Foxpro to/from web recommendations 1

[MrDataGuy]

Bottom line question: Ideas on how to solve the challenges listed below. Solutions do not have to be limited to VFP centric, e.g. I do also program in .Net, and open to other languages and solutions

My Background: Extensive VFP experience, but very limited Web Centric development experience. No experience setting up a Web Server. (But willing to learn, and have the brain power to figure it out if needed.)

Challenge #1:

Within a span of a week 3 of clients have asked for the ability for their customers to view their ‘account’ information and place order information via the internet and browser. Each of these customers is small ( e.g very limited or no in house IT staff) and their current software and databases are based on FoxPro. Some of these applications I have written, some I have inherited. None of the clients currently have static IPs, but 2 do have relatively fast internet connections.

One idea being tossed around is copy/update/read from every so often the pertinent information to/from a cloud based database, e.g. MicroSoft Azure, and then create a website running somewhere other than the clients office where the customers would link to.

Challenge #2:

Build a website that allows business owners to enter appropriate information and the system ‘match’ them with other appropriate businesses. (Can not go into anymore details for NDA reasons.)


Lion Crest Software Services
Anthony L. Testi
President

http://www.LionCrestSoftwareServices.com

 

[Olaf Doschke]

#1

I wouldn't go about it with SQL Azure and the cloud. One major feature of the cloud is scalability and that's perhaps needed, if you expect large numbers of concurrent orders.

Otherwise any simple shop system integrating into their website would do for account info and ordering. If they have no website, look out for some CMS. You don't need to start from ground zero.

#2

Same applies. Lookout for some CMS supporting B2B contacts, being able to run as a B2B platform.

You can merge this together in a system offering the distinction between private and business customers or any more specific account diversity than just member or guest.

http://www.cmsmatrix.org

offers a very detailed search. Maybe limit yourself to market leader CMS systems and not anything too special. Without making some special search I'd say you can do anything with Typo3 or Drupal.

Apart of that you'll find most of these systems are open source, I actually can't think of any closed source CMS system. And mostly this goes into the PHP direction. But it's not hard putting something together.

Bye, Olaf.

 

[MrDataGuy]

http://www.cmsmatrix.org

looks like a great resource!
Thanks

Lion Crest Software Services
Anthony L. Testi
President

http://www.LionCrestSoftwareServices.com

 

[EzLogic]

for #1, i use VFP w/ FoxWeb hosted on a server.

http://www.foxweb.com

i have several clients with 200+ retail stores and 1000+ users, viewing real time inventory, placing orders, submit RMA requests, viewing invoices and other real time data with their back end ERP system that is also in VFP.



Ali Koumaiha
TeknoSoft Inc.
Michigan

 

[SnyAc]

Another suggestion to do FoxPro with the web is Westwind WebConnect.... uses an IIS server.

Andy Snyder
SnyAc Software Services

http://www.snysoft.com

Hyperware Inc. a division of AmTech Software

http://www.hyperwareinc.com

 

[foxincloud]

Hi Anthony,

FoxInCloud meets challenge #1
You simply adapt your existing application/forms to the web ; it means you maintain a single code base for LAN and Web operation; you simply deploy the forms your client need on the web. FoxInCloud being in standard HTML/CSS/JS, your client car work on any platform, desktop or mobile.
Typically, less than 2% of your code needs manual adaptation (

http://www.foxincloud.com/shared-projects.php).

FoxInCloud comes with a handy VFP database synchronization class to make sure LAN and Web updates are properly synchronized.

Challenge #2
Not sure what you mean.
Anyhow you can from a web server, send or receive requests to/from another web server to get/send data in any format.

ThN

 

[dgrewe]

Have you looked into Active FoxPro

http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?Wiki~ActiveFoxProPages

David W. Grewe Dave

 

[MrDataGuy]

At the moment I am leaning toward this solution. (Far from a done deal.)

I will program the website using DotNetNuke.

-A program on the client's computer will run every so often( Once a day, once and hour, once a minute?) that will gather all of the changes since the last update and put them into a file (XML?, Flat? multiple files?)

-This file will be transfered to the website.

-While connected any updates from the website will be pulled down to the local computer

-The website will update it's database with the new information.

-The local machine will update it's information.

So that is the plan at the moment.

I have all kinds of questions like, how does one do a program control file transfer to a website, and do it secure? I am sure if I decide to use DNN that will help drive the answer.


Lion Crest Software Services
Anthony L. Testi
President

http://www.LionCrestSoftwareServices.com