Internal Guest Check Processing

The following description provides information on the internal GC processing and important notes on how to proceed when unlocking locked GCs.

Note:
Please read this description carefully and use the function Unlock GC in the update program GC Head only after you have understood everything. The internal GC processing seems to be complicated, but it is necessary for making the GC booking in the OFFLINE mode possible.

Opening a new Guest Check

When the table number of a guest check is entered at a terminal, the first action is asking if this GC is known to the local client database. If this is not the case, the server database will be queried if any other terminal is currently processing this guest check.

If this GC is neither known to the local nor to the server database, a new GC with the input number will be opened for the current terminal.

The newly opened GC will be stored in the local client database, and a copy of the open GC will be stored in the server database in addition.

Selection of an already opened Guest Check

After the GC number has been entered at a terminal, the first action is querying the local client database if this GC is known. If this is the case, the already opened GC will be opened again and is therefore available to this terminal for further booking transactions.

If this GC is not known to the local database, there will be a query to the server database.

In the server database, there is a copy of the GC of the terminal at which this GC has been worked on last.

If the GC is not being processed at the time of the query by another terminal, a copy will be sent to the relevant client database. The GC will thus be locked to all other terminals for the processing time.

If the GC is being processed at the time of the query by another terminal, the querying terminal will be sent an appropriate message, and the GC cannot be re-opened at this point in time.

Unlock GC

If a system unit has a defect the connected terminals cannot release the currently processed GCs for other terminals.

For this case, there is the option to unlock the locked GCs of this client to make them accessible for being processed by other clients.

GCs may only be unlocked if the system unit has an irrevocable defect and cannot be used for a long time. Do not use the function Unlock GC for any reason if the clients of this system unit are only temporarily offline.

AFTER AN “UNLOCK GC” HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT, DEFINITELY ALL CLIENT DATABASES OF WHICH GCs HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED HAVE TO BE LOADED AGAIN.

Do not use the function Unlock GC if the clients are offline or will be online within a short time period.

An Example for the wrong use of Unlock GC

  1. At terminal 4, the GC number 15 is in process. The 4 booked positions make a current balance of 15,-EUR.
  2. Terminal 4 turns offline due to an error.
  3. Terminal 1 wants to open table 15 and sends a query to the local client database.
  4. Table 15 is not known to the client database of terminal 1; a query is sent to the sever database.
  5. The server database informs terminal 1 that table 15 is being processed by terminal 4.
  6. Terminal 1 tries to send a query to terminal 4. The query, however, is rejected with the message “GC locked” because terminal 4 is offline.

ERROR!!! In the rush, the GCs at terminal 4 are unlocked.

ERROR!!! The client database for terminal 4 is not loaded again.

After unlocking the GCs, everything seems alright.

  1. Terminal 1 wants to open table 15 and sends a query to the local client database.
  2. Table 15 is not known to the client database of terminal 1, a query is sent to the server database.
  3. The server database informs the terminal 1 that the table 15 is not being processed by any terminal (because the GC has been unlocked) and copies the table 15 to terminal 1.
  4. Table 15 is accounted at terminal 1; everything seems alright.

Later on, terminal 4 turns online again.

  1. Terminal 4 wants to open table 15 and sends a query to its client.
  2. Table 15 is known to the client database of terminal 4 since table 15 had been assigned to terminal 4 previous to the carrying-out of the “Unlock GC” function.
  3. Table 15 can thus be opened again and is available for all GC booking transactions.
  4. At terminal 4, the table 15 is being accounted now.

Due to this wrong procedure of unlocking GCs, the price for the items of table 15 has been accounted twice. In this case, the difference between the money and the items can never be determined again.

For this reason, make definitely sure that the correct order of the necessary steps is adhered to when unlocking GCs.

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