[RESOLVED] Please direct in right direction...

[chris.cavage]

My next project is to have a touch screen kiosk set up for my family's small business.

I would like to have a way that users can click on new sales offers (coupons) that are updated from a remote location. That way I do not have to be at the kiosk everytime a sale is on! It would just update from my home computer.

Any help or thoughts on how to get started?

I am using VB6 with Vista.

[Hack]

Well, you aren't going to be able to alter the screen, but you can alter what is displayed on the screen by maintaining everything within a back end database that you can update from the comfort of your home.

[chris.cavage]

That's what I was thinking... use Microsoft Access or Excel and store information there. I would rather use Excel, unless Access is the best way to go.

How can I display it in a coupon-like manner? How can the file automatically be sent to the kiosk to be updated?

Thanks!

[tatkosmurff]

avoid excel as a database replacement. Although it can be used for data storing
it is not a database, and you will end up with some ugly data access\storage problems.

What you need is a database (MS access will do the trick).
The update can be solved with a TCP client\server application that
manages the data update.

[smUX]

Are you going to be dealing with tens of thousands of coupons?

I didn't think so, so why bother using a database with Access and mess about with all the setting up when you can create your own simple textfile with the information you require. You don't even need to have the kiosk directly connected to you, it could get the textfile from a location online and you upload it there (or FTP it over to the kiosk if you run a prog to do that...personally I suggest HFS which is actually a HTTP file server with uploading capabilities).

You don't need to use a sledgehammer to crack open a walnut :-P

[leinad31]

That's what I was thinking... use Microsoft Access or Excel and store information there. I would rather use Excel, unless Access is the best way to go.

How can I display it in a coupon-like manner? How can the file automatically be sent to the kiosk to be updated?

Thanks!

Before you worry about steps B, C, D... Step A, what are the capabilities of the kiosk? If it doesn't have any means of establishing a remote connection then you would have to go to the kiosk and update it (forget about doing so from the comfort of your home). If that was the case then Step B would be how to make it more efficient and less time consuming on your part.

[dilettante]

... so why bother using a database with Access and mess about with all the setting up ...

Not much to it really, especially for a simple case.

Option Explicit
'
'Create new MDB, load a CSV file as a single table from data.txt
'in subfolder CSVData.
'
' -or-
'
'Reload new CSV file data.
'

Private Const CONNSTRING As String = _
    "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;" _
  & "Jet OLEDB:Engine Type=5;Data Source='sample.mdb'"

Private Sub DBImport(ByVal Conn As ADODB.Connection)
    Conn.Execute "SELECT * INTO [Data] FROM " _
               & "[Text;Database=CSVData;HDR=Yes].[data.txt]", , _
                 adCmdText
End Sub

Private Sub DBCreate()
    Dim catDB As Object 'As ADOX.Catalog.
    
    Set catDB = CreateObject("ADOX.Catalog")
    With catDB
        .Create CONNSTRING
        DBImport .ActiveConnection
        .ActiveConnection.Close
    End With
    
    lblStatus.Caption = "Database created, data imported."
End Sub

Private Sub DBUpdate()
    Dim connDB As ADODB.Connection
    
    Set connDB = New ADODB.Connection
    With connDB
        .Open CONNSTRING
        .Execute "DROP TABLE [Data]", , adCmdText
        DBImport connDB
        .Close
    End With
    
    lblStatus.Caption = "Old data dropped, new data imported."
End Sub

Private Sub cmdCreate_Click()
    DBCreate
End Sub

Private Sub cmdUpdate_Click()
    DBUpdate
End Sub

[smUX]

Dil, my point is Access (although scalable) is designed for large-scale databases...the more efficient method if you only need a a few bits of data would be loading from a text file.

It's the old adage, KISS...Keep It Simple, Stupid...the simpler it is, the easier it is to find bugs if they rear their head

[chris.cavage]

Hi..

The remote kiosk will have internet access, so I will try to use another database system.

I am using MySQL, I decided, and trying to set up ADO to work with the kiosk.

I am also gathering kiosk users information in MySql, so I can figure something out I am sure.

I will try not to rely on Excel too much. I didn't think that was a good idea.