Re: NEED HELP and GUIDANCE!

dahct_at_yahoo.com (new_GUY) wrote in message news:<c978d8cf.0406131603.34edddc9_at_posting.google.com>...
> I have a HUGE project (at least for me) and need some guidance.
>
> I am trying to create a database for a local university movie club
> that allows users to input there basic personal information (name,
> address, telephone number) as well as movies in there collection. The
> movies will be categorized by genre (comedy, romance, horror, etc.)
> and title. I want to be able to let the users add and remove movies
> to their list of movies they own, I'll call it "MOVIES I OWN".
>
> The user will also need to be able to create a SECOND list of movies
> they would like to see, again they can choose by genre and title.
> They need to also be able to add and remove from this list also, i'll
> call it "MOVIES I WANT TO SEE".
>
> The last part of the project will be to match the users of "movies i
> want to see" with "movies I own" users. It will be displayed on the
> local university website when the user logs in and will alert the user
> to the match. If there is a match at a later time, maybe the user can
> be emailed? Also if there is a match, perhaps the two movies can be
> taken off record after the user acknowledges the match. I would need
> it to be able to handle a small amount of users now logged in at the
> same time , but would like for it to eventually handle several hundred
> users logged on at the same time in the distant future with out
> performance problems.
>
> I am not sure if sql 2000 is the best to get this done or perhaps
> oracle. I am currently trying this on mySQL with PHP but currently am
> lost in a forest of data. Any guidance suggestions will be greatly
> appreciated. I am pretty new to this so please be kind...

From the information you've given, it sounds like the database platform is more or less irrelevant - if you're "lost in a forest of data", then you probably need to spend some time looking at your requirements and your data model. You might want to start by searching Google for existing data models for CD or movie collections, then look at extending them to allow for multiple users.

I wouldn't worry too much about the database - your application sounds like many other PHP/MySQL ones (web-based, low budget, few users, no critical data etc.). Unless you have some clear and compelling reason for moving to a different database, that's likely to be a distraction from addressing your key issues.

Simon Received on Mon Jun 14 2004 - 09:00:51 CEST