Re: Idea for new form input type

sg04%[email protected]
Fri, 25 Feb 1994 12:10:09 --100


The form construct has been somewhat successful in obtaining queries
for small items of information from an INTERACTIVE user.

We are now beginning to talk about queries that involve:

1. Large image files
2. Large text files
3. queries for infomation from local databases.

There needs to be mechanism, let's call it FETCH, which can
do automated retrieval from the users machine to snarf in
things that the user would not have the patience to enter
in interactively. (but he would like to act as gatemaster on
this info going out).

For example, when a 1040 arrives, one would like to be able to
have automated incluedes for charitable expenses, cap-gains
history for the current FY.

That is, it should be less painful to include such large tabular
databases, created by external programs, into a FORMS like mechanism.

Think of this as the dual to the external viewer mechanism.

The way I would see this is that the FORM could include various
FETCH queries. There would be something simliar to a mailcap file
that would specify how to these external data queries are to
be filled in.

I have done a lot of brainstorming on these lines in my Mosaic
Accessories document: ftp:/ftp.gte.com/pub/circus/accessories.html

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Yechezkal-Shimon Gutfreund [email protected] [MIME]
GTE Laboratories, Waltham MA ftp://ftp.gte.com/pub/circus/home/home.html
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=