Re: [Gnumed-devel] Introducing myself and questions on billing/accounting

[Chris Travers]

On Sat, May 21, 2011 at 4:45 AM, Karsten Hilbert
<address@hidden> wrote:
>> >> >             bill.billable_item
>> >> >
>> >> > might better live in LSMB
>> >>
>> >> No. It would live in the GNUmed database. It would
>> >> periodically/on request reload from LSMB.
>> >>
>> >> A script can do that. That script (whether periodically or
>> >> on-demand matters not) will, indeed, need accounts with LSMB
>> >> and with GNUmed. But said accounts can be *very* restricted.
>> >
>> Why not put it in the db using something like dblink?  (DBILink I
>> think requires PL/Perl, not sure if that works on Windows have heard
>> it does not work on AIX, but dblink should work).
>
> Sure, that would work, technically. Or else SQL/MED FDWs. Whichever way.
>
> However, it would also make the "select item to bill" functionality
> within GNUmed depend on the link to work properly.
>
> The LSMB database may not be installed on the same server as the
> GNUmed database. Sure, that's also possible with FDWs/dbi-link but
> it is, again, more fragile.

Just to be clear here I am just talking about pull/push mechanisms.
The specific implementation would need to account for problems on the
other side, and I could see a possibility of having multiple
implementations (a view for billable items that runs a live query on
the LSMB db vs essentially a materialized view?) in order to account
for those robustness issues.

Generally if the DB's are talking to eachother, this seems the
cleanest way to do it.

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers