On Tue, 22 Feb 2005, Dermot Paikkos wrote: > I am looking for a way to store firstname/surname/id values in a > file. Currently I am using a flat file to store just the christian > name and surname in the format: > > firstname|surname
Sorry, I'm confused. If you're comfortable with this approach, why not just extend it to -- firstname|surname|id -- or even -- id|firstname|surname -- ? Isn't that the easiest way? The "problem" with this approach is that interacting with it gets more complicated -- users have to keep their ID around so that it's possible to differentiate between "Chris Devers 42" and "Chris Devers 17". You can't really get around this though -- assigning ID fields to records is a theme common to all databases, as it's the only way around the problem of distinguishing seemingly identical records. Coding all this up isn't very challenging -- all you have to do is add a field and hooks to read & write it. The bigger problem is social, not technical: everyone needs a unique identifier, either a randomly or sequentially selected ID tag (e.g. id number), or some other token they select themselves (e.g. account name &/or password). Both have drawbacks (people don't like having to remember IDs; people don't like passwords) but one way or the other, this seems like what you have to do. (Also, I'm assuming that security isn't a consideration here, and that the biggest problem with people accessing the wrong account is that it's a nuisance, rather than a real security risk. If people accessing each other's accounts *is* a problem, then you need to re-evaluate things: each user needs a password or a similar authentication mechanism, the user list file needs to be protected & probably encrypted, etc. If, on the other hand, it's just annoying but nothing is actually harmed by people using each other's accounts, then the approach you have is fine.) -- Chris Devers -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://learn.perl.org/> <http://learn.perl.org/first-response>
