Andreas Tille wrote:
On Thu, 21 Apr 2005, Vegard Munthe wrote:On Thu, 21 Apr 2005, HJ Schmidt wrote:Why do you not like PHP for this application?There are several reasons why people do not really like a Web interface for this type of applications. You can be assured that I definitely know the advantages of web applications but one disadvantage for the users is thatmedical personal is sometimes trained to use their computer without the mousebecause it is just faster (once you learned the usage). You will not gain this spead with a browser and cutting of the mouse cable would end in a mostly unusable system. (PS: I will not join a flamewar about browser interface or not.)
Somehow I don't really see this list as having a flamewar, given how polite and well-behaved members seem to be. I certainly didn't mean to start one by asking the question about PHP. I really was curious about Vegard's basis for his statement, and he did an excellent job in enlightening me. Andreas also added some good points, especially about the browser interface. There are numerous software programs that have been abandoned because medical personnel (usually doctors) found them less than useful, and the interface issue remains a critical one.
Most, if not all, of us who work with information technology are forced to make compromises between solutions we'd *like* to see and those that we end up using. We all work with finite resources. One of the things I like about this list -- and a major reason I use Debian -- is that it's OK to remain idealistic, even when you're forced to settle for something that works just good enough. Thanks to the efforts of so many in the Open Source community, this "good enough" is usually pretty damn good!