[Info-vax] OT: Record locking for web transactions

[JF Mezei]

Concept:

I read a record with intention to edit/update it. Instead of putting a
traditional "lock" on it, I actually update the record with a field
"locked until 15:34". (say 10 minutes from now).

The user can then update the date and write it back (at which point, the
"locked until 15:34" is erased).

If the user walks away, the record keeps the "locked until 15:34" field,
but when someone else tries to update the record, it sees the lock is
stale and can update the field with a new "lock".


Comments ? Could that work ?

I know that in the airline industry, the old reservation systems had a
similar timer where a travel agent could tentatively book a seat and had
a certain number of minutes to complete the reservations to submit it.
(during that time, that seat was unavailable to other travel agents, so
if you had the alst seat available, you had it for a certain number of
minutes).