pcplantdb

[John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>]

Aloha,

--- Richard Morris <webmaster@pfaf.org> wrote:
> After a bit of reflection on the discussions so far and the 
> unresolved sticking points I got to thinking that maybe we do not
> want 
> a database we want a meta database. This would feature
> tables from various sources which may contain duplicate info.

To me your 'meta-database' is the DB engine, and the chunks of data
that individuals would work on are the relevant (to them) data sets
managed by the engine.  Ideally the engine needs to know about all the
proposed tables/data fields so a consistent UI can be implemented.

If people are going to be able to define their own tables 'at will,'
there will need to be standardized tables (implemented by everyone
interested in sharing their data) to describe the 'custom' tables they
have defined.  This will be necessary to populate search option lists
and the like in a user interface.

There will also have to be some standards for 'custom' tables or a
consistent and complete user interface will be impossible to implement.


=====
John Schinnerer, MA
--------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
Food - Shelter - Community
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net

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