[Gnumed-devel] Re: another xDT file format and BC Canada

[Jim Busser]

(Now threaded onto the list)

On 12-Jul-09, at 11:20 AM, Karsten Hilbert wrote:

One important aspect: what is the *encoding* of [your source] file ?

They do say this:

*-- File is ASCII text - Named "MSVAEX30.TXT"

(which presumably means 7 bit ASCII)

but what about, say foreign names, addresses, etc ?

Foreign names etc are not supported. For example, I tested the following

Περαντώνη

and despite that in Windows XP Notepad pasted correctly, when I pasted this same Greek text in the billing application "Medical Manager" the text pastes thus:

?E?A?T???

So this begs a number of gnumed.conf questions :-)

1) What is the function of the variable

source = (for example) DoktorenFreud 

Does the above name get substituted into some macro or shell command, or is it simply for screen output (labeling) purposes? Despite that the billing program that I am looking to use is marketed as "Medical Manager", the actual Windows exe is "MD.EXE".

2) filename = (seems sufficiently straightforward)

3) Does DOB format refer to the raw character format within the source XDT file and so – if in my source file, a DOB would be (e.g.) 19600101 – shall the DOB format be configured to be

DOB format = %Y%m%d

4) should encoding be specified to be

encoding = SQL_ASCII

5) [XDT profile generic XDT connector]

Can I name "generic XDT connector" anything that I want, for example

BC CA MSVA30 Medical Manager

and can I alter its name at any time (provided I keep consistency within a config file), or does any connector name get stored in the backend?

On 12-Jul-09, at 2:44 AM, Sebastian Hilbert wrote:

If the billing program is dumb one could write a shell script which would once 

run check for the export file and on existance call the patient in a running 

GNUmed instance.

I believe it may be "dumb" in the sense that (AFAICT) it had never had to make provision for inter-application communication, except that it *does* include a menu command to call Internet Explorer with the parameter of a URL. Even so, a suitable shell script that could be (chained to the billing application's yet-to-be-created current patient "Export" button) would surely pose the lowest barrier to vendor-programmer co-operation.

Would the shell script simply call the helper script, in the form

gm_ctl_client.py --conf-file <conf file specification>

and is it the *helper* script that needs to contain the lines

[GNUmed instance]

...

startup command = <gnumed startup command> --slave

and does the helper script's (if specified)

[script]

# show the documents plugin

target plugin = gmShowMedDocs

over-ride what is set via the GNUmed menus?

Elsewhere in CVS there exists a gnumed.conf.example file with

# default is gnumed-client if not set

#

#slave personality = slave-test

so I am not clear the difference between a conf file "personality" and a conf file  "workplace" which (the latter) would normally need

names = 

On 12-Jul-09, at 2:37 AM, Sebastian Hilbert wrote:

Hi Jim,

Is ist possible to get an example file ?

Attached are two example files plus a reposting :

MSVAEX30 which has the 5 test patients created in the billing program

PATIENT which contains a single patient (this is not easily done in the present version of the program which is why I am entreating the vendor to provide a curr_patient export... I only achieved the above by filtering the patient database on a unique date of birth, and "exporting all" of the results.)

MSVAEX30.TXT
Description: Text document

PATIENT.TXT
Description: Text document