Locations: Introduction

Computer systems involved with scheduling activities (Meetings, Games, Matches, Classes, etc.) require the identification of a specific geographic place so that all participants know precisely where the activity is. In a RidgeStar Operations Site, we call this "place", a Location.

Distinctly identifying a specific Location (name, address, city, etc.) is easily implemented within individual Site databases and is quite typically customized to the individual Site's needs. As an example, most Soccer based sites utilize a "Field" to schedule a Match between two Teams. However, whenever multiple Sites are required or would like to share information about scheduled activities, good design requires that we find some way to establish a common identity for common Locations or geographic addresses.

Definitions

The RidgeStar based "Locations" segment is intended to provide a site independent mechanism to describe commonly used Locations in such a manner that they can be universally referenced across Sites. A couple of definitions are appropriate:

Location

A geographic place with a street address that contains one or more Fields, meeting or conference Rooms, or another geographic area of interest. All Locations can be correctly mapped by the commonly available Internet mapping mechanisms such as Google Maps, which is used within the RidgeStar Locations mechanism.

Facility

A defined physical area at a Location where a scheduled activity takes place. A Facility can be a Field (where two Teams compete with each other in a scheduled competition), or a Room (where two or more people may gather to share information), etc. Whenever we say Facility, you should consider this the same as referencing a Field, a Room, or any other physical area at a defined Location.

Using the Mechanism

If you're attempting to establish if a Location is already defined, click to Locations, enter the information you know to be true about the Location (City, etc.), and click Show.

If the Location is not there or the specific Facility (Field, Room, etc.) is not defined, click to Locations: New Location or Locations: New Facility, as appropriate. Complete the Form, as directed, and click Update to add the entry to the database. The Locations mechanism will apply multiple verifications that you have entered an appropriate combination before accepting the definitions, so make sure no Error messages appear.

Questions??

Additional, detailed information about making use of the RidgeStar Facilities mechanism is described at Locations: FAQ.

If you have questions or concerns that are not addressed in the FAQ, please send email to Webmaster@RidgeStar.com and we'll see if we can assist you.

Remember, the Locations mechanism offers a centralized co-ordination point for those organizations that choose to utilize it to assist in their efforts to communicate effectively with other organizations. RidgeStar does coordinate this effort on behalf of its clients and reserves the right to make decisions about what should and what should not be placed into the Locations database.