Re: A Very simple ordering system

You don't need a shopping cart, Tom.   Sounds to me like a simple sevure
invoice will do it for you...assuming you are even collecting payment from
this page, which isn't quite clear to me.

The shopping cart allows the customer to browser different pages in your
site, collecting information/items from each while continuing to browser.
Because of the stateless nature of the Internet, this would not be possible
without some way to keep a record of what's been selected so far...thus the
cart.

If all your ordering is done from one page, and the customer doesn't have to
go to any other pages to read details or otherwise leave the ordering page,
then you don't need a cart.  Just place the order from the page in question.

JavaScript can indeed present some opportunities for value-added service by
totalling things as they are selected.  Remember, though, that not everyone
will be able to use JavaScript, so your CGI application should be capable of
handling the order just as though no JS were used.

Darrell




----- Original Message -----

> Hi all....
>
> This is my first posting to this group so if my netiquette comes up short
> please feel free to "gently" tell me (I am sure you will)
>
> I want to design a small ordering system for my business and have a
> reasonable amount of knowledge creating code within visual basic having
> designed my own MSAccess database for ordering, complete with code etc.
> Apart from simple Javascript programs *Pinched*, *borrowed* or *stolen*
from
> any number of FREE sites accross the net my knowledge of the language is
> ZERO. That being said I have read a few tutorials on the subject and apart
> from some slight differences in terminology and a HUGE (or at least it
looks
> huge) learning curve with the net (CGI, Perl, permissions etc) it looks
very
> similar to Visual Basic.
>
> I have looked at literally DOZENS of shopping cart programs all over the
> place but NONE (that I have seen so far) will do my ordering thing the way
I
> would like to do it. Most appear to give a list of products (or one to a
> page) ...combine the whole thing together then take you to another   page
to
> "Check Out" which will then total your order and *usually* allow you to
> change that order ...submit it and send both a copy to the customer and
the
> business via email.
>
> Mine is slightly different in that my range of products CHANGE EVERY MONTH
> (Video titles) so my idea is to set the whole thing one ONE PAGE with all
> the titles (usually around 80-100) set into say a table with 4 columns.
Each
> title simply needs a quantity field as in my case I dont need individual
> pricing per item (my pricing works on quantity). This is then totalled off
> at the bottom of that same page giving total TITLES ordered and TOTAL
UNITS
> ordered (50 titles comprising 67 units say). There would also be a text
box
> /es for the customer details with a submit button and a recalculate
button.
> Pressing the submit button would send me and the customer the order. It is
a
> fairly simple matter to have Access generate whatever HTML/Javascripting
> needed (I am doing this now) every month to just REPLACE last months order
> form....it needs no sorting abilities of any kind.
>
> So (Whew! anyone still with me?)
>
> Are my requirements too simplistic?
> Are there any problems that anyone can see?
> Can anyone start me in the right direction?
>
> I would be thankful for any input

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