Some random thoughts..
EuroBillTracker wrote:one word : wonderful
I will definatly use this.
EuroBillTracker wrote:I need to write the code to handle it though which is going to be non-trivial because of all the error handling
Yea, I know it won't be that easy, take your time. However, I think people using that "advanced" entry form should be pretty familiar with the system, so the error messages could be somewhat shorter than usual. I was thinking something along these lines for the results page:
Code: Select all
__RESULTS__
L17482859282 (10e): Note entered successfully into the database
L89893289553 (50e): Note entered successfully into the database
X89892476342 (20e): Already entered (2002-06-08 21:07)
L00000000000 (5e): Invalid serial number
L28739874928 (100e): Invalid short code (D00G1)
...
I do not know exactly what kind of error messages EBT can issue, but for the most part, if it gives an error message (like "already entered") there's really nothing the user can do and retrying won't do any good. The JavaScript checks should help preventing some of the invalid serial numbers etc, but in case someone doesn't have JavaScript enabled the system should check the serial numbers anyway. In that case it could put those invalid entries to the top of the new input form (highlighting the invalid parts) and remove the notes from the input form that were ok or already entered.
As you should have noticed, I put quite a lot of input rows on that page (50 to be exact). Other euro tracking sites (which shall remain nameless) that allow more than one note to be entered at a time seem to restrict the number of notes to 5 or so. They have most probably limited the number because of possible typos in the serial numbers, but as we soon have the realtime typo checking, we don't have to restrict ourselves to those tiny note amounts.
EuroBillTracker wrote:Oh ! goodie... you even did the REGEXP !!
I was actually quite relieved to notice that JavaScript does indeed support regex, it made the checks somewhat simpler. Considering that my primary scripting language is Perl, this simple regex was no big deal
EuroBillTracker wrote:The only drawback to this I see is that it will become much easier to insert lots of crap in the database because users can find "valid" serial numbers on each try and look at the javascript code to figure it out. Hummm... what is everyone's opinion ?
Well, if some people want to abuse the system, they will, regardless of the input format they're provided. As others have pointed out, generating mathematically correct serial numbers is trivial, and the information for calculating the check digit is already widely available. As most people do use the system with legitimate notes, I wouldn't like to restrict the use of this new form just because there are some people who do not play by the rules.
smh wrote:Maybe you shouldn't give the ability to use such a form to all users by default. Only to users who are given the apropriate user rights should be able to do this.
I
somewhat agree, as the result page after entering the notes might be a bit confusing for the newbies. I'd suggest giving access to this expert input form after the user has entered, say, 15 notes using the regular method. After the user has entered those 15 notes with the usual form, he/she is most probably quite familiar with the system and knows how the system works in principle. I'd like to see a link like "
If you're adding several notes at a time, please consider using the expert input form" on the New Note page after the 15 notes have been reached. I'd say this automatic method would be easier for the webmaster, and at the same time it'd prevent the complete newbies from confusing themselves with a potentially confusing input form. I don't want to replace the existing input form with this form, as the basic form is most probably easier for the newbies. But the expert users, they should be given access to this new form in addition to the old regular input form.
pinguino79 wrote:I noticed that the design works for Netscape/Mozilla too
(Mozilla 0.9.9 on a Linux box).
Yes, the page is basically the same that is displayed when someone requests the EBT front page with MSIE. I can (somewhat) understand why EBT outputs a different page for older Netscape versions as they are severely broken when it comes to CSS support etc, but seeing that EBT outputs that same Netscape version of the page for modern Netscape 6/7 & Mozilla browsers is somewhat insulting ..
I spent this evening designing an easy-to-use form for entering dozens of bills at a time. You can see that form at http://miuku.net/misc/massinsert.html -- note that the data entered won't be transferred to EBT, it's dumped to a CGI script that echoes back everything that's sent to it. 
