Re: How do I time out a Forms user?

>
> The user is allowed to log on for on-line course registration for
> a maximum of one half hour at a time, with enforced intervals of
> 1 hour between sessions. These time values are stored in the database
> so that they may be modified if needed.
>
> I know that with forms v4 I can set up timers to handle this. But,
> I'm working on a VAX/VMS platform, writing for the lowest common
> denominator, which is in this case vt100 terminal emulation.
>
> If I work in forms v4 in my Mac development enviroment, what's
> involved in getting the finished product from my Mac to my VAX.
> Will I be able to do this? Will the Mac created form port to VMS
> properly, even if the VMS version is still beta?
>
> When is the 4.0.12 VMS version going to be ready? Will it be a
> released version or another beta version?
>
> If I work in forms v3, is there a way to do something at pre-form
> time to set up an interrupt for x minutes later, and then, is there
> a way to catch that interrupt.
>
> I thought about just determining a warn_time and kill_time in pre-form
> and then with the press of each function_key, checking that time
> against the current time and doing the appropriate action.
>
> The Problem: This would NOT interrupt the user who was not doing
> anything.
>
> I need to blow away the user who fell asleep, or worse,
> who walked away in the middle of a session.
>
>
> A Side Issue: I would prefer to not have the overhead of a time_check
> trigger action on every key pressed. Can I set up some
> kind of asynchronous signal process that will only come
> back to the user when he is down to his last 5 minutes?
>

I've got the same problem running on Unix. I use Forms3.0 and did what you suggested with warn_time and kill_time. I keep a global variable that is used as a "counter" so that I don't have to check the time every time a function_key(s) are hit. I check every X (10-20) times a specific key(s) is hit while in a specific form. When the user starts the form, I store their start time in another global variable which is used whenever I do a time check.

As far as what to do when someone falls asleep at the keyboard, these are dial-up users and I can either set an inactivity timer in the modem or the equivalent for the tty port.

The only other alternative is to have a unix process write a message to the screen in the middle of the form which looks "messy" to me. The user will then have to refresh the screen manually.

---
sullivan_at_sytex.com (mike sullivan)
Access <=> Internet BBS, a public access internet site
Sytex Communications, Arlington VA, 1-703-528-4380