I'd be interested in hearing on what you would like to see included or changed or fixed up in the next version?

Features I've already done in a development version are (please don't ask for them yet as they are still very rough):

1. Match by keyword/phrase using boolean AND or OR.
2. Match by sounds like (i.e. tost matches test).

I'm also look at possibly templatizing it like I did with Links, but am not sure yet.

Suggestions welcome!

Cheers,

Alex

Alex,

You should include
1. email field
2. send email when someon signup and add new entry
3. all email can be used for mailing list (what new etc)
4. short and and long list
5. more personal datas requested when someone signup.

Thanks

Perhaps you can also include a "Submit a Record" (for guests only) and "Validation area" (for admins) like you have in Links? That way guests can contribute even though they don't register necessarily (and it allows admins to filter out the submissions). I've created a validation function on my own, but I figure it might be a useful feature for everyone.

I think that having some features like in Links would be neat as well. Stuff like - what's new, what's cool, mailing list, # of entries in particular category.

Thanks for the great script!


------------------
Jason
Extreme mtb
http://extreme.nas.net

Hi Alex

first of all I muat say that I am really impressed by your scripts !

Now I don't really know if this would be possible but :
If I got that right the disadvantage of the flat text file is that 2 Users cannot modify, add or delete at the same time. Now I was wondering if it would be possible to include a feature to query a SQL database so you would have the above abilities. I'm not into preogramming so I don't really know if this is an impossible task ( well maybe not impossible but far beyond reality ) ?

Other than that I think the e-mail feature is nice. Though fiddling around with JPD's Mods gives a lot of expierience on how the script actually works .. <g>.

'nough said for now

Cheers

Broder

Hello Alex,

I'm sure the next version will incorporate some nice new features, but try to keep your product customizable, at least with good comments as it was the case in the past (all of us have appreciated really this point) !

Please let me add a few things in the wish list:

- flock() equivalent function for W95-W98 OSes. Maybe fcntl() could be used.

- special comment lines (#! for example) showing lines changed in the scripts. As you know, due to the customizations made by everyone, it will be quite difficult to cut and paste the changes occurred without identification of those changed lines.

- specific fields indexing to speed up the searches or dichotomic search with a sorted .pass file to retrieve rapidly any userid parameter.

- added support of the CR key with the two major browsers to complement the SUBMIT buttons.

Many thanks for your scripts, for making DBman a still evoluting product and for this tremendously efficient environment space of information sharing, the forum.

Cheers,
Germain


[This message has been edited by Germinator (edited March 05, 1999).]

Hi

I find templates a pain -- if you do include them please make it easy to turn them off!

A mods that a client of mine would be interested in (and I realise that this is rather a big mod...):

* The ability to use dbman to index, for example, .rtf files. This would need a field for the location of the files on the server, maybe on a ftp site? (I don't think having .rtf files within a plain txt database would be very clever ) and a bit of fileman code to enable the uploading of the files.

I've acutally got quite a few more ideas for this if you are interested.

Also if you are thinking of doing any new scripts the one I'd really like to see is 'NewsMan' for running sites like (but simpler than) www.slashdot.org and www.mozillazine.org. The slash script is available but it looks like a total pig to set up and it's geared up for really busy sites rather than smaller scale ones.

All the best

Chris

To Chris Chroome - yes, I have been working on the News Manager system, almost exactly what you asked for. I don't know about the exact features of the /. script, but the one I'm building has some good features. It stores all news items in a format neutral fashion, and uses a separate file called news.format, which can be switched on the fly, to generate the HTML. What I would compare this script to is blammo! (if you're a gamer, you would recognize its output over at Blue's News, http://www.bluesnews.com/ ) It doesn't have the built in message board feature like /. or blammo!, but I'm looking at using the WWWBoard script to manage them. News Manager isn't quite complete yet, but if anyone is interested in the code, I'd be happy to give it out. Perhaps JPDeni would be interested in posting it on her site?


------------------
-Zoot

Hi Alex, your script is really a great help, especially for a newbie like me. And I am also very much impressed by the support I am getting from this forum. For my intentions, as far as I know now, I would be very happy with the following features, which I am not really sure of if it already works:

1.) cross-field multi word searching
2.) Modifying etc. and Searching in different Databases with one script.

I am using different cfg.´s and cgi´s for different tasks.



------------------

Hi Alex....Rob's Wish List

Lost User ID retrival like UBB
Graghic upload option for client to
attach graphic with submission.
Auto email notification to client of
submission expiration.
Auto time deletion of submitted records.
for these I would pay again...thanks..Rob

Hi Alex Rob's Wish List continued

the ability to click on a Photo or link and retrieve an expanded data page. thats all I promise....Rob

There was discussion a while ago on how to make two db files 'relate'. I'd like to see a subroutine that could populate a list box based on values contained in a 2nd db.

Hi Alex,

1. Multi-level sorts would be great.
E.g. sort by field B within a sort for field A.
(i.e for the car database, sort by dealer then by model then by VIN.) If three levels is too much, even two would be an immense improvement in usability.

2. Click a button and have the current output emailed to you as an attached Excel file.

3. Users able to alter their own passwords

4. Default for ADD user screen be for View permission box to be checked. (I know, I can change that code myself easily enough... But it was annoying to have added 20 users and then realized that they had no access...)

Cheers,

Bruce

I have been searching for a tool that will allow me to build my next two projects without much luck. DBMan is close, but I'ld need a few extra features ... and since you asked :-)

The first on the To-Do list is a Help Wanteds at a regional level. The exta features I would need is a SUMMARY Page of Jobs found ... then the ability for the end-user to click one of the line items, which would take them to a Full Formated HTML Page (Template File I could have table, Field and color control of). The Summary page would be in a customizable table format as well.

The second project I'm working on is to be Program File Directoy .... something like winfiles.com. Where the end-user could search a catagory and then see files in that catagory for download. The ability for the Software vendors to add their own listing. Actaully uploading of files could be avoided by allowing Software vendor to enter their URL linked on their website of file to be downloaded .. it http://abc.com/akewlfile.zip

I would like the displayed FILES pages to be tabled left to right, instead of top to bottom formatted table. Allowing me a HTML Tempalte would solve this.

I don't think I explained the second project very well and it would probably be easier to view the shareware file directory at winfiles.com

Thanks and other features mentioned within this group would also be welcomed.

JWells

Well since you asked:-)

All of the above, plus:

1) Another user account option, that
allows the ablity to add, view, modify,
delete, but not modify user accounts.
Sort of an account between admin and the
standard login account.

2) The ability to generate printable output.
A long shot I know:-), but I had to ask.

Even if no changes are made, it is
still an excellent program.

Thanks Alex!!!

The items the ROB suggest are G R E A T !!!
So I hope, that they are possible.
The submitting of a graphic for a user, auto-deleting from the records older than ... and more.

Even though, it's a great programm!!

Mart.

Hi Alex...Rob's Wish List continued..I know I promised, but I just wanted to make a comment re: templates..I think your upgrade should se temples as opposed to the existing html.pl format as it would allow for greater
customizable flexablity for the not so Perl
literate webmasters of which I am one..plus it would make for easier SSI calls...O yes another thought..a subcategory display with counter option like in your Links script would be super ...I think my wish list is turning into your nightmare..thanks again Alex for all your help and a great script...Rob

[This message has been edited by Rob (edited March 12, 1999).]

Dunno if you're still accepting possible new features, but another one that I think is very important is a database to maintain just the user database so that people can add user fields easily (and the UI for the Admin while great for its general purpose gets uglier if I add any more fields to it). Sort of like how the categories are maintained in Links I suppose.

Well, the script is great right now, but I'd like to see the html.pl script broken up into seperate chunks: the functions and a section that calls the "template" scripts. A user could define the html_record.pl and the html_form.pl and wahtever else they wanted to do.

One bi thing I'd like to see is a signup form that could have the users request access and a notification be sent to the dba for approval. The requests could be kept in an accounts pending file and as soon as the dba granted/denied access, the user could receive an email that they were approved/denied.

Another nice feature would be to have the ability to email all users on updates, etc.

Ok, a couple more....
I'd like a feature in the admin script that could let you add columns in the table.

And while I'm at it...
another chunk of the html.p[l script could be an entire set of global variables - say table borders, font faces, error font color/style, etc.

You'll have al lthat done by this weekend right?

Keep up the great work you've done so far - I'm sure nobody will be disapointed at all!
Thanks for the cool script!

Alex: Ze scripts are magnificent!!! I joined this forum just to say: I know what I'd like to see done to DBman:

UPLOAD UPLOAD UPLOAD - just like Fileman!!!
If it uploaded a file to a directory and stuffed the filename in a field in the flatfile I'd weep tears of joy!!! I tried to hack the feature from Fileman into DBman but failed miserably, cause I'm a big luser.

Export database to HTML via templates (like Links) with the option NOT to use it.

Dunno bout anybody else - I think that with these two features alone I can shove the rest of the code around enough to make DBman into just about ANYTHING I can think of offhand. Real estate listings, online yearbooks, etc...

BTW - I love and use most of JPDeni's mods - format.pl, censoring input, validation, short & long listings, etc...like to still be able to use 'em without having ta wait for the amazing JPDeni to whoop 'em up for the new version - & so would many other folks, I suspect. Be REALLY nice if they showed up in the next version.

Thanks, Alex, and go, cat GO!

Hi Alex,

One feature I would LOVE to see implemented is simultaneous multiple database searches, and multiple keywords searches.

Your script is great!

Chris

Password retrieval! So many people forget their passwords that using DBMan is almost a nuisance creator (It's a really good program, thanks. Aside from some other suggestions made, I think two that would benefit nearly everybody are
1. Lost password retrieval. Maybe their password could be mailed to them, or a new, temporary one generated, or any of the scemes used by various programs for people who lost theirs.

2. The ability for users to change their password.

You can add anything else you like, but these two should be at the top of the list.

There's a modification you can make to the scripts which will allow for password lookup. You can pick it up at http://www.drizzle.com/~hall/dbmod/lookup.txt

I've written one for users to be able to change their passwords, too, but I haven't got it up on the web yet. I'll see if I can get it up in the next day or so.


------------------
JPD

Zoot,

I saw what you did at http://www.bluesnews.com and though it was great. Its exactly what I have been trying to accomplish for a long time. Could you please post the code if you don't mind sharing.

Thanks for your help,
Nickhung

Hi Alex,
Please, in your next version make an script for build a vrml inline where the links for vrml files are in default.db :

01|dat1|dat2|file1.wrl

and in html.pl a think link this :



sub html_view_success {
[..]
&html_print_headers;
print qq|
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<script language="JavaScript">
function AfficheVRML()
{
Sortie = parent.vrml;
document.open();
document.open("x-world/x-vrml","replace");
document.writeln("#VRML V2.0 utf8");
document.writeln(" NavigationInfo { ");
document.writeln(' type [ "EXAMINE" , "WALK" ] ');
document.writeln(" speed 2.0 ");
document.writeln(" headlight TRUE ");
document.writeln(" } ");

document.writeln(" DEF camera Viewpoint { ");
document.writeln(" position 93.2076 45.4639 -45.8499 ");
document.writeln(" orientation 0.381796 -0.908621 -0.169236 -0.907747 ");
document.writeln(" fieldOfView 0.785398 ");
document.writeln(' description "vue automatique" ');
document.writeln(" } ");

document.writeln(" DEF Inline-ROOT Transform { ");
document.writeln(" translation 0 0 0 ");
document.writeln(" children [ ");
document.writeln(" Inline { ");
document.writeln(' url "http://www-sira.montaigne.u-bordeaux.fr/boisset/cgi/vrml/wrl/@hits+1.wrl" ');
document.writeln(" bboxSize 10.81 10.81 10.81 ");
document.writeln(" } ");
document.writeln(" ] ");
document.writeln(" } ");

document.close();
}
// -->
</script>

<TITLE></TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY onLoad="AfficheVRML()">
</BODY>
</HTML>

|;
}