Advice request for project

[Steve Holden]

John French wrote:

> I've been interested in Python for a while now but haven't had an 
> opportunity to use / learn it.  I'm tasked now with a project at work that 
> might be my first opportunity.
> 
>  I have to write a ~75 concurrent user document storage app. that allows 
> users to scan documents from locally attached scanners and save to a 
> database for retrieval.  I also need to be able to call MS Word with 
> templates and allow the user to save the file to the database.  I think I 
> understand that I can interface MS COM for these, correct?
> 
> My interest is in using FreeBSD/Postgresql/Python as a back end and a Python 
> GUI app on the XP workstations.  I'm going to end up adding some 
> non-database functionality to the project in the future that precludes only 
> using odbc to the database.  I'll likely end up with some form of inter-user 
> messaging being incorporated before it's over.  Is it better to write one 
> server side socket app to handle everything or start via odbc and necessary 
> server side apps later?  If anyone can tell me if this project seems 
> appropriate to Python and offer suggestions as to an initial architecture, 
> I'd appreciate it.  I'm quite interested in the RAD aspect of the language 
> but quite lost at the moment.  (I did just sign up for the Tutor mailing 
> list).
> 
It sounds like an ideal project, and either approach would work. The 
advantage to avoiding ODBC is that you won't experience any non-local 
driver limitations which might or might not otherwise bite you in the 
ass (my PostgreSQL experience is rather limited).

Look at the Pyrex package to get you started thinking about remote 
execution and client/server communications. This lets a program on one 
machine call methods on objects on another machine.

I'm sure you'll get other suggestions as well, but that'll get you 
started thinking pythonically.

regards
  Steve
-- 
Steve Holden               http://www.holdenweb.com/
Python Web Programming  http://pydish.holdenweb.com/
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