.png)
Daily Equity Swaps Application - System Requirements
Introduction and Behaviour
The Contracts for Difference System is a middle office product allowing traders to create deals which are then processed on a daily basis by the Settlements department. Other corporate areas also have access to the system in order to extract data and analyse client portfolio performance. The Contracts for Difference product is a well-established trading instrument in the UK, and its mechanics have been documented in detail elsewhere. The current system’s architecture is a result of HS&H Ltd. supplying similar solutions to other City firms. Because of the general view that the Contracts for Difference product should be a commoditised instrument, requirements across sites have been normalised wherever possible.
There are three distinct operating phases in the Contracts for Difference System:
- Trade capture into client portfolios
- Portfolio processing at Close of Business (COB)
- Portfolio analysis, reporting and account journals posting
Design PhilosophySystem RequirementsCfD Software
Design Philosophy
The Contracts for Difference System has been built in a client server arrangement. There are various client offerings including compiled executable, MS Office (using MS Access or Excel), plus a web reporting application. MS SQL Server databases connect to the clients via ODBC and ADO. Standard table rules and operations, data extraction and updates are performed through stored procedures. Business intelligence is applied to the client in data capture and criteria specification sessions only. A client application typically comprises the following components:
- a master application file which provides an interface to the Contracts for Difference database.
- a library of general application routines.
- a site-specific library, typically managing reports and external interface processing modules. All customisation is created and maintained in this library.
- The HSHKernel database is part of HSH’s general purpose application support library which comprises authorised user maintenance, access privileges, error handling and other useful utilities. It requires connection to the Kernel SQL server database. No explicit calls are actually made by a user to any Kernel facility within the application. The system’s code does of course make extensive calls to all parts of the library.
Design PhilosophySystem RequirementsCfD SoftwareBack to top
System Requirements
Database Server
- Windows 7 or later
- SQL Server 2012 or later
- The databases can co-exist with other corporate databases, but you can elect to operate them on separate devices
- Data will be imported at build time from external files via the SQL Server tool bulk control program
Client Workstation
- Windows 7 or later
- Microsoft Office 2003 or later
- Communication with remote SQL Server is via ODBC and ADO
- All workstations are configured for connection to the SQL Server databases using DSNs for standardised connection specificatios
N.B. It is completely possible to operate the system on a single workstation comprising the databases and the clients. If such an arrangement is selected and the workstation is not networked, the externally-sourced data files will require manual transfer by memory stick or null modem (peer to peer connection).
Design PhilosophySystem RequirementsCfD SoftwareBack to top
CfD Software
Databases
We will create all database objects and preliminary data via scripts.
Site-specific details will be added via the HSH Kernel and DESRemoteDict clients.
Clients
The applications will be supplied as executable run-time modules.
Web Delivery
All data browsing and reporting utilities are available for immediate integration into your own web site. We provide the framework to connect to, and extract data from the CfD database, and to render the results into a simple HTML table. If you use Cascading Style Sheets in your pages, the CfD output will conform to your house style with the minimum of coding effort.
Customisation
We will supply our standard version of the system.
Modifications to suit local requirements such as stationery and accounts journal formats will be required. Some changes will be cosmetic, others may involve rewriting or building new reports. HSH staff will undertake these upgrades. This can be effected off site or at your offices according to your wishes. Communication is of course improved if we upgrade the software locally.
We will be happy to discuss this with you during the initial installation and testing of the System.
Design PhilosophySystem RequirementsCfD SoftwareBack to top