I need help creating a database! PLEASE HELP.?

Question

Hey. So I'm spending my summer before senior year interning at a start-up nonprofit organization. They are based in a Georgian manor house built in 1737 and obviously concerned with the preservation of the manor. I have been asked to create a database to archive the titles and information about all of the old books and ephemera at the manor. The database will also include current pictures taken of historical spots on the manor, and pictures of documents (treatises with Native Americans, that sort of thing.)

I have experience with HTML, C++, and Wordpress, but I am puzzled on how to go about this! They aren't really providing me guidance but that's fine, I work better like this. I'm a quick learned. I'd like for the database to be online, but that seems expensive. It could be a local database (based on one computer means it's a local database, right?), as long as it can be accessed and edited by other computers... I downloaded Musarch to try and figure out what to do but I don't know how I could move that online or make it accessible to other users. Any recommendations? I am pumped to start this, but a little hesitant.

Answer 1

The only way to do this is to either use something pre-packaged (like Musarch) or build it from scratch. WordPress won't do this on its own-you'll have to develop it from scratch. You could use WordPress as the framework, but you will still need to develop the components to handle the archive database. If you have no experience in building web applications, then this project may be a little overboard for you. Knowing HTML is a good start, but you'll need to learn a server-side language like PHP, python, perl, RoR, ASP .NET, etc. for this to work well. And if this is going to be your first programming project, then I certainly wouldn't on the public internet--you're just one script kiddie away from it getting hacked and destroyed.

Answer 2

For something quick and easy to learn, I'd recommend loading Debian on an old computer and install your database on there...MySQL or something of the sort. Many different options, but here are a couple links to get you started.



https://library.linode.com/web-servers/apache/installation/debian-6-squeeze



I've implemented this technology on an old personal computer and I've turned it into a web-server (apache 2) and a file server. It does take a little time to set up. If you want to enter the data in via a web page, you'll have to learn a little Javascript and PHP. You could essentially set up a LAMP (Linux,apache,mysql,php) server that could store all of your data.



Or you could manually enter the information in yourself via the linux command line. Choices are endless, it just depends on what you want to do.



From there, if you get your server configured correctly, anyone inside the network (or externally if you forward port 22) could access the database.



Being a quick learner is nice, but a patient learning is better, it's very hard for someone with little to no Linux/SQL/server-side HLL knowledge to jump in and begin recording data (the DIY/cheap way)



Google is your best way to gather information regarding more about Debian/Apache/Linux/Networking/file-server etc.



Hope this helps

Answer 3

I'm not a software expert but maybe this can help you organize all of the info. since it's a non-profit: http://www.famcare.net/NonprofitSoftware.aspx

Answer 4

MS Access has everything you need.

And it's easy for their staff to learn it and maintain it when you leave.