Why not just look into an ODBC connection to the database on the legacy system? It may not be the best thing in the world, but if you setup permissions properly for the connecting user you shouldn't be exposed to anything bad. Maybe the inventory check can go over ODBC and the actual order can be an FTP'd XML file?
Chris -----Original Message----- From: Jochem van Dieten [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2007 9:16 AM To: CF-Talk Subject: Re: CF and Legacy Systems... Need Some Advice/Help Che Vilnonis wrote: > Good morning all. I have a client that has a CF based website (built by > myself around 5 years ago) and a SCO Unix Open Server backend. It's a legacy > system with software that's been heavily modified over the last 20-25 years. > Neither system communicates with the other. > > The client is looking to streamline the order fulfillment process and to > "get with 21st century". They wish to add a live inventory and live credit > card processing feature to their website. > > Though I have done this type of work in the past, I have never worked with a > legacy system to complete this. And, to complicate matters, the software > technicians that administer the SCO Unix Open Server DO NOT wish to use a > HTTP protocol to communicate between the two servers. They tell me that they > wish to communicate to my CF server via the FTP protocol. That would not be my preferred option. > A basic interaction would go something like this. A customer would attempt > to place an item in their shopping cart. Before the item is added to the > cart an "inventory check" is made. A CF process would write an XML file and > FTP it to the remote SCO Unix Open Server. The remote server would then > respond and push a response file back to the CF server. The CF server would > process the file and determine a Yes/No answer and either add the item to > the cart or display a message that the item is out of stock to the customer. > > I was wondering, can this even be done with CF and the FTP protocol instead > of using HTTP? Yes. But the question is, what response time can the software technicians guarantee from the moment you start your FTP transaction to the moment they complete theirs? Will they guarantee a sub-second response time (which an interactive website needs). > In my mind, even if I used the CF Event Gateway to monitor a predefined > directory for FTP traffic... I cannot figure out how to parse the FTP file > and send the response back to "the right" shopping cart. It is probably easier not to use an event gateway at all and just FTP to them, sleep for a second and parse the result (because they are guaranteeing sub-second response times, right?). Jochem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Upgrade to Adobe ColdFusion MX7 Experience Flex 2 & MX7 integration & create powerful cross-platform RIAs http:http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;56760587;14748456;a?http://www.adobe.com/products/coldfusion/flex2/?sdid=LVNU Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/message.cfm/messageid:268806 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4
