jodyallen
asked on
Ability to create an inteactive timetable in Java
Good Day,
I have been tasked with creating an application that will work to mark off times throughout the day.
I basically want a chart displaying the week, laid out with 5 names and a block for each hour throughout the day eg:
|0900|1000|1100|1200|1300|
--------------------------
A | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
B | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
C | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
D | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
E | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
The idea is to allow a visible account of who has what time available.
At the moment I am using a printout with two coloured markers, however it has been suggested to get it running as an online application that can be updated by anyone, rather that just the person holding the paper.
Someone has suggested Java as a web based app to do this. I am competent in HTML, Javascript and CSS, however have only really touched on Java.
I really just interested in knowing if what I am trying to accomplish is possible, and if a Java based app is the best way to go about it. Of course any pointers if anyone has attempted anything similar would as always, be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks in advance.
I have been tasked with creating an application that will work to mark off times throughout the day.
I basically want a chart displaying the week, laid out with 5 names and a block for each hour throughout the day eg:
|0900|1000|1100|1200|1300|
--------------------------
A | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
B | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
C | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
D | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
E | | | | | | | |
--------------------------
The idea is to allow a visible account of who has what time available.
At the moment I am using a printout with two coloured markers, however it has been suggested to get it running as an online application that can be updated by anyone, rather that just the person holding the paper.
Someone has suggested Java as a web based app to do this. I am competent in HTML, Javascript and CSS, however have only really touched on Java.
I really just interested in knowing if what I am trying to accomplish is possible, and if a Java based app is the best way to go about it. Of course any pointers if anyone has attempted anything similar would as always, be greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks in advance.
ASKER
Thank you, the only thing is I need this to be open by a few people who can update it and therefore realtime updates need to appear. Is a PHP running alongside HTML + Javascript going to provide the speed I require. This is why I was directed towards Java as a suggestion?
PHP is propably much faster than Java application for this task. I would suggest Java for much bigger tasks or tasks that needs to be build with very strict standars (bank applications etc.).
You also could make javascript call to check from PHP script if there is update and then reload the data if there is. This way all users will have it realtime updated. In my oppinion keep it simple and make couple of very simple PHP scripts and make JavaScript calls that will take the data from PHP scripts and show it to users.
Of course if there is more than 5 people updating it there is some other issues to consider. Lets say if there is 200 peoples updating it during the day you will need to pay special attention to concurrency and how to secure data integrity. Same issue would be with Java and has liitle to do with the language you choose.
You also could make javascript call to check from PHP script if there is update and then reload the data if there is. This way all users will have it realtime updated. In my oppinion keep it simple and make couple of very simple PHP scripts and make JavaScript calls that will take the data from PHP scripts and show it to users.
Of course if there is more than 5 people updating it there is some other issues to consider. Lets say if there is 200 peoples updating it during the day you will need to pay special attention to concurrency and how to secure data integrity. Same issue would be with Java and has liitle to do with the language you choose.
ASKER
In this case, we would be looking at 25 people updating it about 50-60 times per day, if that makes sense. Will certainly look into the Javascript and PHP route, having done a bit more with PHP i recognize the language and therefore would have more if an understanding trying to create it.
For 25 people it isn't any problem. Nor it would be for 200 people. You just need to pay some attention to the concurrency and secure data integrity. You could e.g. use file locks or use database. Just make sure that every user has most uptodate timetable before they can update. Anyway you need to make sure that user A won't update older data over data that user B has already updated to database.
ASKER
Yes, this is the issue we are trying to get around. our main concern is any user doing anything to the timetable without updating.
This is to be implemented to a team that have proved that they do not always take instructions, hence looking into a solution that would do the updates automatically. User A makes a change and user' B through G's on screen timetable then shows those updates before they even decide to look at it to make their own amendments.
I know I am asking a few questions, but have been given this as a task, 3 weeks into a new job, in a role that does not really cover this and want to make sure that I go about things the right way and provide an answer that I know cannot be unraveled in any form. I appreciate your assistance in this.
This is to be implemented to a team that have proved that they do not always take instructions, hence looking into a solution that would do the updates automatically. User A makes a change and user' B through G's on screen timetable then shows those updates before they even decide to look at it to make their own amendments.
I know I am asking a few questions, but have been given this as a task, 3 weeks into a new job, in a role that does not really cover this and want to make sure that I go about things the right way and provide an answer that I know cannot be unraveled in any form. I appreciate your assistance in this.
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ASKER
Thank you. It certainly gives me something to work towards, and ideas to bring up with how to make sure the updates are done without overwrites. You preaching to the converted on the uselessness of users.
Someone is now mentioning access databases to work on this problem.... think I may leave that one for a while.
Thanks for all your help on the matter, will close this down as the solution.
Someone is now mentioning access databases to work on this problem.... think I may leave that one for a while.
Thanks for all your help on the matter, will close this down as the solution.
In my oppinnion you would have great success with PHP when you already know HTML and Javascript. With HTML + Javascript calls to PHP scripts you could do this task quite easily. PHP is in my oppinion the simplest and most straight forward language to this kind of task.
For saving the data you could use SQLite to keep things very simple. It would be then easy to upgrade to MySQL if you need to.