Updated Status of LCCA online eTrack
Updated Status of
eTrack
The delay in getting eTrack back online after the club moved
its website to a new server is truly disappointing. The club did prematurely announce
a successful reboot, only to later acknowledge that eTrack was not up and not
work. Unfortunately, eTrack is still off-line.
For more detailed information on the whys this happen, read
below. But SUMMARY – eTrack will be offline for some time and
when it does fully reemerge it will be better than ever with numerous little
bugs finally fixed. eTrack will be brought up in stages, not yet fully defined
but the first is expected to permit members to enter ads to be printed in the
next Interchange Track. Soon, search will be reestablished followed by many of both
expected and functions. The timeline for a fully functioning eTrack program has
not been established, but it is expected to be up and running by the next issue
of the Interchange Track. The club will continue to update members on progress
made.
The Why’s – eTrack was written 20 years ago in
a computer language no longer in use. Over time, a few desired features were turned
off for various technical reasons. The program was developed by an individual
who no longer does programming, but he does have the source code for the program.
A technical detail - To bring an existing program file to live on a website,
there is a necessary interconnect file called a DLL. The DLL on our former server
was compiled to machine language and is not useful in developing the DLL necessary
for our new server. That left us with 4 options –
1 – drop eTrack as a club benefit –(while an option, it was
never considered)
2 – Try and uncompiled the existing DLL and make it work
3 – Create a new DLL for the data base source code – leaving
the existing data base in old language with limited feature options.
4 – Write a new program in a current language, with a new
DLL and make sure all the features work and the program is updateable with new
features
Let me insert here, I had a very hard time accepting that
moving a program from one computer to another would first of all require any
significant rewrite and even more trouble wrapping my mind around why this DLL
file would be such a big issue. With a number of trusted sources coming to the
same conclusion and after better understanding the effort needed to essentially
rebuild or repair the DLL, I accepted that such an action would require a lot
of time (and therefore funds). It should be noted that even if the DLL was
correctly rewritten, it would be rendered useless as eTrack is to get fully rewritten
in an updated language for the totally new Website and would require a new, different
DLL. In other words, any funds spent on the DLL would be wasted in that a
rebuilt DLL would have to be replaced shortly.
Early LCCA members can remember a time before eTrack and
on-line access. LCCA was among the first to offer on-line member to member searches
and the first to offer online searches by SKU, a significant advantage over
searching for items by member number. The club goal is to again have a leap
forward in member to member trading, selling and buying.
Q&A –
Why did the LCCA move from a server
that was working? A. The company hosting
the server was going out of business and give us till March 31, 2022 to move the
website elsewhere or it would stop working.
Why did the website shut down for
two weeks recently? A. While early testing
suggested a quick transfer to the new server, unexpected problems surfaced including
a “missing” license from a company no longer in business, and software
permission issues with existing programs. It was hoped during this down time
that the simultaneous efforts with etrack would result in it going live.
Why can’t the LCCA get the uncompiled
DLL file and quickly write new code for the new server? A. the company programers responsible for
this file created 2 decades ago are no longer with the company – it is shutting
down. Any documentation that did exist either does not or the files cannot be
located.
Why not select the method that
gets eTrack up quickest – rewrite the source code? A. This was considered briefly, but once the timeline
and cost was defined to get the old process up and running only until the entire
eTrack program is rewritten in new language, it was decided not to purse that
approach. While there is an urgency by LCCA leadership to get eTrack up quickly
and service our members, the cost exceeded what was considered reasonable. The
decision was to just rewrite the program immediately as the first part of our web
rebuild, focus all energy on it and get it back working better than ever. LCCA
leadership understands both the real frustration of not having the system
running and of course the awkwardness of it being down, leadership
When will eTrack be back online? A. It
is anticipated that members will be able to enter ads in 7-8 weeks. Search
should be available 4 weeks after that. Full eTrack functionality expected by
August, well before the Interchange is next printed.
Why is member adding ads first to
go online? A. this is the first step to
getting the many databases up, running and properly communicating (remember eTrack
has multiple online data bases – SKU’s, Manufacturer, etc). To be of use,
member ads must be entered for sales to happen. And adding member ads is the
basis for the publishing of the Interchange Track.
Can eTrack be back online any
sooner? A. Hopefully, the LCCA has
committed to a new website, a significant undertaking. As our new website
company gets more familiar with the existing program, and to the goals and objectives
of the club, timing may improve. For reference, the entire upgrade process of
the entire site is June 2023.
How did the DLL, file transfer
and even the License issues become an issue?
A. Proper attention was made at time each step of the work was done. The
overall complexity of our site increased over time and patches were installed to
overcome software language changes. These were done by programers who were paid
to document their work, but this documentation, if it existed, cannot be found.
The prior company is out of the hosting and programing business. Over the last
6-8 months, serious steps were taken to document what could be done, to properly
back up all files and make the transition easier. These steps did prevent
further delays in timing but more importantly, preserved the accuracy of our
data base records,
What is the overall website
plan? A. the LCCA decided 6-8 months
ago to completely update its website, adding a fresh look but more importantly,
updated functionality and additional member benefits, to improve transactions, better
organize and present info, in short to take advantage of all new software and
website development offer. The driver for this happening now with some activities
limited with covid, and concern about our vendor, this was a good time. During
the last few months, a new vendor was found and vetted, and plans and contracts
signed for a new site. In January, we received notice of the need to move
servers, and all attention was focused on this move. Starting in February, the
new vendor initiated the first steps in the transfer and after a rough start,
the site went live in late March. Fortunately the head start made the move possible
and eliminated even more delays. The website will be given a new look and feel,
be easier to navigate, offer more options for the club and ease transactions. The
existing site is still a strong site, does its job (obviously excluding the current
eTrack issue), and can last for a long time. Leadership feels that the investment
in the new site will pay off in many ways, and while costly will eventually
make things easier for members and our business office who is responsible to act
on club transactions. Response time will increase, the site can take on many of
the new features not available in our existing site and of course, have the necessary
formats for smart phone and tablet use.