Posted by Tony Peardon on 03/02/06 05:34

Hi All,

I'm writing a free-for-all online project management system of sorts,
and I'm having trouble thinking my way around how to store the files of each
project in my database. Currently, the database just keeps track of the file
location, and has a time sensitive system of file locking that prevents more
than one member from editing the same file at the same time, thereby
erroneously creating two slightly different files.

This will work, I think. It's not nearly done yet, but when it's finished,
I'd like to have something in place much better than what I described above.
I want for the files to be edited online, and to also allow for more than
one person to edit the same file. I can envision a file split into blocks
of text, like a function would be a block, for instance. Some blocks would
contain other blocks, just as a file can contain many functions, and a
function can contain many loops.

In such a system, each individual block could have it's own lock, allowing
for a member to lock and edit one block, while other members edited adjacent
blocks, or, with permission, to edit blocks of code contained within a block
already locked by another user.

Can you see it? Designers of all sorts, working together online and in real
time. Think of tyhe things we could build, and the fun too, don't forget
about that. I can see it, but I can't write it, not all of it. Not yet
anyhow. I'm, a newbie when it comes to this server side stuff. Anyhow, I'm
just looking for thoughts and suggestions on the matter of block level file
storage, or even better, someone to actually help write the thing. So, any
thoughts?

Thanks in Advance,

Tony...

....Has anyone ever really been hit by a train of thought?

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