database

[Tim reid]

On 4/25/05, Jim Herrmann <kclug at itdepends.com> wrote:
> Tim,
> It sounds like you are wanting to do a fairly simple database structure,
> which is a good way to get started.  When you say "open database
> format", I assume that you are talking about a target platform of a
> relational database, something like MySQL or Postgres. 
I think so.  I would like to do something on an F/OSS database
platform, maybe something that I could serve on a local LAN (but it is
not required)  I would also like to be able to do this with software
that is free as in beer. I would also like to keep it in a fairly open
format (can you DB in XML?)
> 
> The first thing you need to do is create a logical model.  When doing a
> logical model use English business names, and not programming

OK, I work with cell phones.  I would like to create a DB that I could
record repair transactions in.  I would like to create a DB that I
could search for the PTN(phone number), IMEI, SIM, Account # and
Account name.  I would also like to have a field (say 50-100 char
long) that I could write in a discription about the transaction

> Once you have this, you can create an Entity-Relationship (ER) diagram.
>  Now, if you find
> an attribute occurs multiple times in an entity, then you should
> "normalize" those attributes into another entity or entities. 
Well, each phone is going to have a PTN, IMEI, SIM that is uniqe to
that phone.  But I guess that the PTN could be the top level
attribute, and everything else (IMEI, SIM, Acct.#, Acct name) could be
related to it.  I would also like to have some sort of widget that
would search the DB from last month and let me know if I have filed
for compensation on the repair, or if the repair has been paid for at
the time of the transaction.  If it is a repair that I can file
on...or one that I would have to file multiple times to get fully
compensated, I would like the widget to tell me that I could do that
"today" and give me the entries that I can file on.  (so i guess that
i will have to have a way to flag a record(?) as paid/not paid)

>  That's where each attribute
> of each entity is dependent upon the key, the whole key, and nothing but
> the key, so help me Codd.  (E.F. Codd, an IBM fellow, created relational
> database theory.)  :-)
Wow, that's the first database joke I've ever heard....Wow

That's something of what I think I want to be able to do.  Am I headed
in the right direction?
Also, can you give me some examples of normalization, indexes, keys,
etc?  Also, what the heck is a DBA?

All in all, Thanks Jim