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| About the FOSSL Vending System |
======================
Updated : 9/10/2008
By: Ilobmirt Tenk
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Licensing
=========
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
========
Overview
========
The Fossl Vending system is an Open Source creation of Ilobmirt Tenk
released under the LGPL license for use in business and education.
The goals of this vending system come threefold...
1) To add value to the products and services sold by the merchant
by services offered by the vending system
- The modularity of the vending system allows for added features
and services that a merchant might want or need
2) To provide an extra outlet of content creation
- LGPL licensing and an open communications protocol can allow
for both proprietary and open source modules to interact with
the vending system safeley on a legal level.
- The code and documentation shall continuously be under revision
to allow for enough detail to facilitate learning and inspire development
3) To enrich the lives of the community as a whole
- FOSSL Vendor could be a starting point for education in large in-world
projects involving the Linden Scripting Language
- A group has been created to share the thoughts and ideas of others.
whether they be veteran scripters or simply people with big ideas
- The vending system is a gift to the world. Those that put the effort to
make it happen wish for you to make what you can of it and enjoy the
fruits of their labor.
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Current Features
================
FOSSL Vendor is capable of the following...
* Selling a Displayed object in-world
* Can operate as a Standalone unit or Network through an in-world server
* Notecard configured (Source code editing no longer necessary)
* Multi Panels (Vendor can display more than one product at a time)
* Buffered memory (Vendor will not run out of memory no matter how many products are being sold)
* Multi Category vending
* Controllable via, verbal commands
a) count
b) debug
c) reset
d) id
e) online
f) offline
g) memory
* Communication between vendor and server can be encrypted with a symmetric key
* Profit splitting Possible
* Catalog Vending Possible
* A different info card can be given out per product
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Wish List
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* More memory efficient client vendor script
* Faster display update process
* Include a mechanism for in-world network vending fault tolerance in the event server uuid is lost
* Package Management system for vendor component updates
=========
Upgrade Data
=========
The Following has changed since this project's conception...
v1.8 -
+ Patched broken e-mail retrieval system in FOSSLVendorMainClient
due to SL Server upgrade
v1.6 -
+ Added Concept for versioning
* Major vendor functionality and communications protocol
changes deserve its own version number
* Any changes to a module that retains compatibility with
all other modules means that it gets a subversion based
upon the date and time the changes were made
* Format goes like this...
v(Version).(Month).(Day).(Hour).(Minute)
* Its should be safe to use a module with the same version
as the other modules. Reguardless of subversion
+ Enhanced FOSSLVendorBuy module
* Added Split functionality between any number of people
* Split type could be either as a percent, L$, or US$
* L$0 priced items can be purchased with a click instead of
using a money event
+ Updated FOSSLVendorMainClient Module
* Fixed Symetric encryption algorythm
* Added email notifications of purchases
* Added a more granular info card per product functionality
allowing a different info notecard to be delivered based on
suffix
+ Updated FOSSLVendorMainServer Module
* Fixed Symetric encryption algorythm
* Added email notifications of product deliveries
* Set default of "Annon Access" to true. An email
owner identification system that is completey in-word
can't be created as of this time.
v1.0
+ System completeley re-written from scratch
+ Completey in-world networking possible through
server key
+ Notecard configurable
- Lost giftcard and web based database funtionality
v0.5
+ First Incarnation of the FOSSL Vending System
+ Giftard system
+ Sales tracking via webserver
=========
Frequently Asked Questions
=========
Q) How do categories and subcategories really work?
A) The Category and Subcategory system is based upon
index numbers starting from zero. When listing your products,
use the left number as the category and the right number as
the subcategory.
Q) Why are the (sub) categories numbers, not words?
A) When the vending machine is moving around various indexes,
it is much simpler and less time consuming for the vending machine to add and
subtract index positions than to determine the category or subcategory that
comes next. For example, hows the vendor supposed to know that cars come
after clothes and before that came houses? While doable, it would require
a more complex indexing system
Q) Can the FOSSL Vending system do ______?
A) It can do anything that is listed within official documentation.
If a feature isn't listed, its not currently supported within the official
build of the vending system. However there are perhaps third parties
whom have developed addons to this vending system that supports
such funcitonality. If you are a scripter and understand the vending system's
open communications protocol, it should be simple to design an addon to
facilitate this functionality.
Q) Can I sell this vending system along with my own stuff?
A) Under the open source licence that this code is licenced under, it is
acceptable to sell this code granted the source code can be accessible in
some shape or form. If you are publishing changes made to this source code
you still can sell it granted it follows the same licence as well
Q) Can you help me with the vending system you made?
A) Perhaps. It depends if I have the time and in the mood to help others.
(which I usually am). You could consider joining the FOSSL Vendor community
to discuss the issues with peers. There is also a paid support option for those
businesses who want "official" support for the vending system.
Q) Nothing from the above describes my dillema. What now?
A) I'll keep an ear pealed to anything worthwhile to add to the faq.
Just ask, and I might answer and add this to any future documentation.


Configurable Variables (FOSSL_BUY_SETTINGS)

so Disregard the CopyBot thing altogether...