RE: arsclist Cataloging

["Copeland, Peter" <Peter.Copeland@xxxxx>]

Dear All,
    I'm afraid the question of which software to use depends very much upon
what kind of person *you* are. Personally, I still use dBaseII (version
2.41) for the following reason. It came with a simple programming language,
which makes it possible to *export* the data in any way you like, including
ASCII .TXT files, which (in my experience) most things can read. And, if
people preserved their original floppydiscs (as in my case), the program
could be migrated onto any new computer which can handle 8-bit software.
(This rules out Microsoft XP, due to Bill Gates' apparent penchant for
deliberate obsolescence. What is the point of 32-bit capability anyway?).
    Personally, I have written software for printing my catalogue using a
short form (when listing the titles on an album), in long form (when listing
a complete album and printing details like matrix numbers, notes about the
item, recording dates (translated from numeric into English, etc)), and in
tabular form (for broadcasts, where it is important to see the stuff in
chronological order of first transmission, and either a "subtitle" or a
made-up "subtitle" to identify the programme unambiguously). In the
short-form case, dBase copies all the details into the next record (using
the word in its computer sense). So usually, one only needs to overwrite the
title and the composer(s), when an album takes only a few minutes more than
a "single".
    It is possible to sort or index upon any field or group of fields, or
upon characters within a field. The structure of my database includes
characters representing (for example) Western Art Music composers, solo
instruments, sound-effects, mono/stereo/quadraphonic, media format, etc. The
only restrictions are (1) that a field is limited to 254 characters, so a
complete plot summary of a film is out of the question; (2) one database
cannot exceed 65536 records; and (3) the data is ASCII, so it loses the
diacriticals as Don Cox mentioned.
    Furthermore, it seems infinitely flexible for searching, using a command
line such as :
loca for "Goon Show"$title .and. "1957"$recorded <CR>
At present, this kind of command-line does not seem to be provided on
software for the public to use, because users aren't accustomed to logical
expressions (such as .and. .or. .not., etc).
    Yes, I am a "nerd"; and programmable databases are hated by IT
professionals because of the risk of viruses and other damage. But the point
of this posting is that one should closely examine *what kind of person you
are*, back up the data on another computer (for which dBaseII won't be
necessary), and do regular sorted printed catalogues of various forms.
    I was *given* a version of dBase called dBaseIII, but I've never needed
to use it. But I suggest anyone used to reproducing obsolete audio-visual
formats might like to buy a second-hand legal version of dBaseII - and its
instruction-book!
Peter Copeland

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Cox [mailto:doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: 15 December 2002 12:31
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: arsclist Cataloging

On 14/12/02, Mwcpc6@xxxxxxx wrote:

> It is remarkable that anyone connected with modern computers and
> computer science would mention using ASCII text files for anything.
> The mere thought of putting down a string of characters without a kb
> of formatting information must be appalling. The fact that anyone,
> anytime (even an alien with six fingers would still use binary
> numbers) could interpret it with just the ASCII code list.

Your irony is appreciated. Actually, Linux uses ASCII files extensively.

Plain ASCII cannot handle accented characters, which is a limitation for
music cataloguing. It's a pity Unicode was not around earlier in the
development of computers.

The advantages of a database stored as a plain ASCII text file are 
obvious - simple, robust, and easily edited without deep knowledge of
computers.

The advantage of a properly set up database management system is that
you can ask for combinations such as "All recordings of Beethoven
symphonies conducted by Klemperer not with the Philharmonia". But
setting up and maintaining such a database needs a lot of well informed
planning, and the data entry must be done by expert staff, otherwise the
whole thing is worse than useless.

The technology of setting up an SQL database with a web page as a front
end is well known. It's the planning, design and construction of the
database that is a mammoth effort. 

It could well be that not enough users would benefit to make the effort
worth while. In which case, ASCII files would do fine.

Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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