Re: [school-discuss] Collecting Assessments at District Level

[Les Richardson <richl@mail.tfsd.sk.ca>]

On Thu, 14 Mar 2002, Stephen Braunius wrote:

> Thank you for the follow-up.  That answers my question about a better 
> way to form my tables.  I had been doing tons of small tables and 
> relating them...I guess thinking that then I don't have to have 
> duplicate information in various tables.  It's all starting to make 
> sense now :^).  More information in a table now=easier querying in the 
> future.

The "correct solution" in my view is a balance between table numbers and
their contents. However we don't want redundant fields, which necessitates
multiple entries. I think it is VERY important to get the data structure
right for this, including possibilities for expansion in the future (since
there will _always_ be some changes as requirements change). 

Have a large cup of coffee, turn off phone, close curtains. Think in
reverie state about data structure visualizing relations between
tables.... <grin>


 
> Since no one has commented on their being any pre-created solutions out 
> there for linux that are set up for the type of assessment stuff I'm 
> asking about with graph and chart options, I'll just keep talking to the 
> various vendors of other solutions while creating my own to meet our 
> district's needs.

As well, realized that most software is _custom_. First write down some
basic requirements for what you're looking for, including platform, user
requirements, possible future needs, etc. Obviously I would suggest MySQL
on a Linux/BSD platform...but what else is required...

Les Richardson
H. Hardcastle School