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Archiver > GENMSC > 2003-08 > 1061156985


From: Wayne Doust <>
Subject: Re: Need for a six degrees program
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:49:45 GMT
References: <3f3dfc2e.65776289@news.saix.net> <Xns93DAEF2A4BAB8delirious@203.97.37.6> <3f3fae28.176890892@news.saix.net>


On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:01:45 GMT, (Steve Hayes)
wrote:

>>It's an interesting idea, but if I was designing it I'd hate to have
>>to figure out how to represent all those relationships in a database
>>and keep them consistent. The error-checking required would be truly
>>horrible.
>
>True, but I would imagine one finds that in genealogy programs now.
>

If you are willing to write up the "grammar" for such a program. It
would be relatively easy to develop a compiler using YACC or similar
tools. This wouldn't be exactly what you want, but in code terms it
would be 90% of the way there.

What most people are telling you is correct. The problem is the
structure of the database. If you were to write a grammar (no
programming knowledge essential, but some practice required) for the
relationships and the complex interactions, then each list of
relationships could then be compiled.

Essentially this looks at the problem from the other side. The list of
relationships becomes the program that must then be compiled. How that
list of relationships is developed is of little consequence and is a
trivial programming issue.

It also puts the ball back in YOUR court. If you want other people to
do some work for you, you need to do the hard stuff.


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