[jawfin]

At the outset may I state that if you don't know how to answer this then please don't!

For a client I would like to develop a web page where their staff can log in and decide for themselves which shifts they would like to work. This is done by them clicking on the blue boxes which will populate (or clear) with their name.

Once I have to prototype running i'll be adding extra abilities, like not being able to modify shifts in the past, not double booking, automatic generation of the month's calendar, admin ability to override edits, emailing shift reminders to staff members, printing and the such like.

What I am hoping for is hints/ideas on technologies, IDEs, and databases to create it.

This is the interface I have designed which I intend to effect this: -




Thanks for any help or constructive ideas, or even templates or psuedo-code!

[Jr.]

As for coding something like this, I have no clue. However I have used phpscheduleit in the past, which might be a good place to start as a template.

Here is the link.. I guess its called Booked now: https://sourceforge.net/projects/phpscheduleit/

Anyway, not too much help, but maybe it will spawn some ideas.

Oh btw Hi =)

[jawfin]

Hey Jr, thanks for that pointer. I got it installed but it is massive overkill, and yet doesn't do what I need! Sadly it's just too big to get hints from too - like making a paper airplane with hints from the blueprints of a jet-fighter.

[jawfin]

Yay for double post.

I solved this problem myself, and shared my solution with StackOverflow - I am kinda worried what treatment it will receive, but I still felt obliged to post: -
http://stackoverflow.com/q/36822392/530047

[MasterM]

I solved this problem myself, and shared my solution with StackOverflow - I am kinda worried what treatment it will receive

Did you have an issue before? I've perused StackOverflow quite a bit, though never submitted a question, and have generally found people to be helpful and constructive.

[jawfin]

To answer your question I did as much research as I could before asking the best means of deploying it. For instance, one could use CGI or PHP to build the published html on the fly or attempt using a pre-made product such as wordpress or maybe even picasso or a forum! Also, how was the best means to save the data, text files, sql? or communication with the server, sockets, sntp or ajax - so before i started seriously down the wrong course, i posted on StackOverflow.

Here was the result from my first attempt... Note it makes sense if you read the comments before reading the text after the EDIT:EDIT:EDIT:EDIT:EDIT:



So you could say after that, I have no confidence in SO as a place to ask questions.

[MasterM]

Hm. To be fair, I've never searched for anything as involved as what you asked about. In my experience I've always been looking for a simple solution to some simple, banal, question, and instead come across huge diatribes about stuff I don't really care about (one time I was having an issue with a print function in c++ I think, and somehow stumbled into a heated argument about using namespace std).

[Raz0r]

SO is a horrible place that rewards "empty" answers or answers telling you your question is invalid. The reputation system is built around this and creates a very negative experience (in my experience)
It his, however, a good resource for finding questions that have been successfully answered.

[jawfin]

SO is a horrible place that rewards "empty" answers or answers telling you your question is invalid. The reputation system is built around this and creates a very negative experience (in my experience)
It his, however, a good resource for finding questions that have been successfully answered.

Exactly and precisely my thoughts. Threads like "how do a add 2 to a variable" has hundreds of reps, and lol, the ongoing arguments about the use of FreeAndNil() or the use of System.gc() thousands of points. As I said in my deleted post, I would have been better off posting failed JavaScript code which accesses my own database remotely - but I'm not so stupid to even attempt that.

But after being told I wasn't a developer, and that I could never do it myself without a bunch of courses, or even if I did anyone could do a better job so I should pay someone. Left me rather bitter. So I solved it (within the day of my first post) and chose to make my own peace, for my own sake, by posting a comprehensive how-to do what I was told could not and should not be done. I am happier for it.

Reflective thought on the commenter who said the above made me realise that if he simply Google'd me first, clicked on the first result (my webpage) and clicked on the first link he would be taken to the Android app store, to my app which has over 1,000,000 downloads. So reflectively, I just cannot take seriously any person who takes the time to make allegations without doing a modicum of research first. It also occurs to me he was attempting to drum up business - which is far more reprehensible thing to do on SO then posting a concept question.

[/vent]