By idpwf on

Hello All,

We need to build a web frontend for a legacy system. The legacy system was recently added a web-service interface.

The thing is, all the data will continue to be on the legacy system. This tandem will work is follows:

1. The user builds a [very complex] query (medical info) on the webfront, need to build a custom UI for that.
2. The frontend constructs a query string, sends it down to the legacy machine, gets a responce, parses and displays it. The display will be on a custom form, as well.
No actual data (except things like user customization, maybe a taxonomy tree) will be in the local database.

The team is currently considering Drupal and Typo3 as the frameworks (no real previous experience with either).

Can we do this with Drupal?
Moreover, should we do this with Drupal (I understand this is a little outside the normal use, even for such a flexible system :-) )?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated...

Micky

⋅ Categories: Drupal 6.x

Comments

WorldFallz’s picture

WorldFallz commented

You can do anything with drupal that you can do with php-- drupal just adds a convenient api. So, if you can make the integration you need with php then drupal should be fine as well as provide tons of convenience via the additional api.

nevets’s picture

nevets commented

If you visit http://www.ploughshares.org/ and under issues or experts (upper right) and search the search for is from views (exposed filters) and uses views to display the data. All the data pulled though comes from a non Drupal database, so yes it can be done.

idpwf’s picture

idpwf commented

Thanks, probably Drupal it will be, then.

One more question, though: where would you recommend to start learning about how to implement this?

I got the Views and CCK packages, but I do not understand what to do with them...

Thanks again
Micky

nevets’s picture

nevets commented

CCK only applies to data within the Drupal database so would not apply.

For views, the best approach is to install views and advanced help, then read the views developer documentation under advance help. Note that a project like this requires a good understanding of Drupal, PHP, views and your database structure.