Question regarding receiving email and sending to database

[CHeighlund]

I'm not sure this goes in here, but I'm also not sure where else might be a better place for it to go. If there is a better forum for this kind of discussion, please let me know so that I may post this message there.

Our company provides tech assistance to an area exterminator company. My boss's boss was discussing some things with them a while back, and either he or they thought it would be a good idea to automate the 'callback' process if possible. (Callback: Way of getting message about what customers to attend out to field agents; currently done by stuffing notes in their lockers, as best I understand it.)

I've found enough information about sending an emailed message to a cell phone that I can handle that part of it with ease. Now, however, my boss wants me to see if I can automate the response cycle as well - in this case, having the field agent respond to the message, and updating the company's database with some information. (Probably a 'job finished' tag and a timestamp.) From what I've seen (and tested), responding to an emailed text message sends a response back to the email address that sent it. Is there some way a php form, or anything, really, can catch those messages and update the database based on that, or am I simply out of luck on this part?

 

[ingresman]

It'll be a bit heath robinson but you can configure most mail server to kick of a script on reciept of a message. The script could call PHP and you could do your processing in there, perhaps then send an email back to the guy to say its been updated.
Interestring if the guy is online to send the reply could you emded a link in the origianl email which fires up the browser on the device (WAP even ??), loads a web form and lets him type in whatever he needs to??
If you've got big bucks to spend tools like biztalk allow you to consume SMTP emails as the input to any process you like.