Searchable database...

[cloudwoven]

Hey there -

I'm looking for something that will let me create a searchable database on my domain; it was suggested that I try this forum. :) Specifically, I'm looking for one that will go on a radio station site, where I can enter all of the CD's and albums in the station, and visitors can search the catalog.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :}

[fractalvibes]

Well, any database is certainly searchable! You just have to provide the code, whether PHP or whatever to execute some SQL
to do that search according to their search criteria. PHP/MySQL
is one solution that works well.

I assume that is what your site is running on?

Phil J.

[Dylan Leblanc]

Do you want to make the system yourself? or hire someone to do it for you. Either way you will need to analyse your needs, although it sounds like you have already started.

[cloudwoven]

Ack!

Okay, so this is me, little unassuming, simple web and graphic designer. lol. I use small amounts of PHP, and I know that my host supports both PHP and MySQL. Other than that, I wouldn't know those two things if I tripped over them.

I do know that this online CD catalog is important to the members of my work group. I guess I don't have the necessary basic understanding of my options..?

If you guys could help, that would be wonderful. :}

[Kiwi]

OK. I'll assume that you've got a general idea of the project -- what the end product will look like. So that's a good starting point. PHP/mySql will be able to handle a project this size easily, so you don't need to worry about limitations of the software.

From there, the first thing you need to do is to work out, in some detail, what you want people to be able to do. This means asking things like:
What sort of things can they look for?
How can they search for it?
Do you want additional information (reviews, comments etc)?
Do you need to know who's looking ta your database at all times/at any time?
Do you want links to other sites?
Do you want user's to add comments?

All of this should be put together into a first hit of a spcification for the project. This will start to tell you what sort of data you need to keep and how it needs to be assessed. Given that your ideas seem a little general at present, making the design flexible would be a very good idea.

This specification can be bounced around a little, making sure you've included everything. This should tighten up the user specs -- what the system needs to do. This becomes the final goals of the project.

When you have that, you can start looking into how to do it. That should start with a basic idea of information flows, which will highlight key functionality that the system needs to be able to do. This will end up giving you a data specification and a application specification. A data specification tells you what data needs to be stored and a starting idea for how it needs to be organised. An application specification tells you what the application needs to be able to do.

These two technical specifications need to be beat around a little, until you are comfident that they're adequate.

Then you might be ready to start thinking about code.

Admittedly, this is a more sophisticated process than most small/medium sites tend to use. Of course, it also prevents most of the problems that I've seen with small medium sites (fails to do what it was meant to; becomes too complex to develop, as new functionality is added -- all the usual problems).

[Spookster]

Or if you don't feel comfortable trying to write it yourself then you can try out some ready made ones:

http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Music_Libraries/

[cloudwoven]

I would've had no idea how to write my own, so I appreciate that link.

Thanks for all the help, everyone. :)

[Kiwi]

I would still recommend doing a decent analysis before you go hunting through hot-scripts (or anywhere similar). It's a great resource, and definately a good place to look. But until you know what you want, you won't know if you've found it or not.