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First of all, I'm all for the aircraft database, since I'm WW1-WW2 plane buff. I'll gladly contribute when such database goes online. Unfortunately I have only minimal database experience. But despite that and the fact that I'm new here it won't hurt if you read my suggestions.
Yeah, it would be nice to be able to catalogue more than just cars and planes. But let's limit ourselves a bit. Otherwise we may end up with a task too big for our capabilities.
While I didn't create any online database from scratch myself, I do know a bit how they work. Putting planes, cars and boats into one would be messy. Some fields would work nicely for cars, but would have to be turned off for trains etc.
I'd say create separate databases taking imcdb as the starting point.
(I don't want to rain on your parade, RockRacer, but I really love the way imcdb works and I dislike wikis. Nothing personal here.)
suggestions for Internet Movie Aircraft Database (imacdb.org is free!
) :
* create another field: registration, it's crucial for identification - I can point you to whole listings, so if you can see letters on a plane, you can usually pin-point the make/model to the tiniest detail.
* please include not only fixed-wing planes or helicopters, but also gliders, balloons and airships (those huge cucumber-thingies ). These also bear ID letters. Not sure about rockets (rare sight), in the worst case only real spacecraft (like Space Shuttle or Buran, no TIE Fighters please, I love them too, but still...).
* just as we have "importance" tags (stars), add "real a/c", "real a/c + model/CGI", "model/CGI only", "status unknown" - as much as I hate adding models (I'm more into "planespotting" than indexing anything on-screen), filmmakers often have to cheat with such expensive things as planes
* we can't live without warplanes - we won't get away without Soviet birds. There should be a field for NATO reporting names.
suggestions for Internet Movie Railway Database:
* please include not only railway engines (steam, diesel, electric etc.), but also street trams, railcars, subway trains. Railroad cars/wagons (ie: those being pulled) should be OK as well.
* remember that trains should also get own special database fields, like wheel arrangement - when clicked it should list all other engines with such arrangement (from various other manufacturers/users)
* maybe not as important as with planes, but adding a field for numbers IDing given loco would be nice (these are often in plain sight, usually coupled with engine model ID)
suggestions for Internet Movie Vessel Database:
* I guess the manufacturer is of lesser importance here (today many shipyards contribute to a single submarine, for example), while #1 should be the class of a ship
* similar to aircraft db, there should be a field for NATO reporting names.
There will be problems regarding licensed production etc. just like with said tanks. Think of shared production during WW2 (Grumman F4F / General Motors FM-1 "Wildcat" anyone? nearly identical) or company merges (remember when F-16 "Fighting Falcon" was from General Dynamics? now it's Lockheed Martin). I can give similar example with locos: old Prussian & Austrian steam engines received different designations/numbering in post-WW1 Poland.
Maybe you could later create a portal-like site that would bring those databases together - say, "switch to IMCDb from IMTDb" button. Of course in ideal world all those databases would be on same server, user and movie listing would be common and only the huge db files for cars/trains/planes would be separate. I know that at least in theory databases can share/import data this way, but probably it must be a pain to technically implement it
I hope I didn't bore you to death, but it's better to consider those things before rather than do the arduous fixing after the database structure is made.
Yeah, it would be nice to be able to catalogue more than just cars and planes. But let's limit ourselves a bit. Otherwise we may end up with a task too big for our capabilities.
While I didn't create any online database from scratch myself, I do know a bit how they work. Putting planes, cars and boats into one would be messy. Some fields would work nicely for cars, but would have to be turned off for trains etc.
I'd say create separate databases taking imcdb as the starting point.
(I don't want to rain on your parade, RockRacer, but I really love the way imcdb works and I dislike wikis. Nothing personal here.)
suggestions for Internet Movie Aircraft Database (imacdb.org is free!
) : * create another field: registration, it's crucial for identification - I can point you to whole listings, so if you can see letters on a plane, you can usually pin-point the make/model to the tiniest detail.
* please include not only fixed-wing planes or helicopters, but also gliders, balloons and airships (those huge cucumber-thingies
). These also bear ID letters. Not sure about rockets (rare sight), in the worst case only real spacecraft (like Space Shuttle or Buran, no TIE Fighters please, I love them too, but still...).* just as we have "importance" tags (stars), add "real a/c", "real a/c + model/CGI", "model/CGI only", "status unknown" - as much as I hate adding models (I'm more into "planespotting" than indexing anything on-screen), filmmakers often have to cheat with such expensive things as planes
* we can't live without warplanes - we won't get away without Soviet birds. There should be a field for NATO reporting names.
suggestions for Internet Movie Railway Database:
* please include not only railway engines (steam, diesel, electric etc.), but also street trams, railcars, subway trains. Railroad cars/wagons (ie: those being pulled) should be OK as well.
* remember that trains should also get own special database fields, like wheel arrangement - when clicked it should list all other engines with such arrangement (from various other manufacturers/users)
* maybe not as important as with planes, but adding a field for numbers IDing given loco would be nice (these are often in plain sight, usually coupled with engine model ID)
suggestions for Internet Movie Vessel Database:
* I guess the manufacturer is of lesser importance here (today many shipyards contribute to a single submarine, for example), while #1 should be the class of a ship
* similar to aircraft db, there should be a field for NATO reporting names.
There will be problems regarding licensed production etc. just like with said tanks. Think of shared production during WW2 (Grumman F4F / General Motors FM-1 "Wildcat" anyone? nearly identical) or company merges (remember when F-16 "Fighting Falcon" was from General Dynamics? now it's Lockheed Martin). I can give similar example with locos: old Prussian & Austrian steam engines received different designations/numbering in post-WW1 Poland.
Maybe you could later create a portal-like site that would bring those databases together - say, "switch to IMCDb from IMTDb" button. Of course in ideal world all those databases would be on same server, user and movie listing would be common and only the huge db files for cars/trains/planes would be separate. I know that at least in theory databases can share/import data this way, but probably it must be a pain to technically implement it
I hope I didn't bore you to death, but it's better to consider those things before rather than do the arduous fixing after the database structure is made.