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How does one develop a software to read a proprietary file type without having that proprietary software. Something like what the open office folks did with MS Word (.doc) files. Open Office can read .doc files.
That might be easy if the proprietary software has an open source SDK to it, for example Adobe has the Flex open source SDK so it's possible to create flash (.swf) files without having Adobe Flash. But in the case of MS Word, which I believe had no open source SDK, how did the open office guys get it to read it.
Of course I'm using open office just as an example, but my question is general, how could one read a proprietary output file? What's the idea here? I know someone will say reverse engineering, but I don't think reverse engineering the entire software makes sense here (not that I know anything about that field yet) because the goal is not to create software that has the same functionalities. Is there a way to work with the output file only?
Any thoughts on this?
It's an iterative process:
Inspect the stream of raw bytes in the file and make a guess as to what they mean
Write code to verify the guess
See what goes wrong when you try to load the file
Repeat
You'll need a wide variety of test files, a lot of patience and large dollops of insight.
My experience is that it's pretty easy to handle the basics, but that complex file format features can be a pain to handle.
If you are lucky, at least some information on the file for example MS does has information on the doc file.
Other wise it is lot of work. basically you make a simple document save it, then make a small change, save it and compare the two. Eventually you can figure out the format.
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recently i have downloaded a backup of my Instagram account ...
and the zip file contained a lot of ".json" files and i have no idea how to view it like the way Instagram did or something like a Instagram Backup Manager ... i think that it mostly can be done using node js as it's json friendly.
the files
thanks
Probably the best way to view JSON (from the Instagram backup) is to convert it to CSV.
You can upload the zip file to this JSON to CSV converter and it will automatically convert everything into individual CSV files (then you can view / analyze / format the data in Excel).
Here is a more detailed guide.
Any Text Editor will be able to open a JSON file.
Since you want to view it in a friendly way you might want to try this website or any other json viewer.
Alternatively you can use the built-in Javascript console of Chrome or Firefox (other browsers might work, but I do not know for sure) and just paste the JSON file into there. This will give you the option to explore the loaded object.
You could use koia.io.
Koia is an open-source web application for visualizing and analyzing table-like data structures read from local files (CSV, JSON and Excel). When the data is loaded, it never leaves your computer but is stored locally only.
Data can be easily filtered and the result can be stored again to CSV, JSON or Excel files.
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I have some XBRL files converted into pdf. Now I want to develop a project that would automatically extract all the data from these files. The project would be developed in JAVA. I am unable to get any lead. Any suggestions regarding how to start the project would be very much appreciated as there is very limited information over the internet regarding this.
I would recommend trying to get the original XBRL (or iXBRL) files rather than use the generated PDFs.
XBRL was designed in the first place in order to be easily machine readable and in order to avoid having to reverse engineer printed documents or PDFs. Attempting to read PDFs means not leveraging the potential of XBRL and may lead to imprecisions and errors.
Then, if you can get these source files, I recommend using an XBRL processor that will take care of all the complexity for you. This will save a lot of time compared to use a raw XML processor. It is likely that there are XBRL libraries written for Java.
I am sorry not to be able to give you a better answer, but I hope this helps you get started.
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Last year I started to develop a small "program" (not sure how this is called) in Access to help the family shop with the stock list and product prices, etc.
A few months ago, a client of the company started to ask for my Access's program because he needed one for its stock and they haven't found one yet. I was a bit scared of giving them the program because they could copy and steal my work.
Finally, my family suggested me to encrypt it in order to not be able to open its code, but I don't know how to do it.
So my questions are:
Is there a way to block the access to my VBA code in each Form? Through MS Access config or with more code, for me, it's the same.
Is there a way to block the duplication of its Forms or the whole file?
How can I secure my code?
I'm using MS Access 2016.
Edit: I've already got 2 downvotes and close flags, if you could explain to me in comments which thing do you think it's wrong I could try to fix it.
Access 2016 allows you to save as .accde format which is in effect an executable file. It seems that is what you need
Heres's how
you can also hide most of the Access environment so users can't really tell its Access
like so
Saving as an executable file as SEarl1986 said may be your best bet. I am unsure what happens to their database if you need to update your code tho.
Another way is to open Visual Basic, go to Tools, and "yourfilenames" properties, then under the protection tab you can "lock the project for viewing" and add a password.
It isn't foolproof as their is a method to break the password by editing the file with a hex editing tool, but it's a good lock that will deter most people. It will protect your code from prying eyes.
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I am building an html resume (with bootstrap tabs) but want to break the sections into separate parts for easy editing and repurposing.
For example, have the work experience data in one file, have education in another and link them to a tabbed html page, but also have the option to export to a docx or pdf. Have skills appear on the html version but not on the pdf export.
What would be the best architecture design to use? Would JSON be good or should I use PHP includes.
What about xml? or should I just maek it a mysql database and use PHP to pull that data (this seems like overkill for less than 1,000 words).
I would argue any of these will be an overkill for a small project. So I'd go placing it all in one html file.
If you want to automatically generate pdf or docs it's no more a html resume. So I won't answer generating part of the question.
As for html management you can use templating language, e.g. Nunjucks or Pug
It will allow you to include html files one in another; the downside is you'll have to setup a build tool like Gulp for this (which will require some basic Javascript knowledge and time).
Something which you need to consider is the format which you would be handing into potential employers.
If you are hoping to hand in a web page, you would probably want to "render" it and not hand in a piece of functioning code. The reason for this, is if the employer/recruiter is unable to open or correctly read the file, this will decrease your chances of getting the job dramatically. Not to mention many large companies use bots which read CV's for you, See this article which explains that matter all to you.
You would also want to consider what some companies/recruiters may think when they see CV.html in their email inbox. Some will think its a really smart and creative idea, others may think it is an incompatible file with their computer and may never open it. Leaving instructions on how to open the document may take time which the employer doesn't have.
I'm not saying its a ludicrous idea, I'm saying you need to properly plan it out. Personally, I would keep an online copy on my website, but I would also have an additional copy (Word document or PDF) which could be downloaded and accessed by those bots which I mentioned early.
In programming there are many ways to do the same thing, and it is entirely up to you and your abilities to find what is best.
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It seems that anymore I have no clue what is going to happen when I launch the Help of a program. Which makes it all that much more confusing when having to decide how to create a help file for my application.
For example, it might open my web browser to local instance of an html file. It might point to a web-hosted help website. It could load up the Windows Help and Support center. It may load a chm file. It could load up a custom help form with menus, etc.
What is the "correct" way to implement a help?
I like the idea of chm file, but it makes it hard for me to push any updates to users without them updating the application. Same can be said for a local html based help file.
I also like the idea of doing a web hosted help file because I can update it as needed with new information, but what does that mean for users who don't have an active internet connection? For example (in my case, my software will be used equally in a car-mounted laptop with no internet connection and on a desktop computer with an internet connection)
I'm curious to know what is commonly done when creating a help file, and what authoring tools are used, if any.
A solution I have used for the mobile applications, is to have a local html help file which the application renders for help content in a web view. We then had a background mechanism to check against a service for help updates and download the updated HTML and other static content as appropriate. This way you always have a local HTML file which doesn't require a connection, and renders quickly (since there is no download required for viewing).
The most subtle way is providing a Compiled HTML (CHM) help file.
There are many free and paid apps that help create documentation. You could try Rahman CHM Maker or KEL CHM Creator.