pcplantdb

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Hei,

More on the search stuff, uses, input-output concept.

If I do a 'simple' search on 'timber', I get 500+ results.

A 'simple' search on 'fodder' gives me 151 results.

So whatever is being searched in advanced search - Plant Uses (which
returned zero results for both the above) is not at all the same as what
is being searched in a 'simple' search.

What I expect is for these to return the same result sets, if we are being
PC-centric about plant functionality and targeting PC concepts and
applications in our DB design and searches.
Timber and fodder are clearly 'outputs', which I think is much clearer
than 'uses' from a PC perspective.
So IMO is tonic. E.g.:
Plant X produces timber.
Plant Y produces fodder.
Plant Q produces tonic.

Any of the above outputs may involve futher processing of some part of the
plant to get the 'final' output.  That may be as simple as cutting and
debarking a building pole (timber) or as complicated as making a multiple
step infusion or decoction or whatever (tonic). These would be additional
details accessible in some way(s) from the result item, if not directly
part of the result item.

These are very simple examples; obviously we will want more sophistication
such as termite-resistant timber, goat fodder, spring digestive tonic,
etc.

Haven't got bandwidth right now to give input examples but hope you get
the idea where I'm coming from with this.

Also still curious about search result content.
None of the top items for simple search on timber or fodder contained info
about timber or fodder uses of the items returned (as with advanced search
results on tonic).

If I go to the full plant info I can usually find it somewhere in there,
but it can take a lot of slogging through individual plant records
'manually' (scroll, scroll, go back, try the next result item, scroll,
scroll...).

I want PIW to *eliminate* this kind of slogging, by providing the *type*
of information the search targets (for advanced) or hits on (for simple)
up front, instead of returning the same generic summary regardless.
This would seem to be a very valuable and fundamental and also very
'gee-whiz' thing to do.

So if I do a search on 'timber' I get the timber-relevant info for search
result items in the results page content, or at least a summary of or
direct link to that part of the plant info.
Likewise for tonic, fodder, etc.

At present I get the same generic summary regardless, and the only link is
to the complete record, which I then have to slog through to try and find
what I already asked for in the first place.

cheers,
John S.

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