Table of Contents
Goals
- Make Pat happy. She is our customer. “Whatever the woman wants, God wants.”
- Long range:
- give special benefits to dues-paying TIGHAR members;
- sell access to special items (videos?).
Current system
- HTML forms.
- CGI scripts.
- Some data written to a private folder.
- Some data sent via e-mail.
- Pat retrieves info, enters it by hand, confirms transaction, maintains lists with Filemanager.
| Advantages |
|---|
| Pat understands the system. |
| Dreamweaver / HTML forms are simple. |
| Lowest dollar cost. |
| Disadvantages |
| Users make entry errors. |
| Bots attack the scripts. |
| Keying in CC info costs time and energy. |
| Not connected to the website; cannot give special access to TIGHAR members or customers. |
Custom Filemanager System
Total solution
- $10,000 for Tammantech.
- Leave forms in HTML.
- Add database management to scripts.
- Connect Filemanager to MySQL to download and update transactions.
- Upgrade credit card account at bank or other credit card clearing agency.
| Advantages |
|---|
| Pat can continue to use Dreamweaver and Filemaker. |
| Automated CC confirmation between website and agency puts data entry burden on the user, not Pat. |
| Simplest learning curve for Pat. |
| Disadvantages |
| $10,000 entry fee. |
| No connection to Joomla/Forum lists and permissions. |
| Increased processing costs for CC validation. |
| Documentation for source code and user. |
Simpler solution
- Parse e-mail and private data log.
- Update Filemaker semi-automatically.
| Advantages |
|---|
| Less than $10,000. |
| HTML forms not changed. |
| Filemaker lists augmented, not replaced. |
| Disadvantages |
| No online validation. |
| No integration with Joomla/Forum lists. |
| The burden remains on Pat to get correct CC info. |
OpenCart
- Open source.
- Standalone component.
- Online validation.
- Parse e-mail and update Filemaker.
| Advantages |
|---|
| Essentially free software. |
| Lower cost for Tammantech support. |
| Documentation and support from other OpenCart users. |
| Disadvantages |
| Pat has to learn the OpenCart inventory/shopping system. |
| No integration with Joomla/Forum lists. |
| Increased processing costs for CC validation. |
Joomla Component
CBSubs
- Community Builder CBSubs (annual fee of 145 € for 5000 users–more than enough).
- Move Filemaker data to Community Builder tables, coping with duplicate entries on startup by administrator judgment (present conflicts, allow admin to choose resolution).
| Advantages |
|---|
| Reasonable software cost. |
| Integrated list of members for TIGHAR, Joomla, Forum through Community Builder (CB is free and is already installed). |
| Online validation of sales. |
| Documentation and support from other CBSubs users. |
| Marty has some experience with a similar project. |
| Disadvantages |
| Learning curve for Pat. |
| Everything managed through Joomla interface–no Dreamweaver, no Filemaker. |
| Marty is the only of us who is comfortable with Joomla. |
Other Joomla components
Marty's KISS Storefront
- 90% complete. Of course the last 10% will take more than half the time that the first 90% did.
- Works with PayPal only.
- Online validation; customizable filing of data in MySQL.
- No inventory management.
| Advantages |
|---|
| No dollar charge for the component. |
| Storefront can be edited with Dreamweaver. |
| Disadvantages |
| Adding items is tricky. |
| No user community. |
| May be hard for others to understand and maintain. |
| 3% or 4% PayPal commission for each transaction. |
Etc.
| Advantages |
|---|
| Some are free, open-source software. |
| Disdvantages |
| All have arbitrary decisions made by others. |
| Quirks, bugs, limitations … |