On Wed, 23 Apr 2008, Al Baker wrote: > The BASIC QUESTION I was trying to ask is this... > "Since the MYSQL add-on provides a way to interface with MySQL > what is it that one gains or is trying to gain by writing their OWN > AGI script to do the interface ?"
I like doing "serious work" in an AGI instead of the dialplan because: 1) It allows me to use a compiled language. Not just for performance reasons, but because a compiler (or a strict interpreter) helps me protect me from me. My production dialplan is just over 600 lines. The sources to my AGIs are a bit more than 15,000 lines. I like that if I "fat-finger" a variable, the compiler will help me. If I "fat-finger" something in 16,000 lines of dialplan will I ever find it? 2) It allows me to hide complexity. I like having a single statement in my dialplan that says "agi(block-ani)." I know that in this single statement I am invoking code that acts as the gatekeeper to my system, allowing me to block callers by area code, area code and prefix, and the complete subscriber number. I know it works well and I don't have to look at it any more. 3) I can "share" better. It is easier to integrate a single statement into an existing dialplan than 2,000 statements with potential conflicts in context, template, and variable names. 4) I don't have to learn (what appears to me to be) a really obtuse syntax. Funky quoting and whitespace rules lead to accelerated hair loss. 5) I have a "full" toolbox. For instance, one of my AGIs (play-path) lets me pass a path and it returns the name of a WAV file in that path at random. Calling ftw() was a simple solution. Another AGI (auth-card) lets me submit an authorization request to my credit card processor. While waiting for the card response, I play "Please wait while we validate your card" in another thread in the same AGI. By the time the "STREAM FILE" is finished, I have the response so to the customer it appears "instantaneous." How would I do either of these in "dialplan?" Thanks in advance, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Edwards [EMAIL PROTECTED] Voice: +1-760-468-3867 PST Newline Fax: +1-760-731-3000 _______________________________________________ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
