Re: [ARSCLIST] was Columbia Harmonies now PARIKIAN

[Don Cox <doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 09/04/07, Steven C. Barr(x) wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Eric Goldberg" <ericgoldie@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> That is why I started a data base in 1999 and have almost completely
>> entered my instrumental classical records. I need to start with my
>> CDs because that collection is getting too big for my aging memory. I
>> have also done a data base of my opera recordings and I have almost
>> finished the Italian operas, but have hardly scratched the surface,
>> if you will excuse the expression, of my French, German, English,
>> Russian, Czech or Spanish language operas.......and then there is my
>> jazz collection and vocalists and.........................oy, do i
>> have my work cut out for me.
>> 
> Well...I own about 50,000 78rpm discs (give or take)...which is a bit
> more than 1.5% of all 78's ever released in North America. I have two
> separate databases...an old dBASE III+ file, entered 1989-91. and a
> more current MS Access 97 3-level relational database. Both contain
> about 1,000 discs each (1 kilo78?)...and further entries are going
> very slowly, thanks to a serious head injury that robbed my of my
> "fine motor dexterity!"
> 
> Of course, what I would like to see happen is that all of our catalog
> databases can be combined (a challenging task, given the format
> variety!) and eventually produce an "Ultimate database of analog
> recordings!"

Most database programs can export a CSV file, so the problem is to
devise a script that can sort out the fields. 

Given, say, ten CSV files, it should be fairly easy to inspect them
(they are ASCII text), to see what the fields are in each. Then you can
make a list of all the fields that are used in any of the databases. The
script will then rearrange each line of the file so that they match.

If the author of the database is still around, he can help by providing
a list of the fields. But it should be pretty obvious which is the
matrix number and which is the singer.

> 
> The next step, of course, would be a "complete set" of digital sound
> files (legal in most countries other than the USA!!) matching this
> complete database.
> 
> Keep in mind that 1TB (one terabyte, or 2^40 bytes) hard drives are
> already commercially available...which makes the "Every 78 ever
> recorded...Lithuanian language records!...all part of our fabulous
> offer...!" theoretically possible...!
> 

Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx