Permaculture Database

[Bear Kaufmann <bear@ursine-design.com>]

Hi all,

I've been rather busy, so haven't had much time to post, but I'll chime 
in for a quick minute here.
The discussions on the pcplantdb list moved towards a vision of a 
wiki-based system which I think has merit.
So, I'm excited to see what Richard Morris has done with the 
PFAF/MediaWiki combo.
Complex syntax is an issue to be resolved, but the basic idea, with XML 
export and MySQL storage of attributes is quite cool.
The attribute table R.M said MediaWiki can store would be amenable to a 
browsing system like what I developed here:
http://piw.openpermaculture.org
If you haven't seen it before, the initial page shows the attributes of 
the entire 7,300 plant 'set'. Clicking a link narrows the set to plants 
with the attribute, continually refining the set unless you remove a term.
Note that this is a beta version/proof of concept, the UI could be 
vastly improved by thinking over the user search modes, customizing the 
layout for different search methods, and finding ways to reduce the 
info. overload.
Developing input/output info and matching algorithms between 
plants/objects is another vital step.

Cheers,
Bear