[Asterisk-Users] Web UI - Best practices?

[Tzafrir Cohen]

On Wed, Jun 14, 2006 at 11:51:06AM -0400, Mike wrote:
> Hi,
>  
> I'm stuck writing a Web GUI because nothing out there is exactly what I
> need.  I'm not writing something as extensive as what _is_ out there, but
> just something that allows users to change where their calls are forwarded
> and other small things like that.
>  
> What I wanted to know is what is recommended by those you successfully wrote
> their own UI :
>  
> 1) Modifying the config directly in the Asterisk RealTime DB and and use
> Asterisk Realtime? This seems like the obvious choice, but I have a bad
> feeling about this method...especially with respect to future changes I
> would make to my UI or that the Asterisk dev team would make to their own
> tables / code

Non-static real time mean that your PBX becomes non-functional if the DB
server has a problem (or is even a bit loaded).

Something quite similar to static real-time is to have the UI (re)write
a small portion of the dialplan that will be included, and have it
initiate an 'extentions reload' on any change.

>  
> 2) Using custom tables I make up myself, and querying that DB with the MySQL
> command directly in the .conf files (or Realtime asterisk for that
> matter)(http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/index.php?page=Asterisk+cmd+MYSQL) ?

This has basically the same weakness of non-static real-time: overhead
and dependence at the time of the call.

>  
> Any input is appreciated...I really don't want to start on the wrong foot.
> Option 2 looks better (less dependent on Asterisk not changing from version
> to version) 

It is basically the same. Unless you want to make something that is
quite generic (if you do, you might as well stick with an existing UI
that pays with complexity as the price for generity) you'll probably
want to use some nice local features and use a customized dialplan.

> but I feel it'll make a mess out of the code.  While Option 1
> looks like it'll be messy because I have to adapt to the Realtime DB format
> in my PHP code, but at least the Asterisk code will be clean.
>  
> Really, opinons based on anecdotes would help me.

-- 
Tzafrir Cohen      sip:tzafrir at local.xorcom.com
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