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Chapter 24
WWW Personal Information Manager
by Owen Graupman
CONTENTS
Personal information managers have always been one of the most
popular applications for a computer. This chapter will show you
how to make a World Wide Web-based personal information manager
that allows the user to store to-do's, appointments, and e-mail
addresses with a few simple clicks of the mouse.
Two very important techniques are used to create this interactive
page:
- Dynamic page creation
- Persistent storage through cookies
Dynamic page creation is one of the hottest topics in page creation.
A dynamic page changes in response to the environment, user input,
or a variety of other information. The WWW PIM uses VBScript to
generate the entire page based on the current date and information
stored by the user.
Persistent storage through cookies allows visitors to this page
to store their appointments in small text files called cookies,
which reside on their local computer and can be recalled at any
time. Many sites today use cookies to store information about
the user. Some of the most common uses are to store color preferences
or information provided by the user like their name and address.
Because a cookie is just a text file managed by the browser, client-side
security is very good. Even if a miscreant person was able to
place a virus in a cookie, the file contains headers and footers
that would prevent the code from running and infecting your system.
Before you go running off to explore cookies, keep in mind that
cookies will only work when the page is loaded from an HTTPD server.
Loading this page locally will produce a blank page that will
not store any data.
When a user loads this page from the Internet, VBScript goes to
work parsing through the cookie to pull out information for each
of the categories of data. It then formats this information into
HTML and writes it directly into the document context as HTML.
When a user clicks on any item, whether it's a to-do, address,
or appointment, message boxes prompt the user through creating
a new item. The information is then placed into the cookie and
the page reloaded.
You can see how the finished example looks in Figure 24.1, and
the entire HTML and VBScript code in Listing 24.1.
Figure 24.1 : The finished WWW Personal Information Manager.
Listing 24.1. The WWW Personal Information Manager code listing.
1: <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN">
2:
3: <HTML>
4:
5: <HEAD>
6: <TITLE>WWW Personal Information Manager</title>
7: </HEAD>
8:
9: <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT">
10: <H1 ALIGN=CENTER>WWW Personal Information Manager</H1>
11: <P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT SIZE=2>Welcome to the WWW Personal Information Manager.
You can use this site to store to-do's, appointments,
12: and email addresses. This information is stored on your local computer via
cookies. To add, edit, or delete an item, click on the item
13: number in the list and follow the prompts.</FONT></P>
14: <P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT SIZE=2>NOTE: This page must be accessed from the Internet
or information will not get stored in the cookie. </FONT></P>
15: <CENTER>
16: <TABLE CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=5 WIDTH=100%>
17: <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT"><!--
18: Call docCreate
19:
20: Sub setVariable(sVariableName, varVariableValue)
21: Document.Cookie = sVariableName & "=" & varVariableValue & ";expires=Monday,
28-Sep-98 12:00:00 GMT"
22: end sub
23:
24: Function readVariable(sVariableName)
25: Dim iLocation
26: Dim iNameLength
27: Dim iValueLength
28: Dim iNextSemicolon
29: Dim sTemp
30:
31: iNameLength = Len(sVariableName)
32: iLocation = InStr(Document.Cookie, sVariableName)
33: If iLocation = 0 Then
34: readVariable = ""
35: Else
36: sTemp = Right(Document.Cookie, Len(Document.Cookie) - iLocation + 1)
37: If Mid(sTemp, iNameLength + 1, 1) <> "=" Then
38: readVariable = ""
39: Else
40: iNextSemicolon = InStr(sTemp, ";")
41: If iNextSemicolon = 0 Then iNextSemicolon = Len(sTemp) + 1
42: If iNextSemicolon = (iNameLength + 2) Then
43: readVariable = ""
44: Else
45: iValueLength = iNextSemicolon - iNameLength - 2
46: readVariable = Mid(sTemp, iNameLength + 2, iValueLength)
47: End If
48: End If
49: End if
50: end function
51:
52: Sub killVariable(sVariableName)
53: setVariable sVariableName, "NULL;expires=Monday, 01-Jan-95 12:00:00 GMT"
54: end sub
55:
56: Sub addTodo(iRecord)
57: Dim sTodo
58: Dim iChoice
59:
60: iChoice = MsgBox("Do you want to add or delete this item? Click yes to add or
no to delete.", 3, "Add/Delete Item")
61: Select Case iChoice
62: Case 6
63: sTodo = InputBox("What do you want to do?", "Add To-Do")
64: Call setVariable("%%TD" & Trim(iRecord), sTodo)
65: Case 7
66: killVariable "%%TD" & Trim(iRecord)
67: Case 2
68: Exit Sub
69: End Select
70: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
71: End Sub
72:
73: Sub addAppt(m,d,y)
74: Dim sAppt
75: Dim TempAppt
76:
77: TempAppt = readVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y))
78:
79: If Len(Trim(TempAppt)) > 0 Then
80: sAppt = InputBox("Please enter or edit your appointment list for today",
"Add/Edit Appointment", readVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m)
& "/" & Trim(d) & "/"
& Trim(y)))
81: Else
82: sAppt = InputBox("Please enter or edit your appointment list for today",
"Add/Edit Appointment")
83: End If
84: If Len(Trim(sAppt)) > 0 Then
85: Call setVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y), sAppt)
86: Else
87: killVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y))
88: End If
89: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
90: End Sub
91:
92: Sub addAddr(iRecord)
93: Dim Addr
94: Dim iChoice
95: iChoice = MsgBox("Do you want to add or delete this item? Click yes to add or
no to delete.", 3,"Add/Delete Item")
96:
97: Select Case iChoice
98: Case 6
99: Addr=InputBox("What address do you want to add?", "Add Email Address")
100: Call setVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord), Addr)
101: Case 7
102: killVariable "%%AD" & Trim(iRecord)
103: Case 2
104: Exit Sub
105: End Select
106: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
107: End Sub
108:
109: Sub ApptStat(m,d,y)
110: Dim sTemp
111:
112: sTemp = CStr(d & " " & readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y))
113: If Len(Trim(sTemp)) > 0 AND readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y) <>
"NULL" Then
114: window.status = sTemp
115: Else
116: window.status = CStr(d)
117: End If
118: End Sub
119:
120: Function makTD_URL(iRecord)
121: If Trim(readVariable("%%TD" & Trim(iRecord))) <> "NULL" Then
122: makTD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addTodo(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". " & readVariable("%%TD" &
Trim(iRecord)) & "</A>"
123: Else
124: makTD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addTodo(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". </A>"
125: End If
126: End Function
127:
128: Function makAD_URL(iRecord)
129: If Trim(readVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord))) <> "NULL" Then
130: makAD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addAddr(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". " & "</a>" & "<A HREF=mailto:" &
readVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord)) & ">" & readVariable("%%AD" &
Trim(iRecord)) & "</A>"
131: Else
132: makAD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addAddr(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". " & "</A>"
133: End If
134: End Function
135:
136: Function makAP_URL(m,d,y)
137: Dim stAppt
138:
139: stAppt = readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y)
140: If Len(Trim(stAppt)) > 0 AND Trim(stAppt) <> "NULL" Then
141: sTemp = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick="
142: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
143: sTemp = sTemp & "Call addAppt(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")"
144: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
145: sTemp = sTemp & " onMouseOver="
146: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
147: sTemp = sTemp & "Call ApptStat(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")" & Chr(34)
& ">"
148: sTemp = sTemp & d & "!</a>"
149: Else
150: sTemp = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick="
151: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
152: sTemp = sTemp & "Call addAppt(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")"
153: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
154: sTemp = sTemp & " onMouseOver="
155: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
156: sTemp = sTemp & "Call ApptStat(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")" & Chr(34)
& ">"
157: sTemp = sTemp & d & "</A>"
158: End If
159: makAP_URL = sTemp
160: End Function
161:
162: Sub docCreate
163: Dim sDocument
164: sDocument = "<TD ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=35%><CENTER><B>To Do</B></
CENTER>"
165: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "<HR>"
166: For i = 1 to 10
167: sDocument = sDocument & "<BR>" & makTD_URL(i)
168: Next
169: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH=30%>"
170: sDocument = sDocument & makCalendar()
171: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD><TD ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=35%>"
172: sDocument = sDocument & "<CENTER><B>ADDRESSES</B></CENTER>"
173: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "<HR>"
174: For j = 1 to 10
175: sDocument = sDocument & "<BR>" & makAD_URL(j)
176: Next
177:
178: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD></TR>"
179: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "</TABLE>"
180:
181: Document.Write sDocument
182:
183: End Sub
184:
185: Function makCalendar()
186: m=Month(Now())
187: y=Year(Now())
188:
189: FirstDay = WeekDay(Dateserial(y,m,1))
190: DaysInMonth= Day(Dateserial(y,m+1,1)-1)
191: ThisMonth=GMonth(Month(Dateserial(y,m,1)), true) & " " &
Year(Dateserial(y,m,1))
192:
193: sCalendar=""
194: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<CENTER><TABLE BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=2>"
195: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR><TH COLSPAN=7>" & ThisMonth & "</TH>"
196: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Sun</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Mon</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Tue</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Wed</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Thu</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Fri</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Sat</TH></TR>"
197:
198: ictrDay=0
199: For Row=1 to 6
200: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR>"
201: For Col=1 to 7
202: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TD WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>"
203: If Row=1 AND Col=FirstDay then
204: ictrDay=1
205: End If
206: If ictrDay = 0 Then
207: sCalendar=sCalendar & " "
208: End If
209: If ictrDay <> 0 Then
210: If ictrDay <= DaysInMonth Then
211: sCalendar=sCalendar & makAP_URL(m,ictrDay,y)
212: End If
213: If ictrDay > DaysInMonth Then
214: sCalendar=sCalendar & " "
215: End If
216: ictrDay=ictrDay+1
217: End if
218: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TD>"
219: Next
220: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TR>"
221: Next
222: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TABLE>"
223: makCalendar = sCalendar
224: End Function
225:
226: Function GMonth(iMonth, fLongShort)
227: Select Case iMonth
228: Case 1
229: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="January" else GMonth="Jan"
230: Case 2
231: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="February" else GMonth="Feb"
232: Case 3
233: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="March" else GMonth="Mar"
234: Case 4
235: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="April" else GMonth="Apr"
236: Case 5
237: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="May" else GMonth="May"
238: Case 6
239: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="June" else GMonth="Jun"
240: Case 7
241: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="July" else GMonth="Jul"
242: Case 8
243: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="August" else GMonth="Aug"
244: Case 9
245: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="September" else GMonth="Sep"
246: Case 10
247: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="October" else GMonth="Oct"
248: Case 11
249: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="November" else GMonth="Nov"
250: Case 12
251: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="December" else GMonth="Dec"
252: End Select
253: End Function
254:
255: --></SCRIPT>
256: </TABLE>
257: </CENTER>
258: </BODY>
259:
260: </HTML>
261:
Looking at the source reveals quite a bit of VBScript code and
very little HTML. Almost the entire page is generated by VBScript
as it is loaded. We accomplish this feat through several routines,
which are broken up into the following areas:
- Working with cookies
- Creating dynamic HTML
- Presenting information
- Tying it all together
Cookies (or more properly, magic cookies) provide a means for
browsers to store persistent information without the need for
access to CGI scripts, custom executables, or other means of data
storage and retrieval. I use a 'variable' metaphor for working
with cookies as described in the following sections:
- The Variable Metaphor
- Reading Variables
- Writing and Deleting Variables
The Variable Metaphor
An easy way to access random pieces of information from a cookie
is through variable assignment. By assigning a recognizable name
to persistent information, you can easily pull out relevant pieces
from the cookie using a simple subroutine.
The WWW PIM uses three different types of variables to store information.
It uses %%TDx where x is the record number to
store to-do's, %%ADx where x is the record number
for addresses, and, finally, %%APmm/dd/yyyy for appointment
dates.
Reading Variables
The code in Listing 24.2 is used to read a variable from within
the cookie.
Listing 24.2. The readVariable()
function.
1: Function readVariable(sVariableName)
2: Dim iLocation
3: Dim iNameLength
4: Dim iValueLength
5: Dim iNextSemicolon
6: Dim sTemp
7:
8: iNameLength = Len(sVariableName)
9: iLocation = InStr(Document.Cookie, sVariableName)
10: If iLocation = 0 Then
11: readVariable = ""
12: Else
13: sTemp = Right(Document.Cookie, Len(Document.Cookie) - iLocation + 1)
14: If Mid(sTemp, iNameLength + 1, 1) <> "=" Then
15: readVariable = ""
16: Else
17: iNextSemicolon = InStr(sTemp, ";")
18: If iNextSemicolon = 0 Then iNextSemicolon = Len(sTemp) + 1
19: If iNextSemicolon = (iNameLength + 2) Then
20: readVariable = ""
21: Else
22: iValueLength = iNextSemicolon - iNameLength - 2
23: readVariable = Mid(sTemp, iNameLength + 2, iValueLength)
24: End If
25: End If
26: End if
27: end function
28:
The readVariable() function takes a single parameter-the
variable name to read-and returns the value of that variable.
The readVariable() function accomplishes this through
several iterations of InStr and Mid. This works
fine for storing numerical information, but you run into a problem
when storing random character information. Let's say you create
a variable called Appt, which stores appointment information.
Now if a user enters Dentist Appt in their appointment
information, InStr can return the wrong chunk of information,
or worse, complete garbage. The readVariable() function
attempts to reduce this possibility by searching for an equal
sign (=) immediately after the string being sought. To
further reduce the chances of this problem occurring, routines
append %% to the beginning of each variable name.
Writing and Deleting Variables
The page uses the same subroutine to both write and delete variables
from the cookie. Just like those found on the store shelves, all
magic cookies have expiration dates. By default, an entry in a
cookie will expire when the browser is closed, which isn't very
persistent. Imagine what would happen if your daily planner erased
itself every time you closed the cover.
The setVariable routine in Listing 24.3 takes a pair
of parameters: The former is the variable name, and the latter
its corresponding value. It then appends an expiration date of
September 28, 1998, to the end of the cookie.
Listing 24.3. The setVariable
routine.
1:
2: Sub setVariable(sVariableName, varVariableValue)
3: Document.Cookie = sVariableName & "=" & varVariableValue & ";expires=Monday, 28-
Sep-98 12:00:00 GMT"
4: end sub
5:
Correspondingly, the killVariable routine in Listing
24.4 sets the variable to NULL, appends an expiration
date of January 1, 1995, and then calls the setVariable
routine. Watchful readers will note that using killVariable
will create an entry with two expiration dates. Fortunately for
us, the second date is ignored and then deleted.
Listing 24.4. The killVariable
routine.
1:
2: Sub killVariable(sVariableName)
3: setVariable sVariableName, "NULL;expires=Monday, 01-Jan-95 12:00:00 GMT"
4: end sub
The code uses five functions to create the statements needed to
display the information in HTML format. These functions are divided
into two related areas:
- Creating HREF functions
- Creating the calendar functions
The first set of functions is used to create a single <A
HREF> statement that displays the stored data, if any,
and provides the necessary code to edit the item.
The second set of functions is similar to the first, but also
generates a table in addition to one of the HREF functions.
Creating HREFs from Scratch
The following three functions in Listings 24.5, 24.6, and 24.7
are used to create a single <A HREF> statement.
The first two take only the record number as a parameter and pass
back a formatted string that can be written directly into the
document. Listing 24.7, makAP_URL(), takes the month,
day, and year for the current record.
The code in Listing 24.6, which is used to create the address
code, takes the address provided and converts it to a mailto:
directive so that a user can easily mail someone on the address
list by clicking on the address, or edit the record by clicking
on the number.
In addition to the code to edit an appointment, the makAP_URL()
function also contains an onMouseOver event to place
the current appointment in the status bar.
Listing 24.5. The makTD_URL()
function.
1:
2: Function makTD_URL(iRecord)
3: If Trim(readVariable("%%TD" & Trim(iRecord))) <> "NULL" Then
4: makTD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addTodo(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". " & readVariable("%%TD" &
Trim(iRecord)) & "</A>"
5: Else
6: makTD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addTodo(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". </A>"
7: End If
8: End Function
9:
Listing 24.6. The makAD_URL()
function.
1:
2: Function makAD_URL(iRecord)
3: If Trim(readVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord))) <> "NULL" Then
4: makAD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addAddr(" &
Trim(iRecord) & ")>" & iRecord & ". " & "
</a>" & "<A HREF=mailto:" &
readVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord)) & ">" &
readVariable("%%AD" &
Trim(iRecord)) & "</A>"
5: Else
6: makAD_URL = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick=addAddr(" &Trim(iRecord)
& ")>" & iRecord & ". " & "</A>"
7: End If
8: End Function
9:
Listing 24.7. The makAP_URL()
function.
1:
2: Function makAP_URL(m,d,y)
3: Dim stAppt
4:
5: stAppt = readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y)
6: If Len(Trim(stAppt)) > 0 AND Trim(stAppt) <> "NULL" Then
7: sTemp = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick="
8: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
9: sTemp = sTemp & "Call addAppt(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")"
10: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
11: sTemp = sTemp & " onMouseOver="
12: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
13: sTemp = sTemp & "Call ApptStat(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")" & Chr(34)
& ">"
14: sTemp = sTemp & d & "!</a>"
15: Else
16: sTemp = "<A LANGUAGE=VBScript HREF=#null onClick="
17: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
18: sTemp = sTemp & "Call addAppt(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")"
19: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
20: sTemp = sTemp & " onMouseOver="
21: sTemp = sTemp & Chr(34)
22: sTemp = sTemp & "Call ApptStat(" & m & ", " & d & ", " & y & ")" & Chr(34)
& ">"
23: sTemp = sTemp & d & "</A>"
24: End If
25: makAP_URL = sTemp
26: End Function
Creating the Calendar
The final set of HREF functions is the makCalendar()
function (see Listing 24.8), which iterates through several loops
to create a calendar out of an embedded table based on the current
month and year, and the GMonth() function (see Listing
24.9), which provides the month names for makCalendar().
Listing 24.8. The makCalendar()
function.
1:
2: Function makCalendar()
3: m=Month(Now())
4: y=Year(Now())
5:
6: FirstDay = WeekDay(Dateserial(y,m,1))
7: DaysInMonth= Day(Dateserial(y,m+1,1)-1)
8: ThisMonth=GMonth(Month(Dateserial(y,m,1)), true) & " " & Year(Dateserial(y,m,1))
9:
10: sCalendar=""
11: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<CENTER><TABLE BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=2>"
12: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR><TH COLSPAN=7>" & ThisMonth & "</TH>"
13: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Sun</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Mon</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Tue</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Wed</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Thu</TH><TH WIDTH=50
ALIGN=CENTER>Fri</TH><TH WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>Sat</TH></TR>"
14:
15: ictrDay=0
16: For Row=1 to 6
17: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TR>"
18: For Col=1 to 7
19: sCalendar=sCalendar & "<TD WIDTH=50 ALIGN=CENTER>"
20: If Row=1 AND Col=FirstDay then
21: ictrDay=1
22: End If
23: If ictrDay = 0 Then
24: sCalendar=sCalendar & " "
25: End If
26: If ictrDay <> 0 Then
27: If ictrDay <= DaysInMonth Then
28: sCalendar=sCalendar & makAP_URL(m,ictrDay,y)
29: End If
30: If ictrDay > DaysInMonth Then
31: sCalendar=sCalendar & " "
32: End If
33: ictrDay=ictrDay+1
34: End if
35: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TD>"
36: Next
37: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TR>"
38: Next
39: sCalendar=sCalendar & "</TABLE>"
40: makCalendar = sCalendar
41: End Function
42:
The makCalendar()function creates a table definition,
creates the month banner and the seven weekday columns, and then
loops through the remaining rows and columns, calling the makAP_URL()
function from Listing 24.7 to place the date. The makAP_URL()
function appends an exclamation mark to the end of a date that
contains an appointment.
The GMonth() function takes a pair of arguments, the month number,
and a boolean value to determine whether it should return a long
month like January or a short month like Jan. Although the short
month is not used, it produces a value that can be used in the
expiration field of a cookie so that you can expand this example
to create time-sensitive to-do's.
Listing 24.9. The GMonth()
function.
1: Function GMonth(iMonth, fLongShort)
2: Select Case iMonth
3: Case 1
4: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="January" else GMonth="Jan"
5: Case 2
6: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="February" else GMonth="Feb"
7: Case 3
8: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="March" else GMonth="Mar"
9: Case 4
10: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="April" else GMonth="Apr"
11: Case 5
12: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="May" else GMonth="May"
13: Case 6
14: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="June" else GMonth="Jun"
15: Case 7
16: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="July" else GMonth="Jul"
17: Case 8
18: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="August" else GMonth="Aug"
19: Case 9
20: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="September" else GMonth="Sep"
21: Case 10
22: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="October" else GMonth="Oct"
23: Case 11
24: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="November" else GMonth="Nov"
25: Case 12
26: If fLongShort = true then GMonth="December" else GMonth="Dec"
27: End Select
28: End Function
29:
An application is completely useless if it doesn't provide the
user any feedback. In order to keep the WWW PIM from being completely
useless, we need to add some code that creates an interface for
the user to edit and view information from the page. This code
is broken down into two separate groups:
- The add routines
- The ApptStat routine
The add Routines
The add routines in Listings 24.10, 24.11, and 24.12
provide an interface for the user to input, edit, or delete information.
Each routine displays one or more message boxes and prompts the
user for the necessary information. Depending on whether the user
is adding, editing, or deleting information, each routine then
calls either setVariable or killVariable.
The addTodo and addAddr routines both display
a generic message box like the one in Figure 24.2.
Figure 24.2 : The Add/Delete Item message box.
Listing 24.10. The addTodo
routine.
1:
2: Sub addTodo(iRecord)
3: Dim sTodo
4: Dim iChoice
5:
6: iChoice = MsgBox("Do you want to add or delete this item? Click yes to add or no
to delete.", 3, "Add/Delete Item")
7: Select Case iChoice
8: Case 6
9: sTodo = InputBox("What do you want to do?", "Add To-Do")
10: Call setVariable("%%TD" & Trim(iRecord), sTodo)
11: Case 7
12: killVariable "%%TD" & Trim(iRecord)
13: Case 2
14: Exit Sub
15: End Select
16: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
17: End Sub
18:
Listing 24.10 displays an input box that looks like Figure 24.3.
Figure 24.3 : The Add To-Do dialog.
Listing 24.11. The addAppt
routine.
1:
2: Sub addAppt(m,d,y)
3: Dim sAppt
4: Dim TempAppt
5:
6: TempAppt = readVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y))
7:
8: If Len(Trim(TempAppt)) > 0 Then
9: sAppt = InputBox("Please enter or edit your appointment list for today",
"Add/Edit Appointment", readVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/"
& Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y)))
10: Else
11: sAppt = InputBox("Please enter or edit your appointment list for today",
"Add/Edit Appointment")
12: End If
13: If Len(Trim(sAppt)) > 0 Then
14: Call setVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d)
& "/" & Trim(y), sAppt)
15: Else
16: killVariable("%%AP" & Trim(m) & "/" & Trim(d) & "/" & Trim(y))
17: End If
18: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
19: End Sub
20:
Listing 24.11 displays an input box like the one in Figure 24.4.
Figure 24.4 : The Add/Edit Appointment dialog.
Listing 24.12 displays an input box like the one in Figure 24.5.
Figure 24.5 : The Add/Delete address routine.
Listing 24.12. The addAddr
routine.
1:
2: Sub addAddr(iRecord)
3: Dim Addr
4: Dim iChoice
5: iChoice = MsgBox("Do you want to add or delete this item? Click yes to add or no
to delete.", 3,"Add/Delete Item")
6:
7: Select Case iChoice
8: Case 6
9: Addr=InputBox("What address do you want to add?", "Add Email Address")
10: Call setVariable("%%AD" & Trim(iRecord), Addr)
11: Case 7
12: killVariable "%%AD" & Trim(iRecord)
13: Case 2
14: Exit Sub
15: End Select
16: window.navigate "wwwpim.htm"
17: End Sub
18:
The ApptStat Routine
The ApptStat routine (see Listing 24.13) is called by
the onMouseOver event associated with each day. When
the mouse passes over a date, this routine is called and the current
appointment is placed in the status bar.
Listing 24.13. The ApptStat
routine.
1:
2: Sub ApptStat(m,d,y)
3: Dim sTemp
4:
5: sTemp = CStr(d & " " & readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y))
6: If Len(Trim(sTemp)) > 0 AND readVariable("%%AP" & m & "/" & d & "/" & y) <> "NULL" Then
7: window.status = sTemp
8: Else
9: window.status = CStr(d)
10: End If
11: End Sub
Now that we've covered all the routines that support generation
of the page, we have one last procedure to cover, the docCreate
routine.
The docCreate Procedure
The docCreate procedure in Listing 24.14 encapsulates
all the previous functions to generate all of the HTML for the
page. It creates each column one at a time, filling in each cell
with an <HREF> from one of the mak() functions,
and then it calls document.write to append the new content
to the document.
Listing 24.14. The docCreate
procedure.
1:
2: Sub docCreate
3: Dim sDocument
4: sDocument = "<TD ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=35%><CENTER><B>To Do</B></CENTER>"
5: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "<HR>"
6: For i = 1 to 10
7: sDocument = sDocument & "<BR>" & makTD_URL(i)
8: Next
9: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=MIDDLE WIDTH=30%>"
10: sDocument = sDocument & makCalendar()
11: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD><TD ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=35%>"
12: sDocument = sDocument & "<CENTER><B>ADDRESSES</B></CENTER>"
13: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "<HR>"
14: For j = 1 to 10
15: sDocument = sDocument & "<BR>" & makAD_URL(j)
16: Next
17:
18: sDocument = sDocument & "</TD></TR>"
19: sDocument = sDocument & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & "</TABLE>"
20:
21: Document.Write sDocument
22:
23: End Sub
24:
After trying this sample, you can see how to create Web applications
that can easily store and retrieve complex sets of information
and display them to the user.
Here's a few challenges for you to extend your WWW Personal Information
Manager:
- Extend functionality by allowing you to create as many to-do's
and addresses as you want, place appointments for future dates,
or add more information like phone and street addresses.
- Add a notification capability that tells you when appointments
are due or forthcoming.
- Convert the page to use ActiveX controls to give it a sleek
and modern look.
|
Profit and
Value from Information Technology
