> > Hello All,
> >
> > I am new to database development. I am working on a pre-existing database application in VFP generates invoices for various templates and then print them. Once you click on the issue button, invoices get generated for the specified templates and then they are automatically printed out. What is happening is that when you issue the invoices...process gets slow and it takes time for the invoices to get printed out. I was thinking of creating another service that only prints the invoices. What should happen is that when i issue the invoices, they should automatically send to another application which just print these invoices. So, i can perform another job in the pre-existing VFP application instead of waiting for the whole process to complete. It slows down the performance.
> >
> > What is the best and most efficient way of doing that? I really need help on this one since I am very new to programming. The sort of service i need...it should be like when i start the database application..the service runs in the background without slowing down the database and all it does print the jobs that are automatically send to it once the invoices are issued...
> >
> > Waiting early for your response..
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Newbie Database Developer
>
>
> Evening from Canada
> I suppose one approach could be to have a seperate machine setup as a print server, Windows 2003 OS.
> Your workstation would still eat up its CPU to prepare the invoices, but then once the print
> job is submitted to the print server your workstation now no longer handles the printing load
> the print server does the printing. There of course are costs associated with this; another machine
> and a Windows Server 2003 server license costing around $875.00 Canadian.
> In the case of running a background print job on the same computer you can monkey around with writing
> a seperate self contained exe to process the invoices and print them and then fiddle around with forground
> and background CPU settings, but the real solution is to use a secondary print server.
> By the way you can change the priority given to anything running by opening up the Task Manager,
> right click on the item running and you will see a Priority Option. Here you can change the priority
> given to the running service or process.
> Pete "the IceMan", from the Great White North of Canada.


Thanks Pete for your reply. Barbara gave me the following suggestion and this is what my colleague expecting me to do.

"What you want is called asynchronous processing. The way you do this is by loading the invoices to be printed into a table with a status that indicates they are pending. Then your second service periodcially checks this table to find items that are pending and processes the ones found."

how do i go about doing that? Can you help me out with this one. I never worked with VFP before and I am really lost.

Thanks again,
Newbie Database Developer