temp tables in a networked environment

[enstorms]

I have been reading many posts on this subject in the forum here and am still trying to come up with a solution. I am designing an app for a camp where I would like to present to the users a list of available lodges in a date range and provide a way to "mark" their selections. This is simple in a one user system, but in a networked system, am trying to come up with a solution where I can use a clean table to load appropriate data into (I would normally use a temp table that I would zap) that the browse would be based on. But zapping requires exclusive access. And then, if marking records, it would show if another user were doing the same and looking at, perhaps, the same record.
A template table I could copy to the workstation, but am unclear about how to call the browse based on this dynamically created table.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Ernie

[martinwcole]

Re: temp tables in a networked environment

Ernie, I do this kind-a-thing often.

I copy all the files for a table to the workstation, so users don't overwrite each other.

I'm not clear, though, why you would do this - if the program is "cabin based", and the cabin has fields for occupied from and thru and by, the moment anyone begins making a change to that cabin, the record is locked and will give the other user a message saying so.

So you display a list of "unoccupied" cabins, and pick one and begin changing, if it is locked, you pick another one, etc.

[enstorms]

Re: temp tables in a networked environment

Martin,
Thanks for the reply. I haven't decided on a route to take on this, as yet. I have one table that holds info on each cabin. Then another that holds info on usage. So cabin A has 30 beds, cabin B 45, etc. A group wants to come at a certain time so the user needs to pull up availability. What I've done before is just load up a temp table reading thru the lodge table, then looking into the Usage table to see if a lodge has been assigned on that day, if not, availability would be 30 or 45 or whatever. If it has been assigned and no beds available, it goes to the next lodge. Otherwise, if any availability, it loads the data/availability into the temp table. I then put this data into a report preview for the user to have to make decisions with. I take care of the assignments thru coding once the lodge(s) are chosen.
So was just thinking how I could present the available lodges in a browse list with a check box to select the lodge(s), then do the assignment routine. The temp table is really not for changing/editing the records themselves, only for info purposes. But, as you mention, I'll have to deal with the "conflicts" when I start going thru the routine of assignments, cause this will lock the table, I am assuming.

[martinwcole]

Re: temp tables in a networked environment

OK, now I get a much clearer picture

My son worked at a summer camp, (which I am assuming this is,) and I recall what it was like.

Anyway, sounds more like you are renting beds than particular lodges. And if people don’t rent a bed for the entire season, (and I am assuming this is seasonal,) then you would need to schedule/rent a bed for date ranges for more than one range. And I’m also guessing that more than one group of people could be in the same lodge for the same days – like me and my family and friends, (but since there are 40 beds,) also some other family and their friends, etc.

Depending on how long the season is you could have a lodge table and a beds table, and a family/group/person table.

If my assumptions are correct, then you have all the issues of say Motel 8, with the added twist that more than one person or family or group could be in the same room(Lodge) at the same time. But if my assumptions are correct, then the bed is the main thing.

If you were writing this for Motel 8, then money would not be an issue, and you could do a lot of fancy stuff with arrays for displaying and selecting and updating data. But if its for a summer camp, I suspect money is a big issue, and compromise comes into play.

PS: editing/entering does not lock a table, it locks a record within a table.