Question

I’m working with Java and JSP. I have to create something like a promotion which has start date and end date. Within the start date and end date, it will show a form that is corresponding to the promotion; otherwise, it will be just show a normal page. I have done the validation based on the time they open the page. I can manipulate the time in Unit Testing by making the current time to any time I want.

However, the problem is when I want to pass this to client to test. They want to see how it’s like on the promotion day? Does the promotion really show on a particular time? Does it really close afterwards? One possible way is to secretly pass current date as HTTP param when trying to access the page. Doing so, client can check how the system behaves on a particular day but it’s very dangerous indeed. Anyone who knows this will be able to access the promotion anytime they want. I don’t know what the best way to handle this.

What’s your suggestion?

Answer 1

Firstly, you shouldn’t be putting this functionality onto a live production server, so the “very dangerous” exposure shouldn’t happen.

I’d try a “belt and braces” approach:

• Set up a demo server that only has read-only access so can’t do any damage
• Tell the client the secret parameter to use
• Have the “client promotion demo” feature switchable on/off from an admin console
• (If you’re really nervous) limit access to only the client’s IP

The client can access the demo box and check everything works perfectly. When they are happy, you deploy to production, but with the “demo mode” disabled, so only the “time-sensitive” way of accessing the promotion will work.