[missionadi000]

I was asked to create a database and populate it..

the field is CSR(corporate social responsibility).

I might need to feed in about 30000 companies who are helping the less privileged in what ever way they can.

And the paramenters will be like(lets say-) irrigation and under that something like how they helped improve that example (infrastrucuture, funds, awareness, etc) and under these houmuch they have spent in infrastrucutre and howmuch in funds and how much awareness and the achievents under each of these.



so i will need t feed in the info and then be able to compile data depending upon the cusomers request(lets say) - we want to know how many ppl are investing in infrastructure and how much in total.

i might need the database to scan the whole lot of info and give me the required numbers.





i have no idea about databases..this is y first time. so i dont even know what databases i could use and what would be best for this.

could u suggest me what database would be suitable for this and
also give me your sugessions.


thanks in advance

[mike_bike_kite]

Any database will do what you ask. I’m assuming you’re not planning on typing in 30000 companies yourself and so you’ll want to provide web access. I’m also assuming you’re a charity in which case I’d recommend MySQL for the database & PHP to build the web pages - they're free and work as well as any of the other systems. I’ll start you off with a table design for your database, it’s not perfect, but I’ll let the others rip it to bits

Tables: fields

• Continent: name
• Country: code, name, continent_name, currency_code
• Company: id, name, country_code, contact_name, contact_tel, user_name, password, contact_email
• AidType: name
• AidSubType: name
• Aid: company_id, country_code, date_given, aid_type, aid_sub_type, ccy_code, amount
• Fx: ccy_code, dated, rate
• Currency: code, name

I included currency fx rates as I assumed companies would want to enter in the local currencies but life would be much simpler if you could force them to just use a single stable exchange rate like Euros or USD. If you do use fx rates then you’ll want to read in the latest rates each day.

The table AidType would hold the allowed types of aid i.e. irrigation. The AidSubType would hold infrastrucuture, funds, awareness etc. Your users would want an easy method to request new types i.e. windmills.

Validating your data – will any company be able to register on your system and type in numbers etc? How will you ensure that the data is correct (maybe it doesn’t matter that much)? You could periodically scan new data being entered and report if it’s outside that countries average figures.

As well as writing the system yourself you could go to a local university and see if you can get free help – it might make an interesting final year project. Another alternative is to look for a group of bored developers in a web forum and ask if anyone can help. None of the 3 options will guarantee a perfect system (or indeed any system at all) but at least 2 of the methods are cheap.

Mike

PS - I can never work out why charities do the work they do though – the world appears to be grossly overpopulated and we spend all this effort and money trying to increase the population in areas of the world that can barely support the populations they already have. We then up with more and more horrifc stories each year. It would seem better (to me) to just try and provide better education and birth control - just my 2c

[missionadi000]

great thanks for the help.

and when i use mysql and php can others upload the data without any hassles.
and will msql be able to analyze data and can we incorporate equations to do small calculations automatically?


PS; Mike, i totally agree with you about the way you think about charities. but it turns out that implying what you have said is easier said than done and in fact people are more inclined to spend on infrastructure rather than educate the masses.

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by missionadi000

great thanks for the help.

No probs but I'm sure you'll get even more input when america comes on line.

Originally Posted by missionadi000

and when i use mysql and php can others upload the data without any hassles.
and will msql be able to analyze data and can we incorporate equations to do small calculations automatically?

Many (most) web pages are built using a combination of MySQL for the database and PHP to build the HTML for the web page. I believe this site is built using MySQL and PHP. When you entered data (your query) into the form it was added into the central database and displayed on all our screens.

MySQL is quite capable of analyzing you’re your data, as is every other database out there. You’d normally create your tables, populate it with some test data and then try writing SQL to get the reports you want. When you’re confident that you can generate the reports you’re after you then start building the web pages that will enter the data. You’ll need to promote the web site to your customers (the companies) to make sure they enter their data. Then you put your SQL into web based reports so people can view them.

If you feel a bit braver then you can write a small reporting system that allows you to total by any item over a given period (say total by continent for 2006) – then you could add drill downs so clicking on Africa might then limit the report to African countries for 2006 and totalled by country – clicking a country would drill down to the next level etc. You would allow users to alter whatever your totalling by so, let’s say you were looking at Malawi figures for 2006, you could alter the drill down to show what companies were giving aid to Malawi or perhaps you could total by the type of aid to see where the money is going.

Originally Posted by missionadi000

PS; Mike, i totally agree with you about the way you think about charities. but it turns out that implying what you have said is easier said than done and in fact people are more inclined to spend on infrastructure rather than educate the masses.

I’ve been reading a whole series of books regarding global trends and it all makes very depressing reading - currently on the new edition of “Limits To Growth” – perhaps I should get a fiddle to play while the world collapses.

[blindman]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

PS - I can never work out why charities do the work they do though – the world appears to be grossly overpopulated and we spend all this effort and money trying to increase the population in areas of the world that can barely support the populations they already have.

Huh? Please name some charities that are trying to increase population growth.

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by blindman

Huh? Please name some charities that are trying to increase population growth.

It’s not that population growth is the aim of the charity – it’s more the end result of charity in general. We tend to be shown harrowing pictures of starving children and we naturally give money. That money goes to keep those children alive and those children have more children and the problems became worse with every passing year. Already over populated countries become more crowded each year - there is no long term plan.

I’ve just come back from Egypt where things are stretched pretty tight – there were food riots in Cairo while I was there – but talking to most Egyptians it seemed to be normal for every family to have 5 children. It seemed obvious to me that life in Egypt wasn’t going to improve in the foreseeable future.

I’m not a Nazi and nor am I suggesting any final solution but you just have to divide the natural resources by the population to see that if a country has problems feeding it’s population now, then doubling the population in the next 20 years is unlikely to solve things. Charities provide food and medicine help the current population but if the population continues to grow then the end result is just more and more harrowing pictures each year.

[blindman]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I’m not a Nazi and nor am I suggesting any final solution but you just have to divide the natural resources by the population to see that if a country has problems feeding it’s population now, then doubling the population in the next 20 years is unlikely to solve things.

Ironic, since if you divided the world's natural resources among its population, everyone would be pretty well taken care of.
Hunger and poverty are political issues, not resource issues.
Come to think of it, I can say with certainty that I have never, in my entire life, felt the need to start a sentence with the words "I'm not a Nazi, but...". The fact that you have hints that you have crossed some sort of moral boundary line, or perhaps you were never on the right side of it to begin with.

[mike_bike_kite]

Originally Posted by blindman

Ironic, since if you divided the world's natural resources among its population, everyone would be pretty well taken care of.

Disagree - the world population is rising ever faster and it's fueled almost entirely by cheap oil (global transportation, mechanised farms, pesticides, fertilizer etc). Sadly cheap oil is going to end shortly - we're then left with a world population far higher than can be sustained - many studies indicate that things are going to come crashing down within the next 40 years. I understand that American policy doesn't agree with me but I suspect few people outside America agree with American policies.

Originally Posted by blindman

Hunger and poverty are political issues, not resource issues.

Disagree - you can sit in front of an empty plate and believe in any political system you like but what you need is food.

Originally Posted by blindman

Come to think of it, I can say with certainty that I have never, in my entire life, felt the need to start a sentence with the words "I'm not a Nazi, but...".
The fact that you have hints that you have crossed some sort of moral boundary line, or perhaps you were never on the right side of it to begin with.

It's an emotive issue and it's easy to start pointlessly labeling people who have different beliefs to yourself. Let's try and stick to a reasoned debate.

[pootle flump]

database concepts and design peoples; database concepts and design.

[blindman]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

Disagree - the world population is rising ever faster and it's fueled almost entirely by cheap oil (global transportation, mechanised farms, pesticides, fertilizer etc).

I don't suppose it occurred to you that the poor people you saw in Egypt are not the ones who are benefiting from cheap oil? You are using the Western World's addiction to consumption to justify ignoring the suffering of the people who's lives have been exploited to create our economies, and that is about as warped as logic can get.

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

Disagree - you can sit in front of an empty plate and believe in any political system you like but what you need is food.

Completely beside the point. The question is not whether the plate is empty, but why it is empty. You blame lack of resources, and that is incorrect.

[blindman]

And you still have not answered my question...

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

PS - I can never work out why charities do the work they do though – the world appears to be grossly overpopulated and we spend all this effort and money trying to increase the population in areas of the world that can barely support the populations they already have.

...exactly which charities are trying to increase the World's population? The charities I am familiar with promote family planning in 3rd World countries.

[mike_bike_kite]

I'm afraid every charity leaflet I get comming through my door is filled with pictures of starving (usually African) and asking donations to help get food and medicine to them - I think it's marvelous that people devote their time to such causes but I also think the effort is misguided for the reasons mentioned above.

I've never seen a charity who's main aim is to "promote family planning in 3rd World countries" - I honestly salute your cause - perhaps you should tell us the name of the charity so, if ever it's leaflet pops through my door we can pay it more attention.

In return perhaps you could read the links on Peak Oil and population growth. Shall we call it quits now?

Mike

[blindman]

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I'm afraid every charity leaflet I get comming through my door is filled with pictures of starving (usually African) and asking donations to help get food and medicine to them

Again....which ones were trying to INCREASE popultion growth, as you asserted above? That is, after all, what you claimed.

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I've never seen a charity who's main aim is to "promote family planning in 3rd World countries" - I honestly salute your cause - perhaps you should tell us the name of the charity so, if ever it's leaflet pops through my door we can pay it more attention.

Well, I'm surprised that someone as concerned with 3rd World Family Planning as you obviously are could not simply google to find this information, but here are two for you:
PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL
"Around the world, women desire to control the timing and frequency of childbirth for the sake of their own health, and the well being of their children and families. For 50 years, Pathfinder International has worked to promote women’s opportunities to choose when and how often to bear children and to reduce the dangers of death and severe illness they face through pregnancy."
http://www.pathfind.org/site/PageSer...=WhatWeDo_RHFP

CARE
"Our reproductive health projects encompass family planning, prenatal care, labor and delivery services, and the prevention, detection and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS."
http://www.care.org/careswork/whatwe...hannel=default

Incidentally, how big a check are you planning to write them? Not that its any of my business of course, but since you take pains to differentiate yourself from Nazi's, a large charitable donation to a 3rd World charity would be one way to accomplish this.
Or do you want to "call it quits now"?

[pootle flump]

I think we need to know more about the OPs required outputs, don't you agree?

[missionadi000]

Originally Posted by pootle flump

I think we need to know more about the OPs required outputs, don't you agree?

i have just found out that Mysql or any other database for that matter doesnt support sub-fields. is there any way to overcome this?
so could any of you suggest some other parameters to build the database.



PS:
THe major problem 2 & 3 world countries face is political correctness. half the money donated or half the effort put in by the charities or ngos dont reach the people it was destined to go.also of all the millions ppl are spending on charity, the effort is not concentrated on one problem and thats why it doesnt even come close to solving a problem.