in Enugu State.

(b) To provide information to the local government area and the warehouse at which those commodities could be got

(c) To price for every commodity per unit measurement of the commodity

(d) To allow updating of the database files of all the database in the system.

(e) To provide information on the banks at which individual warehouse in local government area do their financial transaction

(f) To provide security strategies to secure transaction and files

(g) To produce report on information needed

(h) To provide file maintenance facilities

1.4 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The commodity Exchange Information system is designed based on selected commodities existing in Enugu State.  The system does not take into consideration payment of any transaction made by cash, but that made through electronic fund transfer.  Banks which payments are made are selected ones situated in Enugu metropolis.

Mainly major commodities produced are taken care of in this project work.  There are no utility files or work up tables incorporated, instead a simplified and concrete users operation manual is provided to guide the user in chapter six.  This contains all the necessary utility facilities needed.

1.5 LIMITATION OR CONSTRAINTS

From investigation gotten from the ministries of Agriculture, Raw Matrial Development Centre and the Nigeria Export promption council, there is no adequate and through record of commodities are produced local government of production, or even giving account of transaction made on these commodities.

There is a problem to know the standard measures of these commodities and price according to the grade of these commodities.

In the course of this project Enugu has been taken off most of their mineral based commodities, limiting them to only coal.  The major constrain at the time of programming was usually access of the computer to work in the course of this project work.  Finally banks do not exist in some zones of production die to lack of fund so that fund transfer can be fally effective.

1.6 ASSUMPTIONS

This project work agrees that commodities are broken or grouped into their respectives classes e.g vegetables, fat and oil, fruits, tuber and so on.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

SYSTEM SUB-SYSTEM

These are the different sub-routines in the system that performs the different unique activities of the system.  The sub-system of these different modes forms the system operation.

CREATE AND APPEND

The sub-system that creates and ads new information to the data base respectively.  The records are stored in the transaction files.

EDIT

The sub-system effects the connection of the records.  The fields are prompted for each record

INSERT

This effects an automatic correction of records by prompting for particular field(s) which are used to update the records involved

DELETE

This sub-system marks a record, for removal from the database file.  The records can be called back using the recall command.

PACK

Pack is included in the delete sub-system, it is finally used to delete the records marked for deletion.  When a record is marked for deletion and packed it cannot be recalled back using the recall command.

SELECTION

This set up a filter mechanism for selecting the different records of a file.  It remains active until a new file is selected.  The selection mechanism is in different modes for example while DO IF CONSTRUCTS.

PROJECTIONS

This makes a particular field of a file to be inactive for a new file selecte

JOIN

It concatenates fields of a given file to those of another file.

FILE SORTING AND INDEXING

This allows both the physical and logical arrangement of the records of a file.  In sorting this arrangement is physical in that the current positions are most like to be altered.  Indexing arrangement with structure of the arrangement stored in a transaction file reffered to as index file.  When a file is used with the index the record number is obtained from the index file and used to read the data file.  Data files are physically not arranged.  The index file name is user supplied.

OPTION PROMPTER

It is used in the selection of system option.  It utilizes highlight bars with arrows for direction and enters key for selection confirmation in this project work.

RANGE / POSITION

It specifies range, starting position and direction of records to be processed ensuring that thee user does not exceed the present record number specified