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  • From: "John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>
  • To: pcplantdb@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [pcplantdb] Re: milestones
  • Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 15:31:51 -1000 (HST)

Aloha,

> I think we had milestone 1.
> Database with straightforward interface, allowing addition and
> editing of info.
>
> Don't know if this can be broken down further as it is a very big
> milestone.

Using zcatalog/ZODB/zope python product this is actually not a big deal.
*Not* in design of what we want in the DB, but in implementation once we
have our initial design draft to work with.
I am more or less a newbie at python products in zope and yet I have two
small python products I have already created that are essentially object
DBs.
Clients enter data via web form, submit the form and the objects are
automatically created and cataloged (and can be edited via web form).
Searching is just a matter of a zcatalog query (built-in function) and a
presentation template and/or script for displaying the results.
This could also return an XML result (once we have defined what that will
be like) or whatever the heck we custom-code it to return.

> 1a) Working database (with no real data) with php connection and simple
> frontend
> (Basically just checking that the different bits can work together
> ok.)

This is more or less what I mean above (except for the php) - it's already
integrated.

> 1b) issue tracker working, cvs working

I would want the issue tracker ASAP, since it's part of our development
infrastructure, and I would think the CVS too.

> 1c) Sample plant info added to database, simple query (maybe just query
> by Latin name) and simple plant report.

Yep, and I would want to query by just about anything other than Latin name.
One of my frustrations with any existing database is that they mostly lean
so heavily on latin names, about which I know jack and about which I don't
really care or need to learn jack. I want to search on inputs, outputs,
functions, characterstics, climate and soil preferences, sun/shade
preferences, anything but friggin' latin name!
End of rant... :-)

> 1d) Facility to append info to plant, and add a new plant.

Append will be based in how we design the plant objects. Add new is
pretty trivial once we have a basic plant object design worked out.

> 1e) goback to rethink/evaluate 1c)/1d) come up with some sort of
> DB-schema.

Using an object DB, the RDBMS schema stuff doesn't exactly apply (what a
blessing IMO).
What we will have is some reflections what we need to add and/or change in
the design of our plant objects so that we can use them to do all the cool
stuff we want to do with them.

> 1h) testing testing testing done!

Testing weaves in through all the above. A bunch of testing last is why so
much mediocre and just plain crappy software ends up making it to market.
We do have the advantage of not being marketing-driven, where it's "too
late" by the marketing schedule to fix all those bugs that would have
never made it through good QA/testing OR a chance to go 'round a few more
times - so the product ships anyway...
We do have that chance to go 'round a few more times, but it's still much
easier (cheaper as well, since we do have some money) to test early and
often.


John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
------------------------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Whole Systems Design Services
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net






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