[asterisk-users] Re: Match a Numer - then continue with, dialplan

[Michael Collins]

> > Firstly, in the setup you are envisaging, how do you distinguish
which
> > company the caller is calling from? Their extensions number?
> > The context
> > at which they enter the dialplan? Or something else?
> 
> Good questions, all of them. Unfortnately, I don't have answers to
them. I
> wanted to take our 3000 line python script, which we'd used due to
> inadequacies of the dialplan, and throw the horrible nasty thing out
the
> window.
> 
> >
> > Secondly, how do you distinguish between destination numbers
> > in one company
> > from those in another? Number range? Context?
> 

Tony,

Thank you for asking the appropriate questions!  I think you've gotten
to the crux of the matter.  Doug, take some Advil and read the rest of
this post tomorrow! :)

At my work, we have a saying that we use when trying to figure out how
to overcome some technical challenge.  It helps us to focus on the
solution, not the problem.  We simply ask, "What is Utopia?"  Then, in
plain English, we describe the perfect world.  (Choose the language of
your locale for this exercise.)

Doug, could we try this exercise?  Could you collate the bits and pieces
of your posts in this thread and distill them into a point-by-point
description of your Utopia?  Use as few technical terms and
Asterisk-specific references as possible.  A good starting point is the
list of to-do's that you do for each call: 
Do they have voicemail?
Do they have feature ABC?
Do they have feature XYZ?

After listing all of that, then give us the description of what needs to
happen next, the part about deciding which caller ID info to send.
Pretend like you're explaining it to a bunch of idiots who understand
only small words and short sentences. :)  

My gut tells me that the solution lies in the big picture, not the
details.  The more eyes that see the big picture the better.

Thanks for your patience!

-MC