Thanks Lester Caine,

>
> I would suggest that a single central database that the customers check
> is probably the correct approach. ADOdb can access multiple databases,
> and so later developments could update the central copy with local more
> accurate data as required, so sections of your bespoke system could be
> replaced by additional pages on the web based system over time?
>
> bitweaver would provide login, front page, calendar of events, faq
> section and so on - out of the box, and any branch could update and
> extend the content that displays using the on-line editor.
>
> An additional package would then create 'content' which are packages to
> be tracked, and would have a secondary table with actions against a
> parcel. My 'tasks' package has 'tickets' for each enquiry, and then
> 'transactions' such as serving, waiting on queue, interview and finished
> - these would translate to your collected, in transit to, delivered ...
> so the bulk of the work is probably available. Customers would only be
> able to see their own packages, branches may either see all packages or
> just their own ;) Making a package that can handle your existing tables
> is easy - my own stuff is connecting to the same tables as are used by
> MY legacy windows applications!
>
> I have my own map package for bw which uses scanned maps, but Will has a
> very nice interface to google maps - which I've not actually used myself
> - but I understand you can do things like showing the closest branch, or
> display a location from the database - which could be GPS direct from
> the delivery van ;)
>
> Extending the package to allow booking parcel collections would be easy,
> the bitcommerce package provides a range of payment options. That would
> be a little more work as the bitcommerce shop is not as integrated as
> some other packages, but the structure is all in place and is handling
> some large sites already.
>

Oh, this is giving a new dimension to application design.
it seems that it will take little time to digest this suggestion
now our technical team will think in this new dimension and I have
handed over a hard copy of this mail to them within weeks time
they are suppose to come back with tentative design of web
application by studying similar functionality sites.Meanwhile
I will be shortlisting some PHP frameworks to be evaluated.

Thanks a lot for applying ur mind to this issue and helping
us in delivering right product to our clients. Now we have
got little bit idea why these frameworks are required and
how those can be used for betterment of final product.
Till date what we were thinking was just mere port of
ageold C/S application to web server, in real sense it
wouldn't have been a "WEB APPLICATION"

BTW may I send u a private mail ?

Thanks and Best regards.


Raja