Forms Server vs. CGI/Perl

Hi!

We have a selfmade support system (or better: trouble ticket system), built with Forms 6i.

I finally succeeded in deploying the forms to the web (intranet) via Forms Server, so the thought comes up to give our users access to a form where they can enter their support incidents by themselves.

Now, after playing around with the webforms, I'm facing some problems:

Speed. The already built forms are really slow. I don't like the idea getting calls regarding the support form instead of "real" problems. The support form for the user will be a simple one, though.

Authorization. How can I prevent users from entering support notices for fun? I don't want to create a database user for everyone, instead I considered to store at least the IP-Adress or any other unique criteria with every call.

JInitiator. Most of our users have the IE 4.x installed, and if I understood the documentation correctly, I'll have to have them use the JInitiator instead of the built-in JVM. Having them install JInitiator on their own doesn't sound like a good idea. Installing it on more than 200 PCs doesn't, either.

I'm considering to develop the support form with HTML/Perl as a CGI-solution, with which I won't have these problems.

Am I on the wrong way? Or do you have any advice for me how to do this?

Many thanks in advance
Lars Received on Wed Nov 29 2000 - 10:39:19 CET