Integrating Mobile with a Desktop App.

[zylo123]

So basically what i have is the standard run of the mill management system.

What i want is that any mobile user, and by that i mean any cell phone not just smartphone user, can access and update the database.

For that i think standard SMS would be the way. I have heard of GSM modems that allows your apps to receive text messages. But i haven't had any experience with them.

So a little help would be a great deal, not asking for spoon feeding just some general info like where to buy them, Price,interfacing language etc etc etc.

 

[zylo123]

Come on guys. Hard to believe kay kisi nay aj tk sms ka through communication nahi ki.

 

[Rapchik Killer]

Just an idea, you can use any android handset to recieve/send sms.. just need to make an android app for communicating with it..

if your management system is web based you can then communicate with the db directly from the phone or you can forward the sms via wifi to a pc to handle the data there..

 

[zylo123]

Just an idea, you can use any android handset to recieve/send sms.. just need to make an android app for communicating with it..

if your management system is web based you can then communicate with the db directly from the phone or you can forward the sms via wifi to a pc to handle the data there..

Nahi na yar yahi to masla. System thora bhat real world ha aur real world may har kisi kay pas smartphone nahi hota. Isi waja say mujay ya cheez karni par rahi ha kay 3310 bhi system ka sath communicate kar skay.

System Dektop application ha web based nahi.

 

[staticPointer]

Nahi na yar yahi to masla. System thora bhat real world ha aur real world may har kisi kay pas smartphone nahi hota. Isi waja say mujay ya cheez karni par rahi ha kay 3310 bhi system ka sath communicate kar skay.

System Dektop application ha web based nahi.

phahle ap apna sys upgrade kery !

 

[zylo123]

phahle ap apna sys upgrade kery !

System upgrade karo. I don't get it. Desktop system ko web based bnao ?

 

[Rapchik Killer]

Nahi na yar yahi to masla. System thora bhat real world ha aur real world may har kisi kay pas smartphone nahi hota. Isi waja say mujay ya cheez karni par rahi ha kay 3310 bhi system ka sath communicate kar skay.

System Dektop application ha web based nahi.

You didnt get my point.. anyone can communicate via sms, but instead of buying a gsm modem you can use a cheap android phone by making an app on it.. this is an alternate for a gsm modem and would have been better if your app was web based..

you can use the same technique for a desktop application but it wouldnt be ideal as you would need to communicate with the desktop app via wifi..

For a gsm modem, havent worked with one but they use a similar protocol to communicate with the pc.. so if you have a ptcl evo usb lying around even that might work.. a quick google search:
How To Send and Receive SMS using GSM Modem - CodeProject

 

[zylo123]

You didnt get my point.. anyone can communicate via sms, but instead of buying a gsm modem you can use a cheap android phone by making an app on it.. this is an alternate for a gsm modem and would have been better if your app was web based..

you can use the same technique for a desktop application but it wouldnt be ideal as you would need to communicate with the desktop app via wifi..

For a gsm modem, havent worked with one but they use a similar protocol to communicate with the pc.. so if you have a ptcl evo usb lying around even that might work.. a quick google search:
How To Send and Receive SMS using GSM Modem - CodeProject

Ok now i understand what you meant by using an android phone instead of a gsm modem. But for starters i don't own any smart phones never have because i haven't had an interest in them ever. Just a quick peek at olx gave a quote of 3000 on gsm modems. I Don't think even the cheapest android phone is that cheap.

After some deliberations i have realized the architecture of this system would be very simple. I connect the GSM Modem with the PC insert a SIM card in it. Now whenever anybody has to modify the database he sends in the database id, user login and password to the SIM number in GSM Modem.

My GSM Modem recives the message and passes it onto the application which validates it and instructs the modem to send all ok message, and from there on user can submit any change via sms and GSM modem will submit it to the program which will execute it on the database.

BTW if you don't mind my asking the game in your signature how much time it took to make it ?

 

[Rapchik Killer]

Yea the logic should be fairly easy..

And it took about a year to build this game..

 

[devnull]

Ok now i understand what you meant by using an android phone instead of a gsm modem. But for starters i don't own any smart phones never have because i haven't had an interest in them ever. Just a quick peek at olx gave a quote of 3000 on gsm modems. I Don't think even the cheapest android phone is that cheap.

After some deliberations i have realized the architecture of this system would be very simple. I connect the GSM Modem with the PC insert a SIM card in it. Now whenever anybody has to modify the database he sends in the database id, user login and password to the SIM number in GSM Modem.

My GSM Modem recives the message and passes it onto the application which validates it and instructs the modem to send all ok message, and from there on user can submit any change via sms and GSM modem will submit it to the program which will execute it on the database.

BTW if you don't mind my asking the game in your signature how much time it took to make it ?

Like the others I too feel you should go with a web based application. It can have more features, be more user friendly and maintainable than an SMS app. Ask the people who have hired you whether they would prefer to spend money on obsolete software or buy their employees phones that can access the web? Note that even a recent model dumb phone can access the web and submit web forms. You don't need a high end smart phone.

With that said if you are going to go the SMS route you should make sure of two things:

- Provide an option for the user to logout from the system
- Automatically logout a user if there is no activity for a certain time period.

The above two are essential because otherwise anyone can access the system by borrowing or stealing an authenticated user's phone.

 

[Newton]

Ok now i understand what you meant by using an android phone instead of a gsm modem. But for starters i don't own any smart phones never have because i haven't had an interest in them ever. Just a quick peek at olx gave a quote of 3000 on gsm modems. I Don't think even the cheapest android phone is that cheap.

After some deliberations i have realized the architecture of this system would be very simple. I connect the GSM Modem with the PC insert a SIM card in it. Now whenever anybody has to modify the database he sends in the database id, user login and password to the SIM number in GSM Modem.

My GSM Modem recives the message and passes it onto the application which validates it and instructs the modem to send all ok message, and from there on user can submit any change via sms and GSM modem will submit it to the program which will execute it on the database.

BTW if you don't mind my asking the game in your signature how much time it took to make it ?

+1
you should integrate some authentication mechanism in the sms too. like each user should have some authentication key to write in the sms OR the sms should have a very specific format. i would prefer the sms having a specific format
implementing safety authentication on a web based app would be more mainstream but you will have to think about something more generic with the sms technique.

AND
if you have absolutely no plan of upgrading this system then go for the gsm modem. otherwise use an android phone. you can implement the sms technique right now; and, upgrade it to a better method in the future without spending any more on hardware

 

[zylo123]

Yea the logic should be fairly easy..

And it took about a year to build this game..

Made in Unity 3d ?

Like the others I too feel you should go with a web based application. It can have more features, be more user friendly and maintainable than an SMS app. Ask the people who have hired you whether they would prefer to spend money on obsolete software or buy their employees phones that can access the web? Note that even a recent model dumb phone can access the web and submit web forms. You don't need a high end smart phone.

With that said if you are going to go the SMS route you should make sure of two things:

- Provide an option for the user to logout from the system
- Automatically logout a user if there is no activity for a certain time period.

The above two are essential because otherwise anyone can access the system by borrowing or stealing an authenticated user's phone.

Wow i had forgotten about implementing a session system. Thanks really thanks for pointing it out otherwise i would not have thought about it

+1
you should integrate some authentication mechanism in the sms too. like each user should have some authentication key to write in the sms OR the sms should have a very specific format. i would prefer the sms having a specific format
implementing safety authentication on a web based app would be more mainstream but you will have to think about something more generic with the sms technique.

AND
if you have absolutely no plan of upgrading this system then go for the gsm modem. otherwise use an android phone. you can implement the sms technique right now; and, upgrade it to a better method in the future without spending any more on hardware

Yes i think i ll probably simulate the session system for authentication. One time password to authenticate for a certain period of time.

and yes i realize that android phone would be the easy way to go but as i said i don't own one and nor do i plan to buy it and gsm modem is still cheap than an android phone.


Thanks guys i have just one last question. If anybody from pindi/islamabad has bought a gsm modem for project what would the good place to buy it ? college road ?. In addition any models or other information would be welcomed.

 

[abdulrahim]

So basically what i have is the standard run of the mill management system.

What i want is that any mobile user, and by that i mean any cell phone not just smartphone user, can access and update the database.

For that i think standard SMS would be the way. I have heard of GSM modems that allows your apps to receive text messages. But i haven't had any experience with them.

So a little help would be a great deal, not asking for spoon feeding just some general info like where to buy them, Price,interfacing language etc etc etc.

GSM modem is can be easily bought from UFONE or any telco franchise. But in my experience modems for critical systems are not stable. May i ask on which OS u have your Management system. If your management system is on Linux there is excellent SMS gateway for Linux called Kannel. Many big sms services are run using Kannel. But GSM modem is not stable with Kannel. You will need to get Shortcode to ensure 24/7 stability. I have developed SMS based products for several companies. If u need any help pm me.