Re: Designing a structure for a personal database

"David Segall" <david@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:968e14tp32b0fn9qdfq38uorlk23oaa0s0@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Martin Gregorie <martin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:33:58 +0000, David Segall wrote:
>>
>>> Thank you for the hint. Your hint indicates that you don't need a
>>> crystal ball to understand my requirements and that you may have some
>>> useful advice. Why are you so reluctant to give it to me?
>>>
>>Because he gave you the best possible advice already. To amplify what Ed
>>said:
> You and Ed have provided excellent answers to a question that I did
> not ask.
>
> I assumed that most people who read this group would use a computer to
> store the type of personal information that I outlined in my second
> paragraph. I hoped that they had used one of the unwieldy address
> books that come with most popular PIMs and email clients and they had
> thought about a better way of organizing the data.
>
> Perhaps I provided too much information about the way I saw the
> problem and its complications. I should just have asked how you would
> model the data for _your_ personal information database.

Even before modelling your data, do up use cases just as you might do for 
any other software project. In other words, think of all the different 
contact scenarios you have had or might have. For example:

a) contact Al at his house;
b) contact the Bloggs at their house;
c) contact Betty Bloggs at her work;
d) contact your insurance agent on his cell;
e) check to see if Bill is on vacation at his cottage and do you have the 
address for the cottage?
et cetera...

Consider also if you want your PIM to have interaction history. Namely, so

you can enter information pertaining to, and answers questions about, all 
the people you dealt/deal with concerning a particular issue, or review 
particulars of the last contact you had with person X, or whatever. Again,

this will generate more use cases.

Your use cases will enable you to test your data structure design.

AHS