Re: [seul-edu] Cafeteria Software?

[Jacques Fortier <jfortier@seul.org>]

Ryan,
	I have a few free days right now, and I'd be happy to whip up a
quickie thingie for you.  What exactly are your requirements?  Do you just
want something that will track balances?  If you need it, I can probably
go a bit more complicated than that.  If you can give me a detailed list
of requirements, and how you see the thing being used, I can probably get
you something workable by Labour Day (and free support as long as I'm
living!)
	The way I envision this, you'll have a Linux box with a bare-bones
install that includes X, netscape, MySQL and php.  It would be set up so
that when the user logs in, Netscape would be started up instead of the
usual window manager.  The menu bars and suchlike would be hidden, so it
would be nice and easy to use.  Clicking on an exit button in the webpage
would tell netscape to shut itself down, which would then cause the X
session to terminate, logging the user out.  With the frontend already
coded (X, netscape, and xdm), and as Jeff said, the backend laughably easy
to create, you'd have a customized, free system after very little work,
most of it on my part.
	I'd be really glad to help you out with this.

Jacques

On Tue, 22 Aug 2000, Jeff Knox wrote:

>     I  think if there isnt any software out there, it should be laughably
> easy to make. The actually front end and database probabl would not take
> more then a day of programming if we are just talking about keeping track of
> students meal accounts (how much are in them, subtracting what they get for
> lunch, adding when they deposit new money). In fact, you probably dont even
> have to make a program, a php and mysql database should suffice plenty.
>     The only difficult part of would on the entry. If the cafeteria just ask
> for student id number and they type it in, thats a non issue. If they scan
> barcodes it becomes more difficult but not much. I know at Clark College we
> have a barcode scanner that scans the student ids and it imputs the number
> it scanned into a web form that is processed by perl. So it should be fairly
> easy to find a barcode system that just paste what it scans into a field in
> any program or web form.
>     Ryan, you mention free, reduced, pay ahead, and all that. That should be
> super easy to keep track off.
> 
> Jeff Knox
> LITC
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ryan Booz" <ryanbooz@alumni.psu.edu>
> To: "Comp Ed List" <seul-edu@seul.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 6:06 PM
> Subject: [seul-edu] Cafeteria Software?
> 
> 
> > Hey gang,
> >
> > This may be a little obscure right now, but I thought I'd ask.  Many of
> > you have probably figured out (if I haven't said) that I work for a
> > small private school of about 340 students, VERY rural PA.  Although
> > I've been getting many things set up this summer and all my Linux boxes
> > are working very well, a new question was proposed to me this week.
> >
> > We've been looking to get some software for doing the cafeteria stuff.
> > And there's plenty of it out there (for Windows or Mac).  However, it
> > obviously costs a bundle.  The cheapest we can get someone is $3000 for
> > the software, but that's because the also HAVE to come and do the
> > training for two-three days.  The software (if there are
> > building/district computer people out there, you probably know more than
> > I about this) will track each student, what they owe, what the costs
> > are, blah, blah, blah.  Point of sale stuff - in other words - a
> > glorified database.
> >
> > So, my question is, anything like this out there in open source?  I'm
> > guessing not for this particular situation, but anything that could be
> > adapted easily?  Man, talk about selling a school on open source... if
> > my principle saw we could do this with open source, he wouldn't know
> > what to do with himself!!  Any other suggestions from people that have
> > experience with this type of software?
> >
> > Thanks a bunch!
> >
> > Ryan Booz
> > Tech Coordinator
> > Belleville Mennonite School
> >
> >
>