So I've started working at a new company recently. An engineering firm, after I quit my last job as a lab technician because I got bored. Cut to the chase, and fast forward to two days ago. The boss (who happens to be a CS minor and electrical engineer) calls me to his office, and blutly asks me how much I know about programming and databases like SQL. I explained to him I know some C++, a bit of Pascal, PHP, that I've made worked a bit with visual basic, and that I have tinkered with mySQL for a few websites. He asks me if I'd like an office, and a job as the companies new programmer (WHAT!?). I accept his offer, on the condition that he understands I have zero experience with big projects, and that I might take a while to learn things. He assures me this is allright, explains the project to me for about 2 hours, and tells me my office will be ready in a few days. The Jist of the project is this: At work, we use a management program called M1 (learn about it here: M1 Software ) we use it for everything at work really, financial record keeping, work-order tracking, tickets, etc. The program uses MSDE and uses VB Script. My boss wants to add new "modules" to M1, so that we can do more things with it. Just like in visual basic, everything in M1 is designed in forms, which populated with different controls and such. The customization tool looks very simmilar to VB evironment. The project doesn't look very difficult, most of the work is populating grids with data from the database, and creating various entry forms for different things. And VBScript is about as simple as it gets I would imagine, but I've never been asked to do this, so im very nervous I wont be able to do what he wants. He eventually wants to put the forms on the website (which makes sense, but im not sure how this would work?) so clients can customize products they want made by our engineering firm, submit them via the website, and then they show up on our systems in M1 as a new order which we then process like we would any order that was created internally. Cliffs: -new job, boss calls me down -wants me to do some programming, and give me an office out of the blue. -I know a fair bit about programming, and learn quickly. -... -nervous -... -Profit? My questions are, how should I get prepared for this project? Can anyone suggest some good reading material on SQL and VBscript? Can anyone explain to me how the VBscript works in a program like M1? What would be some good example applications to create that I can show the boss, so he knows I'll be able to work on this project? (proving im not a clutz) M1 is basically the frontend right? VBscript is used for form design, and communicating with the database, and the database is the backend? (I don't think im using the correct terminology). thanks for any advice. [Edited by - Raymondo on December 1, 2005 10:32:20 PM]

Quote:Original post by Muse
I would definitely try to find out if B&G has provided your company with documentation for M1 Design Studio*. If such documents exist, they should explain everything you need to know to use VB Script to create new user input forms to integrate with M1. If they don't exist...well, the company says they offer training, maybe you could talk to your boss about getting in on that.

Good luck, it sounds like an awesome opportunity.

*(I'm guessing, based on their support page, that that's probably the tool you'll be using to do this).

Actually, I printed of a data dictionary of the entire M1 MSDE database, and as well, printed off a 150-250 page manual.

It's very, very poorly written, and shows little beyond the drag and drop basics and some minor customization material.

There is a support forum however, and quick replies to questions my boss has posted in the past have been fairly frequent.

From reading their short description about the studio, it's probably pretty similar to working VB. Depending on how much freedom their tool gives, you may or may not have to write any db connect code or sql.

For SQL MSDN is usually pretty good at showing some examples to get you going. If you know your way around SQL already(select,update,delete, inner/outer joins) and are looking to expand your knowledge anything by Joe Celko<sp?> is good to have.