Editing Final Report 2011 (section)

===Strengths and Weaknesses===
The Cipher Analysis section of the project has strengths exceeding that of previous attempts. The comprehensive analysis has included a broad range of ciphers (over 30) with each being profoundly investigated. The cipher analysis tool strengths lie in the large number of ciphers (18) it merges into a single educational application, whilst providing analysis features and interactivity. 

The primary weaknesses from the Cipher Analysis section revolve around the source material. Assumptions regarding ambiguous letters and the language of the underlying message had to be made. The sample size of the source material (44 letters) also limited the ability to make conclusions.

The only identified weaknesses of the CipherGUI is the ciphers that cannot be (or have not been) implemented. These are mainly number-based or symbol-based ciphers.

The pattern matching web crawler system’s strengths are numerous. It is able to accept a wide range of user-determinable patterns, with flexible Regular Expression capabilities. The OTS solution to the web crawler module of the system has allowed all web crawling requirements to be met, namely abiding by the Robots Exclusion Protocol ethical policy as well as additional features that add usability. It also provides for robust error recovery whilst the open source nature of the crawler also allows modification of the underlying module if required. The intuitive GUI design ensures a broad range of users are able to access the tool.

Weaknesses of the system from a pattern matching perspective are the omission of certain special cases. The OTS choice for the web crawler module introduces the weakness of a lack of understanding of some of the internal workings of the code, hindering development. The dynamic nature of the web crawler implies there is no capability for data re-examination, also meaning searches are download intensive and more suited to rare or once-off searches.