Ok, so I have a question if there's any interest for a module for management of DV tapes. The purpose would be to keep a library of all DV tapes at a station, to know how to find the right tapes and know what tapes that can be used and reused.
My thinking goes like this:
- When a user needs one or more tapes, they login, choose how many tapes they want and the database returns what tape IDs to use. This would be based on what generation a tape is, and if it has been checked-in.
- When the user takes those tapes, the database assigns them to that user. So now noone else can use those tapes, until they are checked back in.
- When the user has recorded something he/she goes back to the database, enters what has been recorded and the time code and date. This way the database keeps track of how many generations a tape has been recorded.
- When what's on a tape is no longer needed and the tape can be reused, the user checks in the tape. Next time someone needs a tape this tape is now available too.
- There could also be a notification system included, so that when the stock is down to X number of tapes that has not yet been recorded on, an e-mail is sent to the admin to tell them to order more tapes. Or whatever the admin has customized this notification system too.
- The admin could also set the number of generations after which a tape can no longer be reused and print a list of those tapes to throw away if what's on there has been checked-in.
At our channel we now have a Google Spreadsheet for this. But it's very difficult to keep control, as not all tapes have got an ID, people find it too much of a hassle to open the spreadsheet to type what's on a tape etc. That means that after awhile we lose track of how many times a tape has been used and therefore we may end up with using an old tape that is not recorded to properly.
My Drupal skills are not yet very deep. But if nobody else would like to tackle this one I could give it a shot, although I may need some help. Could the Bookings API be used for this?
Ideas and suggestions?
Comments
Bookings API isn't ready
I've been working with the Bookings API and it's not ready for production use, but it has potential. The biggest problem I have with the approach c.lam used is using a separate table for resources instead of allowing nodes (with additional CCK values) to be "booked". It would be much more useful if I could define the things I wanted people to checkout in CCK and then apply Bookings API to those CCK content types.
Most of what you described could probably be done with just CCK and Workflow. Just define your content type for tapes with a field for # of uses. Add the tapes from your pool. Add some javascript and/or form_alter to auto increment the uses when the Workflow state is changed from "checked out" to "available"... or whatever you set the Workflow state to.
You can get a history for the tape by tracking versions of the node. This isn't as clean as Bookings API, but will get the job done. The real advantage of Bookings API is that it handles date ranges, reoccurring events, date exceptions really well. It is really more appropriate for reservations than actual checkouts.
In an ideal world we will be able to get the Bookings API to work with nodes/CCK and Open Flows/MNN buckets approach to grouping equipment for reservations.