Kinda Urgent (to me, anyway) -> Javascript, postgres and checkboxes... Last big hurdle

[Madison Kelly]

Hi TLUG,

   I hope I don't sound or seem like I am asking you guys to write my 
program (I ask so many questions!). I am nearing the end though and this 
is my last big hurdle (I hope). The rest of the program I am pretty sure 
I know what to do.

   To reassure people that their help isn't for my benefit only; it 
looks like my boss will let me release this program initially under a 
split license where it will be free to home users and NFPs/NGOs and for 
a fee to commercial users until he recovers his costs in developing it 
then the program will be fully GPL'ed. A little more background so that 
what I am trying to do might be a bit clearer:

   The program "TLE-BU" (The Linux Experience - BackUp) is a backup 
program with a web-based front-end written in Perl and using a 
PostgresSQL database. The goal was to require no applets on the client 
computer nor be system-specific. It uses any partition that can be 
assigned a UUID, anything beyond that is transparent to the program (ie 
what filesystem, how it is physically connected and so forth). 
Specifically it has been designed with external USB2/Firewire hard 
drives in mind. Each partition that the program sees is recorded to the 
database (along with it's particulars). Then the user assigns a given 
partition as a source or a destination.

   Once a partition is assigned (lets say for now as a source) it's 
contents are recorded into the database as well. This is the step I was 
asking for performance help with, by the way. Once the contents are 
recorded (or previous entries for the partition updated) the contents 
are displayed in a framed window; summary at the top, directories on the 
left and files on the right. So far I record the display state of each 
directory using a 'file_display boolean' entry in the database. When the 
perl script goes to display the directory list it starts by looking for 
all directories which match the working UUID and whose parent is '/'. As 
it prints each directory it checks to see how many (if any at all) 
subdirectories exist for that directory and that have their display 
boolean set to true. If it finds one or more it displays it/them and 
performs the same checks recursively until eventually it falls back to 
where it left off and continues displaying the rest of the directories 
under '/'.

   The files in '/' are displayed initially. If the user clicks on a 
partition name the file frame is reloaded to show the contents of that 
directory which are found by querying the database for all files one the 
working partition's UUID and who have the parent directory passed when 
the directory name was clicked.

   Now my problem:

   Along side each directory and file is a checkbox that I have yet to 
make work and have been struggling with for the last two days. The idea 
is that when a checkbox for a directory is checked that automatically 
all sub directories and files will automatically become selected. Then 
(either at that moment or when the user clicks an "Update" button) the 
files that have been selected need to have their 'file_backup boolean' 
set to true so that when the backup is run on that given partition it 
will grab any directory or file which has been set to 'true' (plus any 
new files that have since been created that exist in a directory which 
has been selected). I need the reverse to occur, too. When a user 
unchecks a file or directory that file or that directory and all of it's 
subdirectories and folders need to be have their 'file_backup boolean' 
set to false.

   My reason for asking for such fundamental help is that I need to 
present a beta of this program on Wednesday... I have had to learn perl 
and postgres to get this far and I am simply not able (time wise or 
brain-power wise) to learn javascript with so little time left on my own.

   So if anyone out there with Javascript experience would be 
able/willing to help it would be a great favour to me!! I don't want the 
whole thing written for me, obviously. I just need a sample or a push in 
the right direction. I have never used Javascript before so I am really 
at square one here. Thanks in advance to -anyone- who can help!!

Madison

PS - When this is done I would love to announce it here for peer review. 
Would that be acceptable use of the list?
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