Database software/applications?

M

Matt Vivlamore

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
911
4
18
41
Southern MD, USA
www.meerkatsound.com
I was wondering if there is a program out there that I can use to create a basic database. I want to create something that I can keep and update notes on a band and/or rooms that I work in.



Budget = Free

Computer = Mac & Windows, but if I had to choose one: MAC





I've been using a work document, but it's getting to cumbersome to search.

 
Re: Database software/applications?

Matt Vivlamore wrote on Thu said:
I was wondering if there is a program out there that I can use to create a basic database. I want to create something that I can keep and update notes on a band and/or rooms that I work in.



Budget = Free

Computer = Mac & Windows, but if I had to choose one: MAC





I've been using a work document, but it's getting to cumbersome to search.
Click to expand...



For non-commercial use, MySQL is free.



You could also look at Microsoft SQL Server Express. Available free of charge. There is also a free version of Visual Studio I think (with limited features).



That said, I'm guessing you are looking for something more like Microsoft Access where you can whip up some data entry forms and what not. OpenOffice Base might do what you need.

 
Re: Database software/applications?

Matt, I'd use something online like Drupal or Wordpress to create a blog-like site where you (and maybe others) could post their notes on a venue.



You can certainly keep all the information private, but it could be beneficial to others to see it.



If I were to do it, I'd do it in Drupal, which is a php/mySQL web app that can do pretty much anything, and it's free.



Let me know if you need more information.



I bet you could whip something up with Google Apps too, or even Access if you had to, but I like online things so I can access them anywhere.
 
Re: Database software/applications?

I was mainly looking at this as a database for myself, not really looking to publish it online at this time.



What I would like to do is have a master list of names... then when I click on that name a page opens up and gives me some notes about that thing.





Some of the information about the band I'd like to input.

How many members?

How many singers and who?

What instruments?

Are these guys good/bad?

Stage plot.





As for the venue:

What rig did I take?

Hows the power?

Stage?

Stairs?

Room Diagram.
 
Re: Database software/applications?

All that on one single Word document? That might become too large I would think. It might even create performance problems. The easiest fix might be to break it out into many different Word documents. Then give them all useful names. Store all of them in the same directory, then use Windows or Mac OS to search the content of your directory for files that contain certain key words. Only the documents containing relevant data would show up in your searches. That is, if you want to just keep it on your PC for now.



Filemaker can help you to accomplish essentially the same thing. Unless you are tallying up numbers or doing some sort of data tabulation, then I don't see an obvious benefit to migrating everything to a database.



I would hesitate to migrate it to anything too ''proprietary'' that might create software compatibility or retrieval problems down the line. Keep it simple...



I would be a proponent of developing an online Wiki too.



 
Re: Database software/applications?

Chris Davis wrote on Thu said:
I would hesitate to migrate it to anything too ''proprietary'' that might create software compatibility or retrieval problems down the line. Keep it simple...
Click to expand...

I agree with Chris -- a structured, strongly-typed database, like you could create with FileMaker or Access, is not the best tool here.



I have a Google Calendar (there I go being positive about ''the cloud'') with my schedule and include specific notes about a gig in the event comments there, for example, substitute drummer so drums input list may differ.



I also have a directory (or folder) on my PC that contains all my other per-band/gig/venue information.



The band directories have input lists, stage plots, and sometimes set lists and other helpful notes.



The gig directories might have a ton of information, or very little, depending on if it's a one-act bar gig or if I'm going to be seeing a bunch of different bands. For outdoor gigs, I make up a sheet with everything from the schedule to the phone number of the local police department, just in case. When I am doing weddings and such, this would also have a list of all the requested songs, introductions/announcements, etc.



The venue directory is just some text files with random notes about venues, such as ''manager will insist on no sound check because he does not want dinner guests to be disturbed'' or ''park in south alley,'' or sometimes, ''band was made to wait over two hours, after load-out, to get paid; we now get paid before unloading the truck or there is no show.''



This works well for me as it is easy to find everything. The whole thing fits on a USB stick.
 
Re: Database software/applications?

I tried Google Calendar, and was okay at first, but then their ongoing changes to the system caused the website-embeddable version to fail miserably. For embedded calendars, I ended up using Mozilla Sunbird to create the calendar on a PC (sort of similar in purpose to doing this in Outlook), then PHPiCal to display it on the website.



All for free and no database connection required on the website end (uses a flat text ''.ics'' calendar file).



http://phpicalendar.net/documentation/index.php/Main_Page



Chris



 
Re: Database software/applications?

One key thing to work out is whether you need information in one table (or data set) to relate to data in another.



For example, you could have a table of players (with names, instruments, contact details, preferred monitor settings etc. ) and a table of bands. The band table, instead of having player information in it directly, would link to the info in the player table. The big advantage of this is that if you have one player who is a member of multiple bands, you only need to update his info in one place.



If you go ''relational'' like this it can rule out some of the more basic software options. However it does mean you are able to build something much more powerful and ultimately more useful.



If there's one thing I have learnt from the dabbling I have done with databases over the years, it is to try and plan as much as possible. All too often my tendency is to get stuck into building something, only to later realise that I've painted myself into a corner.



Edit: typos
 
Top Bottom