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Subject:
From:
"Richard L. Conn" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Richard L. Conn
Date:
Sun, 12 Sep 1999 07:47:00 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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text/plain (86 lines)
Hi, Jacob,

Responses are interspersed.

----------------------------------
Richard Conn, ASE and PAL Manager
http://xenadu.home.mindspring.com/

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Team Ada: Ada Advocacy Issues (83 & 95)
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Jacob Sparre Andersen
> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 5:18 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: HTML+HTTP+CGI as a user interface (Was: How to provide Ada with
> the best possible GUI)
>
>
> Richard L. Conn:
>
> > The upcoming Ada and Software Engineering CDROM (which will be
> > distributed to all SIGAda 99 attendees) will have material on
> > this topic, so you can look there for more details.
>
> How do you handle problems like where the CD is mounted and
> other platform/configuration dependencies?

The CDROM is just an information and software distribution
mechanism for the courseware, software, reports, etc.  It's
not an implementation mechanism.  However, in a different
venue, I did have to address how to handle an integrated
interface that crosses many CDROMs (in this instance) or
one single website (when all the CDROMs are placed together
on a website).  GWRL (Generic Web-based Reuse Library, which
I wrote in Ada95, handles this ... it has a CDROM mode and a
"normal" mode).  It is included on the ASE CDROMs and websites.
The upcoming ASE CDROM will contain GWRL with a Visual Basic
front-end, so you can run the GWRL family of programs from the
command line or with a VB GUI over them.

>
> Can you run the CGI programs on the local machine, or do you
> simply link to CGI programs on a server somewhere on the
> Internet?

I can do either, altho with the CMM Level 4 data collection
system, my CGI programs are on a web server separate from the
client.  If you want to run them locally, just set up a Personal
Web Server on your local machine, and you are there.

>
> How do you handle the problem with multiple running copies
> of the same program. Is there an easy way to get a unique ID
> for each running copy. (a dirty solution could be to use the
> machine address of a variable, but ...).

My solution was to incorporate into the file names and scripts
a unique character sequence containing BOTH the date/time stamp
and task ID of the programs.  Both Windows and UNIX support this
approach.  The date/time stamp gives you the number of seconds
(such as since midnight, Jan 1, 1970), and the task ID is a
separate unique number.  My file and script names contain
strings that look like 98999645_12992 as a result, and each time
the data servers run, the values are different.  BOTH values
were needed in case the same data server is run concurrently
(in which case, the date/time stamp will be the same, but the
task ID will be different) and there is a huge volume of traffic
(in which the task IDs may wrap around, causing two tasks to have
the same ID).  There is still the off-chance that so many tasks
will be launched at the same time that we have a full task ID
wrap-around in a single second, but I don't think it is likely.

Rick
>
> Jacob
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
> --  Jacob Sparre Andersen     --  E-mail:
> [log in to unmask]  --
> --  National Laboratory Risų  --  Phone.: (+45) 46 77 51 23
>         --
> --  Systems Analysis          --  Fax...: (+45) 46 77 51 99
>         --
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------

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