Thanks for the comments. There is a single page but it has a lot of active content that can be called. There are dozens of links that when clicked open up a new section on the page and allow the user to perform a function.
I think I may write a VB application that runs on the server machine. I'll have it poll the software application that actually controls the observatory. The observatory control application actually has a built-in web server to provide clients with a browser interface but the application actually controls everything. So, I think I will be able to just disable a user's account on the fly and that will prevent them from accessing the observatory control system directly. I'm having fun learning about this stuff. Regards, Dave --- In [email protected], Pete <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, tommasini <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > writes > >Users buy time and are scheduled to use the observatory during certain > >times. I have built a MySQL database that contains schedule, > >privilege and user logon information. I have a front end PHP web page > >that uses this information to authenticate a user and then forward > >them to the observatory control page. Once they are at that page, I > >need to be able to limit the time they have access to the observatory > >control page. > > It depends on how many times the user visits the page. Let's keep it > simple, and assume that the visitor needs to refresh the observatory > control page at certain points. > > The user logs in, and the time (or perhaps, the time that they first > access the observatory control page) is stored in a database, preferably > with an End Time. The user ID is stored in a session, so that they can > access the control page only after logging in (i.e., not by making a > direct jump to the control page) > > Each time you access the page, check if the End Time has passed. > > Why End Time (rather than Start Time)? Because you only need to > calculate it once, when the user logs in. After that, you are just > checking the time. > > > Perhaps the users don't refresh the page themselves, perhaps part of the > page is refreshed, or it refreshes itself. In that case, do the End > Time check within that loop. The page is surely not static, otherwise > you wouldn't care how long they stared at it. > > >How would one allow a user the full functions of a given web page and > >then boot them from that page once some criteria are met? A PHP "do > >while" loop? A completely separate background application that > >monitors the exit criteria and then disconnects the user from the webpage? > > Complicated answers to a simple problem? > > > -- > Pete Clark > > Sunny Andalucia > http://hotcosta.com/Andalucia.Spain >
