Advice needed on simple business app

Solar2D Network
#1

Hi guys, I’m after some advice please.

I’ve been asked if I can write a small android app to be used internally at work to work as a log for when people test their ESD equipment (which should be done twice a day).

It needs to be on about a dozen tablets located around the site.

Basically you tap the screen, select your team from a list which then brings up a list of members of that team, select your name and hit ok.

It should then send the team, name, date & time to a server on the network where they want the data “entered into a spreadsheet”.

There should also be an update button that will bring down updated team lists, as well as the facility to temporarily log the details locally in the case of a network problem, so that it can be sent once the connection is re-established.

 

The UI side of it is a piece of cake, but the problem is I have ZERO experience with the networking side of Corona and wouldn’t know where to even begin doing something like this.   

 

Any advice/help would be appreciated.

 

Chris

#2

First off, read the docs and the guide. Networking in Corona is really easy and has been simplified as much as any networking API could ever be, IMHO. Try some simple code out, try the samples.

The main piece you need to worry about is the server side, but that is down to how your company wants to implement it. I strongly recommend against trying to update a spreadsheet server-side as that is what databases are for - storing data. Again, here there are plenty of options, but you need to do your research.

Corona has a cloud solution, of course.

#3

I have to agree with @horacebury. The server side should be a relational database like MySQL. You will need some server-side scripts that process your network.request() from your Corona app and injects the data into the database, lets you fetch your team data, etc.

network.request() works based on webpage URLs and HTTP POST or GET requests (behind the scene when your web browser loads a web page that’s an HTTP GET request. When you submit a form, that’s an HTTP POST request).  Our network.request() is really good at making these requests and as long as the script (PHP, .net, etc.) that drives the script, it can take process and return data to your app.

Rob

#4

Depending on both your skill set and resources available in your company you could do away with networking altogether.  

At the most basic level you could have some simple web pages (asp.net, php, whatever) connected to an Access DB and then use a webview to display that full screen.  In Excel you then create a data link directly to Access for reporting.  

Just a thought…

#5

I have a firebase database plugin in marketplace qa and firebase auth plugin a work in progress

#6

The super cheap way (effort-wise, that is) would be to have a Corona simulator running which acts as a server. It accepts requests to add data and updates a CSV file. CSV files can be opened in Excel as normal spreadsheets.

Yeah, I know, that is super dirty, but it works. At least as a proof of concept until a proper server can be put in place which, if the company is serious about this project, would be done in phase 2. Lua can be used to write servers, of course. (Permanently run in a simulator of any kind would be a horrendous idea, obviously.)

#7

Cool, cheers for all the advice guys.  Gives me something to chew on :slight_smile:

#8

First off, read the docs and the guide. Networking in Corona is really easy and has been simplified as much as any networking API could ever be, IMHO. Try some simple code out, try the samples.

The main piece you need to worry about is the server side, but that is down to how your company wants to implement it. I strongly recommend against trying to update a spreadsheet server-side as that is what databases are for - storing data. Again, here there are plenty of options, but you need to do your research.

Corona has a cloud solution, of course.

#9

I have to agree with @horacebury. The server side should be a relational database like MySQL. You will need some server-side scripts that process your network.request() from your Corona app and injects the data into the database, lets you fetch your team data, etc.

network.request() works based on webpage URLs and HTTP POST or GET requests (behind the scene when your web browser loads a web page that’s an HTTP GET request. When you submit a form, that’s an HTTP POST request).  Our network.request() is really good at making these requests and as long as the script (PHP, .net, etc.) that drives the script, it can take process and return data to your app.

Rob

#10

Depending on both your skill set and resources available in your company you could do away with networking altogether.  

At the most basic level you could have some simple web pages (asp.net, php, whatever) connected to an Access DB and then use a webview to display that full screen.  In Excel you then create a data link directly to Access for reporting.  

Just a thought…

#11

I have a firebase database plugin in marketplace qa and firebase auth plugin a work in progress

#12

The super cheap way (effort-wise, that is) would be to have a Corona simulator running which acts as a server. It accepts requests to add data and updates a CSV file. CSV files can be opened in Excel as normal spreadsheets.

Yeah, I know, that is super dirty, but it works. At least as a proof of concept until a proper server can be put in place which, if the company is serious about this project, would be done in phase 2. Lua can be used to write servers, of course. (Permanently run in a simulator of any kind would be a horrendous idea, obviously.)

#13

Cool, cheers for all the advice guys.  Gives me something to chew on :slight_smile: