Re: [phpwslistings-dev] agent active flag

[<ad...@tu...>]

OK I may miss some things here because I'm not a real estate agent and I
don't know all the ins and outs of what needs to happen there. On the
other hand I've been looking at the system with more than real estate in
mind and so I'm trying to be as abstract as possible.

If a user is given base access to the phpwslistings module, they are
considered an "agent".  A "broker" is designated with a single
sub-permisssion.  If the broker permission is set for a user, they get
total access to the module almost like a deity (without access to all
other modules of course).  Then you could add several other permissions
that are for refining an agents access to the system.  These permissions
would be bypassed in the case of a broker.

module_rights.txt:

is_broker::User is a Broker
add_listing::Add Listings
delete_listing::Remove Listing
view_sold::View Sold Listings

This method would work for most situations but then you get into the mess
of handling multiple "dynamic" classes and controling agent and broker
permissions within each class.  To best handle a situation like that you
would need limited user of the phpws user module and would need to
implement your own layer of permissions into the phpwslistings module
itself.

If a user is given base access to the phpwslistings module, they are
considered an agent with no permissions (yet).  Then with a single
sub-permission you could designate a user as a broker.

module_rights.txt:

is_broker::User is a Broker

Then, within phpwslistings, a broker can view and edit the permissions of
agents and assign them to classes if they wish.  It should be possible to
use the setUserVar and getUserVar functions to make this easier on the
developer.  For storage of those permissions I would suggest using masking
of bits for speed and limited memory usage.  I actually suggested that for
the phpws user module but Matt didn't know what I meant :)

For each agent they would have a userVar called something like
phpwslistings_perms.  This would simply be an integer number that
represents the permissions of that particular agent.  Lets say we have 3
permissions, add listing, delete listing, and view sold listings.  If we
represent each of these in binary they would look something like this:

001 = add listing
010 = delete listing
100 = view sold listings
011 = add and delete listings
111 = full access to the system - broker only functions

Then you could define masks like:

PHPWSLISTINGS_ADD_MASK = 001;
PHPWSLISTINGS_DELETE_MASK = 010;
PHPWSLISTINGS_SOLD_MASK = 100;

"AND" those with the users stored variable and you will get a boolean
TRUE/FALSE as to whether or not the agent has access to that permission:

$add_check = $_SESSION["OBJ_user"]->getUserVar("phpwslistings_perms") &
PHPWSLISTINGS_ADD_MASK;

if($add_check) {
...do add...
} else {
...doesnt have permission...
}

That probably a lot to take in.  Let me know if anything was unclear as I
tend to ramble on :)

Adam

> Adam,
>
>> I would suggest not using a phpws user as an agent and just associate an
>> agent with a phpws user account.  This way you can accomplish the
>> permissioning goals you have set down and if the admin of the website
>> wants to allow public users to have accounts on the site for various
>> reasons (personal house listings, remembered settings, etc) you don't
>> want
>> them to have "agent status" in the phpwslistings system.  I can say more
>> here but I will refrain for now to hear your thoughts on what I've
>> written
>> so far.
>
> Sounds intersting.  I think I understand your concept but would like you
> to
> elaborate some more if you would.
>
>
> Mike Windsor
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Adam Morton
Developer - Electronic Student Services
http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu
Founder - Appalachian Linux Users Group
http://alug.appstate.edu