[ic] Displaying Users Online

[interchange-users@interchange.redhat.com (interchange-users@interchange.redhat.com)]

On Thu, Jan 17, 2002 at 09:15:06AM -0800, Ed LaFrance wrote:
> At 05:57 PM 01/16/2002 -0800, you wrote:
> >Hi All,
> >
> >I need to show the # of user's currently logged in.  Can someone help?
> >
> >Output example of what I need...
> >
> >User's Currently Online: [code here]
> 
> I would suggest using the [counter] tag.  Set up a file called 
> etc/logged_users, increment it each time someone logs in, and decrement it 
> when someone logs out. The you can do:
> 
> User's Currently Online: [counter file=etc/logged_users value=1]


We've started to keep a session hash for the catalog as a whole.

So you'd write a tag that would put the user logged in into a
hash when they log in, with whatever attributes

%SESSION={
	%LOGGED_IN={
		    %user1=>{
                             attr1=>asdf
                             attr2=>asdf
                             attr3=>asdf
			     timestamp1=>now()
			     }
		     }
	%TIMESTAMPS={
                     'timestamp1'=>[$SESSION->{LOGGED_IN}->$user1,...
                     'timestamp2'=>[$SESSION->{LOGGED_IN}->$user2,...
         }
}
	
Just guessing at the structure; we don't actually do this for users
but for "rare items" in carts, decrementing inventory on a temporary
basis.  You do want some sort of timestamp index so you can expire 
logins automatically.

Then you'd put a tag or autoload function that checks login status
and init session if too long or not found, blow away old data, that
sort of thing.


-- 

Christopher F. Miller, Publisher                               cfm@maine.com
MaineStreet Communications, Inc           208 Portland Road, Gray, ME  04039
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