Java IBAN check digit validation

The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is an international standard for identifying bank accounts across national borders. It was originally adopted by the European Committee for Banking Standards, and was later adopted as an ISO standard (ISO 13616). Although currently only used in Europe, where it was adopted to facilitate cross border payments, it is anticipated that IBAN will a more global standard in a few years.

A quick search on the web for IBAN will show up information on the standard, including some web based validators. Since I could not find one, I have just put together a Java implementation of the IBAN check digit validation algorithm based on ECBS IBAN standard v 3.2. Code , including test cases, are available here. Please note that this works with the 'electronic format' (no spaces) of IBAN and not the 'paper format'.

The code is reasonably straight forward, the challenge I had was to elegantly determine the appropriate numeric value of a letter as per section 6.3 (Alpha to Numeric conversion). In the end I found the simplest way was to compare the given character to 'A'. This gave me the position of the character in the alphabet. Two key points though:

1. Comparison of characters must be in the same case. Don't compare 'D' to 'a'.
2. The position will start at zero. For example, E the fifth letter in the alphabet is at position 4.

Here is the code snippet for that:

 private static int getAlphabetPosition(char letter) {
     return Character.valueOf(
                   Character.toUpperCase(letter))
                   .compareTo(Character.valueOf('A')
                 );
 }

Of course once you have the position of a letter in the alphabet don't forget to add 10 to the result to get the numeric value as per IBAN standard.

In the implementation I have included an IBAN.properties which contains the lengths for all the country codes currently signed up to the IBAN initiative. You could take this forward by adding in the formatting patterns that exist for each country and include this in the validation too.
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Why doesn't my Ad get results?

I'm always looking for ways in which to improve my ads-and or sales copy for my website. In fact, any tidbit of information that I can utilize on my own website can really can come from anywhere.

Creating ads, be it for Adwords, your web page info can and should conform to many of the elements stated by Tom Killian in his article "The Secret to Creating Ads That Sell".

One point that Tom Killian states is "Your ad should promote value". People buy more by emotion and need. If you can tap into that valuable piece of info-and get it right for you target market- you may get some good results. But you need to experiment, and determine what works and what doesn't.

As to Limited Time Offers that promotes urgency-great idea, but make sure it is a limited time offer- or you will risk a creditability problem for your customers. The article is a good read, and gives some very helpful advice to get your ad or sales copy in shape for your visitors.




The Secret to Creating Ads That Sell
By Tom Killian

Whether you are starting a new business or looking to attract new sales there are a few things you can't afford. Losing potential clients to your competitor and wasting money on ineffective advertising.

Unfortunately, these things happen more often than not. So, why do some businesses do so well while others fail? It's not due to more marketing dollars spent. Instead a strategic plan was evoked to produce an effective advertisement.

There are many important elements that go into producing an effective ad. First, let me start by saying that coming up with a great ad it isn't rocket-science. There are no complicated formulas to follow in order to create an ad that grabs the readers' attention.

Second, using just creativity can kill your ad. Let me explain. Creative ideas are just that, creative. Before you slap down an idea and call it "brilliant" take the few minutes and ask yourself the following questions:

* Who is my targeted audience?
* Does the ad clearly communicate my message?
* What is "unique" about my message?
* How does my ad compare to my competitors?
* What will motivate my targeted audience to respond?

Your ad has to be more than just creative. It must exude value in its message. Think of the reasons why you buy a product or service. Almost every reason for a purchase has some sort of value tied to it. Whether it saves money, tastes good or satisfies an emotional need, it serves a valued purpose.

Make Headlines Work for You

The headline is by far one of the most important elements in creating an effective ad. There are thousands of pages both in print and online that cover the subject of headlines. Why? Well, quite frankly, it makes or breaks an ad. The headline is in essence the voice of your ad. It shouts out: "Hey This Product Will Make You Rich, Here's How!"

Rather than using: "Jane's Homemade Cookies" use "Instant Smiles with Easy to Bake Homemade Cookies".

Always use appealing keywords in your headline that attract attention or stir up curiosity. The goal is to get your targeted audience to read the rest of your copy. Consider using the following keywords when writing your headline:

New, How, Why, Free, Save, Fast, Now, Announcing, Introducing, Wanted, Make, Grow, Sale, Limited, Guaranteed.

Next time you notice a headline that grabs your attention; use it and test it on your product or service. But always keep away from exaggerating your offer. You will quickly lose credibility if you are not honest with your targeted audience.


Writing Simple Yet Effective Body Copy

Once you accomplish transitioning the reader from the headline into the body copy, build momentum by relating to the viewers' needs and satisfying their desires with each written word.

When writing the body copy; keep words simple and to the point. Use sub-headlines whenever possible and keep paragraphs short.

It's important to make it easy for the reader to scan through the copy. If your offer consists of many benefits, use a bulleted list.

Avoid cluttering up your ad by trying to cram too much in the space provided. Eliminate unnecessary words that can drown your message.


Using Visual Elements

There are no set rules of where the graphics must be placed on your ad. However, when selecting illustrations or photographs, display your product or choose ones that are relevant to your offer.

Using graphics can enhance your message as well as grab a viewer's attention when they glance around on a page. Remember, graphics can communicate a message before a single word is read.


Ask for the Sale While Creating a Sense of Urgency

Limited-time offers can create a sense of urgency, but giving your reader a valid reason why they should act now generates more sales. Again, use benefits to attract the reader to take action.

Is there a free gift with the purchase? Will it enhance their lives immediately? Is it a special one-time low price offer?

People love bargains. Use discounts to attract those who want to take advantage of your offer by providing a coupon with an expiration date.

Lastly, specify how your product or service can be obtained and ask for the sale. If it requires a phone call ask them to pick-up the telephone and call. If you require payment, tell them what forms of payment you accept and how to make them.

About the Author:
Tom Killian is a partner at Media D'Vine. An Orlando, Florida based agency specializing in marketing and advertising. Tom has been successfully building online businesses for over 9 years. http://www.mediadvine.com.
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Looking to Start An Ecommerce Site?

Are you looking to start an ecommerce site? Many have thought about it but don't know where to begin, or they thing it's for the established businesses. But that is not really true. If you start your business online, then establish yourself later into a brick and mortar business, it can be done. But you have to get past the fear, and then determine what you need to do. That of course is with any business. But an ecommerce site has definite extras than say, an info site or an affiliate site. To give you an idea of what you are up against take a look at my article - "Ecommerce Where Do I Begin?". This is a mini picture of what you have to consider, beyond of course, your business plan.

My suggestion, if you are an one-man shop, start as a sole proprietor and as your business grows, move to the LLC. There's going to be a learning curve here, if you are only familiar with brick and mortar. But if you have some experience with an online business-you'll be able to bring that experience to the table.

Ecommerce Where Do I Begin
By Vickie J. Scanlon

Ecommerce is not just for the brick and mortar company, but also for a one-man shop. If you're a one man shop, that has a specialty item that, because of a lack of funds, cannot distribute to the big department stores,look at an online business. It can give you a presence, and a ready market.

But as with everything, you must have some of the standard elements to begin. I'll try to give you an overview.

Storefront Elements
Your Storefront - Logos and graphics are important when putting up your store. They should keep your regular customers coming to your site, as well as, entice new customers into your store.

What I look for in a storefront, as an affiliate marketer, is pretty much the same as what a customer wants to see.

For instance:

1. Photos and description. Make sure your photos and images are loading properly, that can drive people away quickly.
2. Accessibility of links to product details.
3. Easy navigation to make the customer visit hassle free.
4. Ecommerce Shopping cart that works. (why do I say that? I was looking at one possible affiliate partnership and decided to test the shopping cart). The shopping cart came up with the item, like it should. I then put in the "1"-to select the purchase one item. Then I hit continue. It was then that the shopping cart software bulked-and forced me to go back to the beginning). I tried several times, then quit in frustration and bought elsewhere. Get my meaning here? (Ease of ordering is important for you, if you want sales)
5. Spelling - Try to have all words spelled correctly - Diminishes the quality of the information.


Important Things to Consider

There are other important things to consider-especially when it comes to money expenses.

If you are wanting to build an ecommerce site, you will need an ecommerce Shopping Cart. Shopping cart software can run from free to as high as $500 per month. If you're lucky your server will have a shopping cart option. Of course, you may have to set it up yourself, or pay someone to set it up for you.

Payment Gateway - This is the service that will help you to process your payment methods: Be it Paypal, AuthorizeNet, Paynova, etc. You'll have to check out the charges for each sale, chargeback, and monthly fees that they may charge.

I would like to stress the technical importance of this aspect of your business. Why? It will help you in handling orders, taxes, payment processing and order delivery efficiently. Again, if you don't have all your ducks in a row, you can lose money.

Ecommerce Website design-If you are going to have someone build your ecommerce website you will need to figure that into your cost. If you're planning to build your own website than most of your cost will be your own labor. Just a note: designing your own website is getting a little easier, even without HTML knowledge. But if it is open source software, you will be responsible for the maintenance and updates of the software when needed. And trust me, you will get some friendly reminders to update your ecommerce software by your server. Why? If you don't update the patches, it can cause holes in the server, which affects everyone. What will they do if you don't update? First time-remind,second time - but a hold on your account and business till you update.

Product photography - You will want to have quality pictures for your website. Not only to keep customers happy, but also attract affiliates to help you sell your products.

Contact - 800-number, contact number, or email contact for customer service/support. If you don't have a method for customer service contact, than people will bulk at buying, because they may question the legitimacy of the website.

And let me stress, customer care is important on the Internet. It elicits trust, and when you break that trust the whole of the Internet will know about it. This will affect your customer base, as well as, the attraction of affiliates. In fact, I find that the customer care of a product or service is an important asset to my affiliate business. If I hear rumbling of bad service or that the service is not up to par- I'll monitor it for a month - and if it's just an isolated incident, it stays. But if it is how they are doing business on a regular basis, it's gone from my site.

Good computer with a large hard-drive, and at least 1 gig of memory-2 gig if you have a Vista operating system. And a good FTP software program.

Shipping - You're need to estimate your shipping charges. Determine whether you will only ship within the states or Internationally. And I would advise having a tracking system in place, for both deliveries and returns.


Marketing

Now that you have the major pieces together you will then have to begin the marketing process -Seo marketing, Seo optimization, email marketing, article writing, Adwords, just to name a few.


Desire and Success

I want to stress that an online business is just like a brick and mortar business. With that being said, be aware that in most cases a new business will take 1 to 2 years to break even and 2-4 years to start making a living from your business. And if you're online, you will have to continually learn and adapt-and be prepared for the competition when you start seeing an element of success.

To conclude, when you get an idea for an ecommerce site, or any business - my advice, is don't quit your day job until you know you are established and have money coming in. Learn everything you can, and the desire and the passion will carry you through the frustrating times, because the good times will definitely take care of themselves.

About Author:
Vickie J Scanlon -- Visit her site at: My AffiliatePlace or free tools, articles, ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, travel and tech accessories, security software and computers for your home office or online business.
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Random Images

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CSS-What's To Understand?

What can you do with CSS? If you're using FrontPage, and have not migrated to their new Expression Web software because you are not even sure what CSS is, then this article may help. As to the new software Expression Web, you must be familiar with HTML and/or XHTML-it's not really a beginner's helper as the other FrontPage modules. Many people are scrambling, not sure whether to get the new software, or look for something different. With that being said, back to the topic at hand.

I was curious about what CSS could do, and if the search engines and/or browsers had any problems with CSS. From what I have researched, it looks like some of the search engines have their quirks with CSS - in other words, the browsers can not handle all the capabilities that CSS offers equally.

My article "CSS-What's It All About" will give you an insight to what CSS is, what it can do, as well as, some simple syntax that CSS uses. This mind you, is an overview, with directions to where you can get a little more help.


CSS-What's It All About
7/26/2007
By Vickie J. Scanlon



CSS-search engines and your browsers-so what! Right? Maybe, unless you want to know a little about CSS. So, let me begin by saying that CSS can reduce your time at the computer. But you will need knowledge of HTML, XHTML, and the style properties of CSS. Let's say you are wanting to use CSS- but don't know whether CSS is compatible with the search engines or the browsers that your clients may be using. These are some of the questions I'll try to answer, as well as, explain a little about what CSS is all about.


What is CSS?

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. CSS is a set of formatting instructions that controls the looks of a web page or pages. Some of the browsers that support CSS is: (Firefox,IE3 or later, NN4 or later). You may be saying, great this will definitely save me some time. Not so fast, you also need to know that though, the majority of the browsers understand CSS, they do not fully support all of it's capabilities.

XHTML - XHTML is EXtensible HyperText Markup Language. XHTML Is HTML with stricter rules-that adds conformity and, is 100% XML compliant.


What can you do with CSS

1) You can build your layout - adjust size and color of your headings or body text.
2) If you have like pages or styles within your pages that are used over and over again, this saves you time in duplicate formatting.


How to get the Search Engines to See Your Copy

Granted Search Engines still have some problems with understanding CSS.
But if you want to use CSS, how can you get the search engines to see what you want.

1. Keep your text clean, if you have to much garbage in your web page, than the spiders will have a difficult time in determining what is relevant and what is not. Thus, CSS keeps your web page clean, without the redundant coding needed for each individual element of code. Here is an example of how to code a headline; with the CSS code below.

Example: "h1" Title "/h1" ( where there are ", use < or > )
CSS code: H1 {font family: Arial size: 18 px; bold;}



Syntax of CSS

First, CSS can be written within any text editor. But the text file must be saved with a CSS extension.

The syntax of CSS consists of the selector and the declaration. The selector is the identifier within the body of your web page; the declaration is the code that identifies the style that you want to put into place as to property and rule. Lets say you want all your H1 headlines to be green, with the font Arial. the code for CSS would be as follows:


selector {property: rule;}
H1 {color: green; font-family: Arial;}

Note: Notice that the property and rule must be enclosed in {}.


Placement of CSS

There are three places to put your CSS code:

In the Head (Internal), in an external file, or within an individual tag (Inline style).

Internal -is used within a single web page that may have a unique style.

Inline - mixes code with content. Sometimes you may need to use it, but this style does seem to eliminate the need of even using a CSS style sheet.

External - The CSS is separate from the body of the web page and is linked with the web page. Thus, to link an external file into a web page you will need to use the link tag.
Example: link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="NameofCSS.css" (Goes in the head section after the title tag with <> at beginning and end of statement)

Which way do you go? If you have a large site or a site that will be expanding, an external file would be a better way to quickly and easily manipulate all your web pages at once.


Watch out for Spam

But with anything on the Internet, CSS can be used for the good and the bad. And obviously, if you want to keep your site up and running for a long time, Some CSS techniques should be avoided. Why? Because some CSS techniques can be considered spam by the search engines and thus, ban your site if you use the techniques. The blackhat tactics include such things as: 1) using CSS to hide text-from headlines to body from the human eye; 2) hiding and bolding or italicizing copy for search engine spiders benefit only.

To conclude, CSS can and is a viable way to making your web pages easier to maintain-if the majority of your pages follow the same format. If you are not all that familiar with CSS, then take the time to look at w3schools.com tutorial. It's very informative and can get you started with CSS.

About the Author:

Vickie J Scanlon -- Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place or free tools, articles, ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, travel and tech accessories, security software and computers for your home office or online business.
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Cơ hội học thêm về cntt cho moi người

Triển khai khoá học CNTT miễn phí lần đầu tiên tại Tp. Hồ Chí Minh
Aprotrain-Aptech, 24/7/2007

Tháng 7/2007, Aptech khai trương trung tâm đào tạo Lập trình viên Quốc tế mới tại Tp Hồ Chí Minh – Trung tâm Đào tạo Lập trình viên Quốc tế Aprotrain-Aptech tại 212 – 214 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Quận 3. Sự ra đời của Aprotrain-Aptech khẳng định cam kết của Aptech trong việc đào tạo và đóng góp nguồn nhân lực Công nghệ Thông tin chất lượng cao cho khu vực phía Nam.


Nhân dịp này, Aprotrain-Aptech sẽ tổ chức các khoá học Công nghệ Thông tin miễn phí có tên gọi Aptech Explorer dành những đối tượng yêu thích và mong muốn tìm hiểu công nghệ ứng dụng cho công việc và học tập.


Đây là sê-ri các khoá học miễn phí cập nhật kiến thức công nghệ cho cộng đồng được Aprotrain-Aptech thực hiện từ tháng 1/2006 tại cơ sở Hà Nội. Qua các lần tổ chức với hàng chục chủ đề khác nhau, chương trình đã thu hút sự quan tâm của hàng nghìn bạn trẻ đam mê công nghệ, đến từ các trường đại học, cao đẳng, phổ thông. Trong những buổi học này, học viên không chỉ được “nghe”, “xem” những công nghệ cập nhật mà sẽ được thực hành ngay những kiến thức mới.

Triển khai lần đầu tiên tại Tp Hồ Chí Minh, Aptech Explorer được bổ sung nhiều nội dung học đa dạng hơn, bao gồm:

Computer Inside – Giải phẫu máy tính
(9h00 27/7/2007 & 9h00 17/8/2007)
 Các thành phần cơ bản của máy tính
 Kinh nghiệm chọn máy Desktop & Laptop
 Xử lý sự cố và tăng tốc máy tính

Powerful MS Word – Thành thạo phần mềm quan trọng nhất thế giới
(9h00 28/7/2007 & 9h00 18/8/2007)
 Kiểm soát toàn diện nội dung với định dạng văn bản tự động
 Biểu hiện cảm xúc của bạn trong MS Word
 Thế giới các chức năng tiện ích của MS Word

Wi-Fi Network Security – Bảo vệ mạng không dây
(9h00 3/8/2007 & 9h00 21/8/2007)
 Thiết lập mạng không dây (Wi-fi) trong gia đình
 Cài đặt, cấu hình máy tính để kết nối mạng không dây
 Bảo mật cho mạng không dây

Graphics Design – Thiết kế đồ họa cho website với Adobe Photoshop
(9h00 4/8/2007 & 9h00 24/8/2007)
 Thao tác cơ bản trên Adobe Photoshop
 Sử dụng Adobe Photoshop làm design cho web
 Trình diễn một số hiệu ứng

Graphics Programming – Lập trình & Ứng dụng đồ họa
(9h00 8/8/2007 & 9h00 25/8/2007)
 Các kiến thức cơ bản để lập trình đồ họa
 Một số ứng dụng của lập trình đồ họa
 Giới thiệu bộ thư viện OpenGL (trong C và Java)
 Một số chương trình demo

Build your website with Dreamweaver – Xây dựng website với Dreamweaver
(9h00 9/8/2007 & 9h00 28/8/2007)
 Các ứng dụng thú vị của Internet
 Sử dụng Macromedia Dreamweaver để tạo website
 Các bước cần thiết để đưa website lên internet

Aptech Explorer được đánh giá là chương trình không những mang ý nghĩa cộng đồng mà còn thể hiện khả năng “đón đầu công nghệ”. Đó cũng là phương châm đào tạo mà Aptech hướng tới: luôn đem đến những công nghệ cập nhật và tính ứng dụng thực tiễn cao.

Các bạn quan tâm đến đăng ký trực tiếp tại trung tâm (212-214 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Quận 3, Tp Hồ Chí Minh) trước buổi học 01 ngày. Thông tin chi tiết liên hệ bộ phận Tư vấn theo số điện thoại: (08) 930 08 24 hoặc email: aptech2@aprotrain.com
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Newbies and the SEO Lingo

Since I've had articles regarding SEO, I was rather amiss in not letting those new to SEO to have an intro into the SEO Lingo. When I first started, and I heard the word SEO or Search Engine Optimization I wondered what I had gotten myself into. You may be wondering the same. But don't ignore the process, learn what you can in stages, and apply what you learn.

What's most important to the search engines? Quality content should be your base.

I've written an article called "SEO Lingo" that gives you a little lingo, and what some of the search engines look at when they visit your site. Once you got the lingo, go back and look at some of the other available articles on my site, or within this blog to help you with the SEO process.


SEO Lingo
By Vickie J. Scanlon


For the newbie, SEO is well, new, strange or difficult to get a handle on. You may even say to yourself, why do I need this. I just want a website to make money. Right. The answer is simple. You need it to attract the search engines or you will not make money. So what is the lingo, and what is SEO?

SEO

SEO is the process by which you help the search engines find your site, as well as, determine what your site is about. How do you do that? Some of the pieces you need is the domain name, the title, keywords, meta tags, alt attributes and content.

The search engines use an "Algorithm" - which is simply a set of instructions to follow in determining the importance of the web page, and other niceties, such as page rank.


Page Rank

Page rank is determined by the number and the quantity of inbound links coming into your site. If your web page or pages are relevant to other webmasters, then the search engines will reward you for it, with a higher rank. Sounds easy, but the weight of the rank can be diminished if a site that is not all that relevant to your site, links to you.


Algorithms and the Human Factor

Many webmasters in the past had been very inventive at work-arounds with the search engines algorithms -- thus pushing their websites up to the front of the line in search engine ranking. But that is a-changing, Google has made their algorithms a little more unpredictable, making it more difficult for webmasters to predict what technique would work to get the ranking.

But Google has pushed the envelope, so to speak, and has gone a little farther. They are now beginning to approach it from more with the eyes of a human viewer. Granted there are still bugs-and you still see on occasional website that may have some irrelevant data - but it's getting better.

Other Lingo

Meta tags- A meta tag is a tag that is a general-purpose tag. It's used between the "head" portion of the web page.
Keywords- keywords are specific words that identify what your web page is about. Keywords should be within the body of the copy and with the meta keyword tag and title tag.
Title- Identifies the page. If you want the search engines to find you, do not leave the title tag blank, or place your Company name in the tag, unless it is relevant, or leave it as Home Page.

One final note: The meta tags, such as the title tag, keyword tag, and description tag, should be after the head tag, but before the ending head tag.


So what's the bottom line.

The bottom line is this. Yes, meta tags, keywords, title, and domain name are important. But your content is just as, or more important. If the content is not relevant to the keywords, tags,
title, etc. then you're not going to get a ranking by the search engines.

To conclude, know the lingo, and you have a third of the battle won. The other two-thirds requires work on your part and, a commitment to quality content.

About The Author:
Vickie J Scanlon -- Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place for free tools, articles,ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, travel and tech accessories, security software and computers for your home office or online business.
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