Re: How complex is this, really?

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Kevin

I don't think Sam was intending to machine-read the images and extract
strings; looked like the idea was to be able to display the scanned order
form and have a human read it and verify it .. personally, I think it's
overkill either way ... but it's not my project


"Kevin Spencer" <unclechutney@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e$lnBqKQIHA.2396@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Sam,

I think outside the box for a living. Also, I read the whole thread, and I
know what you are experienced in, as well as what you are NOT experienced
in.

I don't have to time to get into a debate about this, but suffice it to
say I don't believe you've thought the problem through quite thoroughly.
As I mentioned, there are issues with the size of the data being
transmitted, as well as the readability of the data, both by computers and
by humans. In addition, the verification of the form data is not likely to
be the last usage of it, and again, text/string data is represented in
computers by the use of strings rather than images for the same sorts of
reasons that numeric and date-time data is not stored as text.

You're free, of course, to choose whatever solution you desire. My desire
is to be helpful by providing what I know, and I have done that.
Convincing people that I'm right about it is not in my agenda.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Chicken Salad Surgeon
Microsoft MVP

"sam" <scarleton@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3a4a96c0-a9aa-4f27-8f66-aad563d6d5f1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Dec 14, 7:51 am, "Kevin Spencer" <unclechut...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It sounds pretty straightforward, Sam, except for one thing:

(I am going to have the order
forms scanned into the system to ease order verification).

There's nothing easy about this approach. First, an order form is a
container of string data, such as name, address, etc. An image is a
container of pixel data (colors in a plane). Images are useful with
forms
only when the original form is in a paper format, since a sheet of paper
is
also a container of colors in a plane. To extract string data from an
image,
a human being must display the image and read the data in it. To extract
string data from a container of string data, a computer can read the
string
data easily. It can also be displayed in a Windows form application, or
formatted as an image for viewing by humans.

Kevin,

Come on Kevin, it is clear to me that you are a smart guy, think
outside the box just a little;)

First off, if you had read the whole thread, you would have seen that
I have 13 years of professional software development under my belt AND
that I am a photographer. I know you are smart enough to put together
these facts to realize that I know the difference between a scanned
image and manually entered data.

Second, the data verification is *NOT* going to be done by a computer,
but a human. I was hoping I did not need to spell it out, but I
will... Here is the data entry process:

1: person picks up orders from the PO box
2: person starts my application
3: person reads all the data off the order and enters it into my
Windows Application
4: person places the order in the scanner
5: person scans the order form that is saved as a PNG file
6: person saves the complete order, both text data (from step 3) and
the binary image (step 5)

At some point all this is sync with the main data source

Another human needs to verify that the order was entered correct...

1: person selects an order and see the entered data and the binary
image.
2: person zooms into the area on the binary image of interest and
verifies that is was is in the entered data.

I don't see anything all to hard about this other the me learning how
to get the PNG file from the application to the web site.

Sam




.

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