Re: Data Model
Date: 8 Apr 2006 19:32:02 -0700
Message-ID: <1144549922.783416.320390_at_i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>
> ... the model provided. Unfortunately it is too far from mainstream for my bosses to even consider.
.
You are correct that my method of creating a solution is too far from
mainstream for you to consider. And I didn't offer a schema that would
hold the data modelled by my script, first because my method doesn't
require the user to specify a schema; second because the schema
required for it in RM can become impractical and may require generic
modelling. You may need the expertise of a RMDB expert to create that
schema or to tell you that it is impractical.
Because the script I posted earlier was meaning less to you, I will now show how the data appears when viewed in the db's grid and tree views. The grid view below only shows instances of person. The tree view below, on the other hand, shows most of the relevant things. In order to properly view the below data, you will need to click "fixed font" near the top-right of web page. In essence, the tree nodes display sentences in subject-verb-object format. In order to describe the tree view below, I have adopted some conventions. Tree nodes representing subjects and objects are capitalized where as verbs are not. Also the object of the initial sentence becomes the subject of the subsequent sentence and so on. For example, the sentences "Building instance CourtHouse1" and "CourtHouse1 has Floor1" is displayed as the following sequence of nodes: Building, -instance-, CourtHouse1, -has-, Floor1, etc. Also a "+" symbol after a node indicates that it can be expanded to that shown else where in the tree. Thus the user (even a child) can easily navigate to all the details of various things no matter what tree path is taken, without anybody having to join tables (and there will eventually be many). All this is much easier to see, just by clicking around in the small db/exe which fits on a floppy.
Grid View of Person Instances:
Note, grid only shows first value of an attribute.
ID name phone# email staffMember
-- --------- -------- ------------- ----------- # judy 333-5555 j_at_aol.com clark # clark 737-5588 # ashley 737-5588 # colby colby_at_msn.com
# brandy 919-9945
# courtney 203-9898 c_at_gov.org
Tree View of Relevant Things:
Notice that the tree can show multiple values of an attribute. Notice
that a person can be located in a building, on a floor or in a room.
Ask the RMDB experts how they would achieve this in a normalized,
NULL-less manner.
Dir
|-item-
|-Building
| |-instance-
| |-CourtHouse1
| |-has-
| |-Floor1+
| |-Floor2+
| |-Courtney+
|
|-Floor
| |-instance-
| |-Floor1
| | |-has-
| | |-Room1+
| | |-Ashley+
| |
| |-Floor2
| |-has-
| |-Room1+
| |-Room2+
|
|-Room
| |-instance-
| |-Room1 (of Floor1)
| | |-has-
| | |-Clark+
| |
| |-Room1 (of Floor2)
| |
| |-Room2 (of Floor2)
| |-has-
| |-Judy+
|
|-Person
| |-instance-
| |-Judy
| | |-phone#-
| | | |-333-5555
| | | |-JDG-JUDY
| | |
| | |-email-
| | | |-J_at_aol.com
| | | |-Judy_at_law.com
| | |
| | |-staffMember-
| | |-Clark+
| | |-Ashley+
| | |-Colby+
| | |-Brandy+
| | |-Courtney+
| |
| |-Clark
| | |-phone#-
| | | |-737-5588
| | |
| | |-assistant-
| | |-Ashley+
| |
| |-Ashley
| | |-phone#-
| | |-737-5588
| |
| |-Colby
| | |-email-
| | |-colby_at_msn.com
| |
| |-Brandy
| | |-phone#-
| | |-919-9945
| |
| |-Courtney
| |-phone#-
| | |-203-9898
| |
| |-email-
| |-c_at_gov.org
|
|-Judge
| |-instance-
| |-Judy+
|
|-StaffMember
| |-instance-
| |-Clark+
| |-Ashley+
| |-Colby+
| |-Brandy+
| |-Courtney+
|
|-Clerk
| |-instance-
| |-Clark+
| |-Ashley+
|
|-Assistant
| |-instance-
| |-Ashley+
|
|-Coordinator
| |-instance-
| |-Colby+
|
|-Bailiff
| |-instance-
| |-Brandy+
|
|-CourtReporter
| |-instance-
| |-Courtney+
|
|-Phone#
| |-instance-
| |-333-5555
| |-JDG-JUDY
| |-737-5588
| |-919-9945
| |-203-9898
|
|-Email
|-instance-
|-j_at_aol.com
|-judy_at_law.com
|-colby_at_msn.com
|-c_at_gov.org
Received on Sun Apr 09 2006 - 04:32:02 CEST