Database Wizard

[ted]

I am using FrontPage 2003, XP Pro with a Win 2000 Server. I want to attach a
small db to a site I designed in FrontPage 2003. I'm sure once this is
done I will need to connect that db to another, releated one. The first one
is allow a visitor, once the transaction is complete, to leave comments
about a particular transaction he/she made. The second one is to
retain the comments by the visitor so that a prospective purchaser could
look up all the comments left by any visitor who had been converted into a
purchaser.

The second one has not been started yet and can't be until the other one is
running properly. After that, I'm sure my boss will want me to add links
between the two. Does anyone have a suggestion(s) on where to get started?
Does FP 2003 have built-in functionality or is this something that has to be
"custom made"? Is there a piece of software, book or tutorial that vould
take me from start to finish, or one to get me started?

Finally, please give me a reasonable amount of actual man hours you think it
would take someone with no experience to complete this project. My boss
asked asked me that question and I am trying to give him an accurate
estimate. I have a full-time job at this company but do small non-commercial
Webs as a sideline.

Thanks very much for any suggestions!

 

[Chris Leeds, MVP-FrontPage]

Most E-commerce solutions (shopping carts) have the ability to accept,
retain, and display "product reviews". is this the type of thing you're
asking about?

--
Chris Leeds,
Microsoft MVP-FrontPage

Make More Money with Less Work
Let Your Clients Control Their Content With Just A Browser!
http://contentseed.com/

 

[ted]

Not exactly. I need one db with a form, to collect any comments left by a
purchaser, similar to a guestbood I think. I need a second one so that a
visitor could look up all the comments left by someone who has already made
a purchase. I need the two to be linked in a way that a prospective
purchaser could look up all comments left by that particular purchaser.

 

[Chris Leeds, MVP-FrontPage]

I suppose the architecture of how you want to do it is completely up to you,
but it seems convoluted since I've got a fairly simple shopping cart system
that does exactly what you're looking for, it allows people to comment on an
item, and also allows people to see comments about an item.

it's from www.candypress.com but lots of other carts do it.

--
Chris Leeds,
Microsoft MVP-FrontPage

Make More Money with Less Work
Let Your Clients Control Their Content With Just A Browser!
http://contentseed.com/
--

 

[ted]

I didn't know what might be available and the shopping cart you mentioned
looks good. We don't need a product display page though, just comments left
by visitors who have already done business with us. We are a service
business and almost every transaction is a custom one. My boss wants the
second db so that if someone leaves negative comments a prospective
purchaser can see if they have left other, positive ones as well as negative
ones.

 

[Chris Leeds, MVP-FrontPage]

sounds complicated. I'm already getting a headache thinking about it.
maybe instead of two db's you could use a control # for the client and have
a link that will query "all comments by this client". You could also add a
field to the database so that you could mark it approved or pending (just an
approved checkbox, no check will be pending), then you could query the
comments using where approved is <> 0, that way a flame or joker won't slip
into general distribution.

HTH

--
Chris Leeds,
Microsoft MVP-FrontPage

Make More Money with Less Work
Let Your Clients Control Their Content With Just A Browser!
http://contentseed.com/
--

 

[ted]

Anyone who posts a comment will have to be registered so I don't thing a
control # is necessary. Once registered though, he wants a purchaser to be
able to leave any comments (good or bad) they want. If it is a
competitor/hacker I think their comments could be deleted and then that
competitor/hacker blocked from making future comments. Does that make sense?

 

[JA]

Or how about just having one table for the comments, and sorting them by the
comment writer's name? That way all of a person's comments would be
sequential in the list of comments.