im***@dslextreme.com (TRyan) wrote in
news:31**************************@posting.google.c om:
Hi.
Can someone please help me logic out table design to create a
database of films and cast and crew credits. I can't seem to
make the mental leap from the business examples I find in
Access books and tutorials to this particular project. Does
each performer have a table with all of his/her credits, then
does each film have a separate table with particular data in
that? If so, how then to link them? I know this has been done
time and again (imdb, netflix, others ad nauseum) so I'm
feeling particularly frustrated with myself! Thanks very much.
Teri Ryan
Correct database design says you should group all similar data in
one table. So all movies have one table, cast have one table, crew
are similar to cast so they go in the same table. You would use a
number field to point to a table which indicates what position the
person in the cast/crew was
The tables get linked in a third table that contains a unique
identifier for each film and the unique identifier for the cast
member, plus the role information.
You might have a separate awards table too that links to the film
ID and the cast ID.
A simplified structure would have
Films
========
ID, name. Year, country, productionCo.
001 GWTW 1939 US
002 Tootsie 1939 US ?
Cast
====
ID name, gender, birthdate ....
001 Dustin Hoffman M , 19??/??/??
002 Laslo Forman M
003 Jodie Foster F
Roles
=====
FilmID, CastID, job, role,...
002 001 01 Michael
Jobs
====
ID title
01 Actor
02 Director
03 DP
04 Producer
Good luck.
Bob
