From: Jonathan Smith

To: Technical Manager

Subject: Team progress on the FlashPhoto project

Dear technical manager,

The team met this past Sunday to discuss the details of the project, and to team code the image
save/load feature. We were able to complete the majority of the tasks we had assigned for Sunday.

We accomplished the following:

1. Created the necessary folder structures to house the LibJPEG and LibPNG libraries
2. Compiled trhe LibJPEG library and added an entry for it in the makefile
3. Compiled the LibPNG library and added an entry for it in the makefile
4. Read the documentation for each of the libraries to familiarize ourselves with their functionality
5. Coded the loading and saving functionality for LibJPEG using various examples we found
online.
6. Coded the loading and saving functionality for LibPNG. The libary's documentation was
sufficient to code this feature.
7. Created a basic class interface for the stamp feature since it relates to these saving and loading
features.
8. Discussed image filters and diagrammed how we will be implementing them.

While we were able to accomplish quite a bit, ran into some considerable obstacles.

The obstacles were:

1. The library documentation wasn't well written, and it required a lot of back and forth between the
team to figure out how to effectively implement its features. We'll probably end up needing to
write better documentation ourselves or find another libary that has more professional
documenation for the other developers. Most of our time was spent figuring out what should
have been much more straightforward.
2. Figuring out how to compile the libraries. Now that we know how to do it, it is very easy.
However, a step-by-step guide which does less glossing over significant facts and orients the
reader to each next logical step is needed. In the future, we'll be able to save a significant
amount of billed hours across the entire organization with better documentation.
3. Figuring out how to code the saving and loading features for each respective library. This is
again related to the clarity of the documentation. It doesn't present a fully working example, nor
does it adequately explain each step. This will continue to be an obstacle as other developers
become involved with this project.

Given the following obstacles, we were not able to complete all of the assigned tasks and some tasks
are only partially completed.

Here is what remains of the tasks we had assigned:

1. The saving feature for both the LibJPEG and LibPNG libraries saves successfully, but fails to
accurately represent the original colors of the picture. This is likely handue to the convsersion of
the color values from the external image formats to the display buffer's image formats.
2. The stamp feature only has a basic class interface defined.
3. We were not able to implement the interface we'll be using for the image filters.
4. The code for LibJPEG and LibPNG saving/loading features needs to be fully commented and
requires a more elegant coding style.

This covers everything we have thus far. I'll be contacting the team lead to run some of our coding
difficulties by him. I'll send another update next week with our progress.

Regards,
Jonathan
From: Jonathan Smith
To: Client
Subject: Update for the FlashPhoto application

Dear Client,

The development team has been able to complete some major functionality for the FlashPhoto
application. This past Sunday permitted us to solidify our design decisions, and resulted in a functional
save/load feature.

We were able to accomplish the following:

1. Integrated an industry standard JPEG and PNG image libary

2. Implemented a save and load feature that permits the use of the JPEG and PNG file types.
3. Began work on the Stamp feature, which allows the user to place a mini-image onto the canvas
4. Diagrammed the design for the image filters, which permit effects to the canvas like blur,
saturation level, and contrast changes.

We were able to complete a sizable portion of the functiionality for the project; however, some work still
remains on these features.

The following work remains:

1. Perform robust testing on the save and load feature

2. Correct some minor color representation issues with the current save and load feature
3. Fully implement the stamp feature once the save and load feature is seamless
4. Code the necessary template behind image filters based upon what we have diagrammed. This
will allow us to quickly add all of image filter effects which will use a common template that
changes based upon the effect applied to the canvas.

We'll continue to work on these features as the week progresses, fixing any remaining bugs and
ensuring everything works seamlessly.

The team will be meeting again this Sunday to complete some major functionality for the FlashPhoto
app. You can expect another update from me next week.

We have the following planned for this Sunday:

1. Implement an undo/redo feature that will allow the end user to undo the 5 last changes to the
canvas and redo up to 5 undone changes to the canvas. The feature will decide changes based
upon a completed stroke to the canvas using a tool and the application of a new image to the
canvas.
2. Implement a blur tool that applies localized blurring as the user moves the mouse
3. Implement the image filter design template so that new filters can be added in the following
week.

Initial progress on the application has been more modest than expected, but we were able to sufficiently
handle the complexities of integrating the JPEG and PNG functionality for the save and load feature,
which represented the greatest uncertainity in the project. Going forward, the team's dedication and
abliity to confront these kind of design challenges will continue to substantially advance the
application's featureset each week.

I will continue to keep you updated on the status of the project, and I'll let you know as soon as we have
the application available for testing.

Regards,
Jonathan