John's Spam Blocker Acct
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| Posted: 03/15/2002, 2:48 PM |
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One of my clients is a non-profit in the process of moving its site from a
FileMaker Pro database to MS SQL Server. I'm writing ASP code and stored
procedures to pull data out of SQL on the public site. I would like to avoid
writing the administration interface by hand. In the past, I've managed
ASP/SQL projects where we expended the majority of our efforts tweaking
admin pages, rather than focusing on the public site.
The client administers the current site (Mac platform) using FileMaker Pro's
"Web Companion" feature. I was pretty impressed. You can easily create a
form to update the DB and publish it on a web server. Is there something
similar that will work in an NT/ASP/SQL environment? I've read that
CodeCharge can tie into a SQL backend and generate ASP, PHP, and JSP code.
It sounds great for $150, but it might be too good to be true.
Client's Key Considerations:
* standard insert/update/delete functionality
* customizable display fields
* low price (for a non-profit org)
* roles and permissions would be nice
The interface is not that important because this is for internal use. It
won't get any fancier than placing a logo on the admin pages. However, we
should be able to hide the DB complexity. The user shouldn't notice whether
a certain field is varchar(50) unless they exceed the limit. A combination
of editorial types and web site personnel will administer the data.
What are the strengths/weaknesses of CodeCharge under this scenario? Also,
please recommend competitive products. (I'm aware of UltraDev, but I have
not yet downloaded the trials for UD or CodeCharge.)
Thanks,
John
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Glenn Holden
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| Posted: 03/15/2002, 5:05 PM |
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www.gotocode.com has demo sites running in most languages. Cool place to
surf a bit and get a feel for CodeCharge's capabilities. You can download
any of the demos and see how anything is done - or use them to start your
own site. I'm constantly poking around there.
If you want to save a few bucks buying it, the least expensive place I found
it was at www.programmersparadise.com. And I had a smooth buying
experience. 
Glenn
"John's Spam Blocker Acct" <spam@onlineconcepts.com> wrote in message
news:a6ttnb$krb$1@news.codecharge.com...
> One of my clients is a non-profit in the process of moving its site from a
> FileMaker Pro database to MS SQL Server. I'm writing ASP code and stored
> procedures to pull data out of SQL on the public site. I would like to
avoid
> writing the administration interface by hand. In the past, I've managed
> ASP/SQL projects where we expended the majority of our efforts tweaking
> admin pages, rather than focusing on the public site.
>
> The client administers the current site (Mac platform) using FileMaker
Pro's
> "Web Companion" feature. I was pretty impressed. You can easily create a
> form to update the DB and publish it on a web server. Is there something
> similar that will work in an NT/ASP/SQL environment? I've read that
> CodeCharge can tie into a SQL backend and generate ASP, PHP, and JSP code.
> It sounds great for $150, but it might be too good to be true.
>
> Client's Key Considerations:
> * standard insert/update/delete functionality
> * customizable display fields
> * low price (for a non-profit org)
> * roles and permissions would be nice
>
> The interface is not that important because this is for internal use. It
> won't get any fancier than placing a logo on the admin pages. However, we
> should be able to hide the DB complexity. The user shouldn't notice
whether
> a certain field is varchar(50) unless they exceed the limit. A combination
> of editorial types and web site personnel will administer the data.
>
> What are the strengths/weaknesses of CodeCharge under this scenario? Also,
> please recommend competitive products. (I'm aware of UltraDev, but I have
> not yet downloaded the trials for UD or CodeCharge.)
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
>
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michael a. weaver
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| Posted: 03/16/2002, 10:06 AM |
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Codecharge should work for your needs. Try the eval. version and see if you
like it. I would bet that you will. I've developed simple db functionality
for several non-profits with it. True, Non-profit doesn't mean they don't
have money, but for the price, Codecharge is unbeatable.
As for your concerns:
==========================
> * standard insert/update/delete functionality
Easy to add and configure with validation for most fields. You can also ass
custom validation
> * customizable display fields
Somewhat. It helps if you know a little code. For instance you cannot
currently make a date display in any way other than the default date format
for MS SQL. BUT, you can add your own code into codecharge to alter that
date. The forums on gotocode.com and on the newsgroups are perfect for this.
Also, if you use a "templates" outpur version you can also alter the
look/feel through straight HTML.
> * low price (for a non-profit org)
$150? Buy it yourself, and in three hours for a paying client it will more
than pay for itself. I'm a raging, maniacal fan of the product, and I'm
probably alone in this, but I believe Codecharge should be sold for 3 times
the current price. It's helped my business tremendously.
> * roles and permissions would be nice
Almost. With Codecharge you can add access levels, depending on your db
setup. It's good for most needs, but you may have to do some tweaking. By
default, up to four access levels are set up in a greater than or equals
way. For instance, an ordinary site user wouldn't have an access level, so
they couldn't get into an administrator page that requires an access level
of one. And a user with an access level of one couldn't get into a page
requireing 2 level. But an access level of 2 will get into the pages
requiring an access level of one. With a simple tweak in the code
(post-generation), you can create as many access levels as you want and give
all sorts of permissions.
==========================
As for hiding the db complexity, that's no problem. As Glenn said, take a
look at the examples.
Hope that was helpful. Download the evaluation - it is worth it!
michael
"John's Spam Blocker Acct" <spam@onlineconcepts.com> wrote in message
news:a6ttnb$krb$1@news.codecharge.com...
> One of my clients is a non-profit in the process of moving its site from a
> FileMaker Pro database to MS SQL Server. I'm writing ASP code and stored
> procedures to pull data out of SQL on the public site. I would like to
avoid
> writing the administration interface by hand. In the past, I've managed
> ASP/SQL projects where we expended the majority of our efforts tweaking
> admin pages, rather than focusing on the public site.
>
> The client administers the current site (Mac platform) using FileMaker
Pro's
> "Web Companion" feature. I was pretty impressed. You can easily create a
> form to update the DB and publish it on a web server. Is there something
> similar that will work in an NT/ASP/SQL environment? I've read that
> CodeCharge can tie into a SQL backend and generate ASP, PHP, and JSP code.
> It sounds great for $150, but it might be too good to be true.
>
> Client's Key Considerations:
> * standard insert/update/delete functionality
> * customizable display fields
> * low price (for a non-profit org)
> * roles and permissions would be nice
>
> The interface is not that important because this is for internal use. It
> won't get any fancier than placing a logo on the admin pages. However, we
> should be able to hide the DB complexity. The user shouldn't notice
whether
> a certain field is varchar(50) unless they exceed the limit. A combination
> of editorial types and web site personnel will administer the data.
>
> What are the strengths/weaknesses of CodeCharge under this scenario? Also,
> please recommend competitive products. (I'm aware of UltraDev, but I have
> not yet downloaded the trials for UD or CodeCharge.)
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
>
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Glenn Holden
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| Posted: 03/16/2002, 11:30 AM |
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"michael a. weaver" <michael@tminuszero.com> wrote in message
news:a701jh$enq$1@news.codecharge.com...
>
> $150? Buy it yourself, and in three hours for a paying client it will more
> than pay for itself. I'm a raging, maniacal fan of the product, and I'm
> probably alone in this, but I believe Codecharge should be sold for 3
times
> the current price. It's helped my business tremendously.
>
Yes, but Shhhhh!!! I'm a startup with no money and the price is just right.
Glenn.
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Adam Stock
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| Posted: 03/18/2002, 2:08 AM |
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> please recommend competitive products
Please DO NOT post here information about 3rd party products.
If you'd like to know competitive products, you can contact us at
http://support.codecharge.com and we will list those products for you.
This is CodeCharge forum and obviously we don't want it to become a place to
advertise other products.
Thanks,
Adam
"John's Spam Blocker Acct" <spam@onlineconcepts.com> wrote in message
news:a6ttnb$krb$1@news.codecharge.com...
> One of my clients is a non-profit in the process of moving its site from a
> FileMaker Pro database to MS SQL Server. I'm writing ASP code and stored
> procedures to pull data out of SQL on the public site. I would like to
avoid
> writing the administration interface by hand. In the past, I've managed
> ASP/SQL projects where we expended the majority of our efforts tweaking
> admin pages, rather than focusing on the public site.
>
> The client administers the current site (Mac platform) using FileMaker
Pro's
> "Web Companion" feature. I was pretty impressed. You can easily create a
> form to update the DB and publish it on a web server. Is there something
> similar that will work in an NT/ASP/SQL environment? I've read that
> CodeCharge can tie into a SQL backend and generate ASP, PHP, and JSP code.
> It sounds great for $150, but it might be too good to be true.
>
> Client's Key Considerations:
> * standard insert/update/delete functionality
> * customizable display fields
> * low price (for a non-profit org)
> * roles and permissions would be nice
>
> The interface is not that important because this is for internal use. It
> won't get any fancier than placing a logo on the admin pages. However, we
> should be able to hide the DB complexity. The user shouldn't notice
whether
> a certain field is varchar(50) unless they exceed the limit. A combination
> of editorial types and web site personnel will administer the data.
>
> What are the strengths/weaknesses of CodeCharge under this scenario? Also,
> please recommend competitive products. (I'm aware of UltraDev, but I have
> not yet downloaded the trials for UD or CodeCharge.)
>
> Thanks,
> John
>
>
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John's Spam Blocker Acct
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| Posted: 03/18/2002, 6:01 AM |
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Thanks to all the CodeCharge users for their helpful answers. I'm going to
try out the eval version.
As for mentioning other products, I understand this company does not want
its newsgroup to become a marketing tool for competitors. However, I am your
prime target--a potential customer. Some well-moderated discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages of CodeCharge v. Product X would help me decide
more quickly. True, I might end up going with a competitor, but I would
remain impressed with your company because it encourages an open exchange of
ideas. I would probably find a reason to buy from you when my needs changed
or when you released a new product.
Sounds like you have a great product at a great price. Don't worry about
your users sharing a little information. This is all basic Cluetrain
Manifesto stuff. See http://www.cluetrain.com/ (Just my $.02. Not looking
to start a big thread.)
-John
"Adam Stock" <astock@codecharge.com> wrote:
> > please recommend competitive products
>
> Please DO NOT post here information about 3rd party products.
> If you'd like to know competitive products, you can contact us at
> http://support.codecharge.com and we will list those products for you.
>
> This is CodeCharge forum and obviously we don't want it to become a place
to
> advertise other products.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Adam
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Glenn Holden
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| Posted: 03/18/2002, 8:49 AM |
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I understand and respect Adam (CodeCharge's) POV. Plus it's their group.
On the other hand, unless they really had a competitive product to worry
about taking a significant market share from them, a healthy discussion of
the competetion could really help them and their developers. Remember -
there are a lot of CC advocates here (like me, who like to type).
The #1 advantage YesSoftware can have over it's competitors is greater
knowledge and insight in the market. This allows them to solve the markets
needs (translate: problems) in ways the competition can not or will not do.
How else will you learn your prospect's feelings about your product? This
is FREE and highly qualified market research.
Just my $.02!
BTW: Thanks for the forum.
Glenn
"John's Spam Blocker Acct" <spam@onlineconcepts.com> wrote in message
news:a74s05$ced$1@news.codecharge.com...
> Thanks to all the CodeCharge users for their helpful answers. I'm going to
> try out the eval version.
>
> As for mentioning other products, I understand this company does not want
> its newsgroup to become a marketing tool for competitors. However, I am
your
> prime target--a potential customer. Some well-moderated discussion of the
> advantages and disadvantages of CodeCharge v. Product X would help me
decide
> more quickly. True, I might end up going with a competitor, but I would
> remain impressed with your company because it encourages an open exchange
of
> ideas. I would probably find a reason to buy from you when my needs
changed
> or when you released a new product.
>
> Sounds like you have a great product at a great price. Don't worry about
> your users sharing a little information. This is all basic Cluetrain
> Manifesto stuff. See http://www.cluetrain.com/ (Just my $.02. Not looking
> to start a big thread.)
>
> -John
>
> "Adam Stock" <astock@codecharge.com> wrote:
> > > please recommend competitive products
> >
> > Please DO NOT post here information about 3rd party products.
> > If you'd like to know competitive products, you can contact us at
> > http://support.codecharge.com and we will list those products for you.
> >
> > This is CodeCharge forum and obviously we don't want it to become a
place
> to
> > advertise other products.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Adam
>
>
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