Counter App - Design Discussion

[wiscoDude]

We decided in the last meeting that our first app will be a counter app.

At it's most basic, I'm thinking two objects:

User
  id (all rails tables have id column by default)
  phone_number

Thing
  id
  user_id
  datetime
  name
  quantity


User joins by sending a text to the phone number.

User adds things by text:  thing quantity
Examples: 
pushups 20
hours writing 1
wine 1


Next releases could have:
Metrics of averages per day/week/month/year
Totals to date
User password for signin to web app
SMS command to get metrics (basically just text the name of the thing to get stats)
Web app for editing mistakes, viewing data, update settings

Please feel free to edit/destroy/add to these thoughts.
   

[Mark McEahern]

One thing nice about this design is that there's nothing left to take away.

;-)

// m

[Lucas]

I think the MVP needs some retrievable data, at least the totals to
date, even if it's just texting "total" to get the running total
returned.

[philip crawford]

I'm down with a GET (or two)

texting just the name of the thing could get some metrics.  total avg/day avg/week avg/month

--
imby - in my back yard
An Experiment in Hyper-Local Professional Networking
http://madison.imby.info/p/Philip.Crawford

[Mark McEahern]

That usage conflicts with this usage:

drink --> means 1 drink

or:

run --> means I started running now

I suggest metrics GET be explicit:

pushups total

or:

pushups totals

or some other EXPLICIT word.

etc.

// m

[Bradley Grzesiak]

Why are we following the "<thing> <number>" pattern? Isn't "<number> <thing>" more English-y?

That is, "10 pushups" over "pushups 10"

Brevity disclaimer: Sent from my iPhone
---
bradley grzesiak
co-founder, bendyworks llc
http://bendyworks.com

[philip crawford]

Agreed with Brad that number thing is a more english-y pattern.

And also agree with mark that we can have a reserved word used for stats.  Or, we could do something like thing:stats and have the colon be reserved. 

[Greg Tracy]

blew the dust off the old spec.... hopefully you got an email with a link to it. 

i might be running around a bit this afternoon so i can't make the usual beer run.

if you get stuck outside send me an sms, dm, or gchat. and remind me to give you my mobile number if you don't have it.

cheers.

greg

[Lucas Dailey]

I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I think I'll miss out on tonight. Keep me posted for the next meeting and if there is any work to pass off on me, send it!

Lucas

[Pete Johnson]

As is possibly evident, I am not at the meeting. Hopefully, I can make the next one.