Merge branch 'master' of github.com:lizardsystem/lizard-blockbox

README.rst

@@ -1,7 +1,42 @@
 lizard-blockbox
-==========================================
+===============
 
 Introduction
+------------
 
-Lizard block box. 
+Blockbox translates to 'Blokkendoos' in Dutch. 
+Blokkendoos is the name of a Windows (VB) application written by one of our clients. 
 
+
+What does it do? (short version)
+--------------------------------
+
+In The Netherlands, we have some large rivers such as the Maas and the IJssel. 
+A bunch of measures can be taken to alter (improve) their characteristics.
+Blokkendoos presents a list of measures which the user can apply on a river to see the effect they will have in a graph and on a map.
+
+.. image:: http://i.imgur.com/C8F6p.png
+
+
+Rewriting
+---------
+
+They asked Nelen & Schuurmans to 'port' this traditional desktop app to the web.
+
+Porting, in this case, involves a lot more than you'd think:
+
+ - Transition from desktop to client-server architecture.
+ - An HTML interface, with IE7 compatibility as a must-have.
+ - Keeping 'state' in a stateless environment (HTTP).
+ - Data untangling.
+
+At the same time, the map had to be added to the mix (it wasn't built into the original VB app)
+
+
+Technologies used
+-----------------
+
+ - Django / Lizard as the base of the app
+ - Backbone.js to structure the clientside coffeescript
+ - Coffeescript to produce more readable code
+ - OpenLayers, jQuery, Flot (for the graph)