[ic] Database Structure general question.

[Keith Pettit]

Don't get me wrong I love Interchange but I just don't understand why some
things are done the way they are.  I appreciate your time in explaining it.
As with most Opensource projects there is a lac of documentation, and with
this project the docs that are there are often out dated and no longer
apply.  I've been working like crazy to understand all the different parts
of this Commerce system.  It nice to have a real explination.

Any thought on updating the db creation script or creating a new method to
creating a db and it's tables?  The one with Interchange was unreliable so I
have a script that will create all the tables and populate them with the
default data.  At least it would be another option.

Thanks

Keith



----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Heins" <mikeh@minivend.com>
To: <interchange-users@minivend.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2000 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: [ic] Database Structure general question.


> Quoting Keith Pettit (keithp@censoft.com):
> > I wanted to use MySQL so I wouldn't more reliable datastorage than plain
> > text file.  But after I upgrade to MySQL I noticed that Interchange
still
> > uses some text files instead of the database.  For example shipping.asc
is
> > used instead of the database, but the coutry list is in the database.
> >
> > It just seems kind of stupid to use two methods.  Why on earth not use
the
> > database for everything (execpt images).  I'm just curious why the
default
> > configuration is like that.
>
> I am sorry I am stupid. I will try and improve. 8-)
>
> For one thing, shipping.asc is not really a database. It is a
> configuration table.
>
> Second of all, there are things you can do with the internal DB
> that you can't with SQL -- for instance, we would have to munge the
> UPS-supplied tax tables because SQL doesn't allow you to have a field
> name that is digits only.
>
> Third, part of this is that Interchange has grown over a five-year
> period from other software. It didn't even have SQL to begin with.
>
> I am actually pretty proud of the way that Interchange will mix-and-match
> tables in the same installation. You can use LDAP for one of your
> VariableDatabase tables to get centralized configuration, the internal
> database for miscellaneous non-changing stuff, an Oracle database to
> transmit orders to your ERP system, and MySQL for the fast product
> display stuff. All in the same catalog.
>
> --
> Akopia, Inc., 131 Willow Lane, Floor 2, Oxford, OH  45056
> phone +1.513.523.7621 fax 7501 <heins@akopia.com>
>
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> hard for me to find a phone company. ;>
>
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