[Koha-devel] Issuing Rules

[Galen Charlton]

Hi,

On 2/18/08, Jesse <pianohacker at gmail.com> wrote:
> My little script (attached, along with a template for the default set)
> is actually a replacement for issuingrules.pl. Instead of having a
> massive table with two cells for every combination of itemtype and
> category code, there is now just one row for each rule; if you have a
> default rule, and rules for DVDs and Nonfiction, you will have three
> rows, with a cell each for Fine Amount, First Remind, Amount Loanable,
> etc. This is a rather large change, but it makes defining issuing
> rules much simpler.

I did a (very) quick port of this to 3.0 and took a look.  I like the
idea of removing the big matrix, particularly for libraries that have
lots of item types and/or patron categories.  I also like the fact
that it doesn't require the user to enter commas or remember what each
comma-delimited field means.  I think this approach will make it much
easier to add additional fields to the issuing rules and manage them
in the UI.

Some suggestions:

* Add the ability to limit one's view by item type or patron category.
* Either sort the item types and patron categories by the description
or include the code so that it is clear how the entries are being
sorted.
* Somehow make clear what the default issuing rule is for a given
branch, item type, and patron category combination if it's not
explicitly specified -- perhaps by allowing for wildcard entries.

I would be in favor of getting this into 3.0 or 3.x quickly, possibly
making it a parallel alternative to the existing issuingrules.pl for a
while.

Regards,

Galen
-- 
Galen Charlton
Koha Application Developer
LibLime
galen.charlton at liblime.com
p: 1-888-564-2457 x709