Hi David,

I think you're on the right track.

>Hi Sergey,
>
>Thanks. I discussed this with the client and they agree that this is the best way too. Right now I have another vfp instance, running on the same machine, that uses a timer control. Several times a day (at the end of a manufacturing plant shift), the process triggers some update routines pertaining to the bar code app. The process is running on the same machine as the bar code app. My client feels that I should minimize the number of processes that he has to launch/be concerned with. He wants me to embed this new emailing process logic into the 'end of shift process'. I'm not sure if that is a good idea. I'd like to keep this process separate. I wonder if it should go on a separate machine too. But I can't pinpoint any specific reason when I tell him that I think it should go on a separate machine, other than a 'hunch' that it would be more reliable.
>
>I am also wondering about how reliable VFP timer controls are, how cpu intensive they are, etc. I have read other threads indicating that their usage should be limited. I need to work through/understand the issues: e.g. more than one timer in the same vfp instance (this is already in place). Multiple vfp instances with timer(s) running on the same machine. I am wondering also, about the fact that the bar code app uses the mscomm control to capture the data from the serial port, and am wondering about whether this control can be expected to perform reliably when multiple other processes are running on the same machine.
>
>We already have some issues with the reliability of the scanning. At this point there is more work to do to isolate the cause(s) - e.g. possibilities are: bad barcode labels, unreliable rf gun (definitely happening to some degree), mscomm control not working reliably - I am concerned about adding more variables into the mix.
>
>Finally, my client is running the barcode app on a win98 workstation. I am also wondering whether this should be a cause for concern. Should these processes be running on a win2k professional or server machine?
>
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