in search of mentors

[lavaface]

I have been very impressed with the quality of information and strong community I've found here. I've learned much, considering I've been using FM for less than a month. However, I have a question, or rather series of questions, that I feel I need to ask directly. Please pardon the length of this post and direct me to another thread if you feel it's appropriate.

Some background:

I work at a high-end multimedia lab at Georgia State University. We checkout digital camera and video equipment to students that have taken a brief instructional workshop. We also provide training for Final Cut Pro, Macromedia & Adobe products, as well as ProTools and 3D software. Currently, we make reservations for equipment in Excel spreadsheets and our checkout forms are simply a multitude of Word documents categorized by equipment. The paperwork is cumbersome and error-prone. Therefore, I am making a database to streamline our operations. Initially, I began writing the system with PHP and MySQL but my boss thought FM Pro would be easier to maintain so here I am.

There are four basic functions we need to keep track of--Inventory, Studentinfo, Reservations, and Checkout. Based on recommendations found elsewhere on the site, I have decided it would be best to make these seperate databases. I have already created an inventory database with most of our equipment. Instead of manually checking out each piece of each kit (lens cap, battery, etc.) we will barcode every item with a unique ID and scan equipment in and out. I have also set up a skeletal studentinfo DB.

Before I go any further with the equipment checkout DB, I would like to air my basic idea to see if it measures up to scrutiny. What I would like to do is mimic our existing forms, in appearance, if not functionality. I want to swipe the students id card to populate the form with the rest of their info (name, phone #, etc.) Then, I would like to scan every item they are checking out into a list. Somehow (:??), I want this barcode id to make a human-readable list of items appear. When students check the equipment back in, they will go through the same process in reverse. Everthing will be barcoded and compared to the original checkout record. If an item is missing, we'll get a prompt.

I have thought about this system for a while and have no illusion that it's easy. Error-checking for the forms and the reservation system I can work on later. No doubt, this will be a "work-in-progress" for some time to come. However, I would like to have a basic working prototype for checkout/checkin before the fall semester. So I ask, does my premise of seperate tables for checkout and checkin seem logical? Are there pre-existing solutions or files I may draw upon? Would anybody be willing to help guide me with this mission as a mentor?

I realize everyone is busy and I will continue to post specific questions in the appropriate threads. I am quite capable of using Google to answer most of my needs. What I really need are folks to ask me hard questions about general strategy. Some of the specifics of FM Pro (like scripting) also seem quite alien to me (I'm used to SQL statements and more general script programming like PHP and Javascript.) Anyone in the Atlanta area would be extra helpful. I can barter my skills (video, graphic design) for anyone willing to lend an ear and some advice.

I apologize for the long post. Thanks in advance . . .

PS-The relevant files can be found here.

[FossilFM]

Just a caution, if you are going to use PHP/JavaScript,, you will need FileMaker 7 Server Advanced which has been delayed to be released during August. You will need Server Advanced to do any kind of custom web publishing.

However if this will be a client-server solution then all you will need is FileMaker 7 Server. I've seen only 1 plugin for barcode scanning/support for FileMaker 7.

If you will have multiple users, you can leverage Instant Web Publishing. You can get some form validation pretty much easily with Instant Web Publishing.

Your initial design of a table of equipment/asset, a table of request would be right on track i think in terms of database relational design. You may want to consider a table of students if you can get access to a list of active students in your University.