Java Program Ideas/Input

[byron4fung]

I am in the process of designing a Java program for a Computer Science dossier. I am planning to create a program that reads hardware and software information from the registry and organizes this data into a database, where you can add and remove systems. It would probably resemble the CPU-Z program, but you could put the results into a database and compare it to other systems. To keep it simple, I would probably read the hardware and software information from the registry.

As a requirement for this project, I have to survey potential end-users of this program, and find out what they would like to see in this program.

It would be appreciated if you can copy and fill out the following survey, and PM or post your answers. It would also be helpful if you could include your name, and your job/position, so I can reference it for my dossier. Thanks!

Which of the following information would you like to keep track of? Keep in mind that the more information is displayed, the harder it is to see the big picture.

- Processor Name

o Specification (model, etc.)
o Speed of the processor
o Other (please specify)​

- Video Card information

o Video Interface (AGP, PCI-E, etc.)
o Video Card Model, Manufacturer, Specifications
o Other (please specify)​

- RAM

o Amount installed
o Other (please specify)​

- Software

o Version of Windows and Service Pack installed
o DirectX version
o Video Card drivers
o Other (please specify)​

- Some user input

o Benchmark results (3DMark etc.)
o Serial numbers
o Overclocking results
o Other (please specify)​

- Other (please specify)

How important is it to have two options for viewing statistics, a full view showing every statistic, and then a concise view, showing the most important statistics? (1 being not important, 10 being very important)

Any suggestions for the style of the interface?

Any other suggestions for this program?

Again, thanks to everyone for their input!

 

[kleptophobiac]

Does the windows registry really store all of that? I thought CPU-Z actually probed hardware.

 

[byron4fung]

Not necessarily all of it, but some. For example, processor information is found in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/HARDWARE/DESCRIPTION/System/CentralProcessor/0/ProcessorName String.