ms access database starting point.

[swando]

hey, it seems that a lot of stuff has been dumped on me for next year (in addition to sole animator, also sole web site person and scouting database programmer) id like to get a jump on next year so im not rushing come january. i know a lot of teams wrote access databases that worked well with pictures and ratings and auto and so on and so on. particularly one at nat's in the galileo division looked nice. so if anyone has or can post a template database that they used, that would be great for next year since i have no faith in this unified scouting thing.
thanks...

[Jeff Waegelin]

I'm so glad to hear you have no faith in the system that so many people are working so hard on. I'm sure some people have such databases available, but do you think they'll be willing to help you when you've just said you wouldn't help them? Give the FIRST Scouting Network a chance. There will be lots of clients available, including an Access version, so if you're willing to help out with the FSN, there will be a program for you to use.

[Leon Machado IV]

I've actually developed a database based on the information FIRST posts with all the team #, names, locations, etc. I'm still working on the nicknames and such, but your welcome to it if it would help. Email me if you want it. Talk to you later.

[swando]

hehe you took that way too seriously. id do anything i can to contribute to a centralized scouting database, dont get me wrong, but i know our engineers, i think they'd prefer the judgement of people on their team.
i in no way meant to insult the people who are working on the master database thingie, i wish them all the best, and have been trying to help others out with scouting for two years now, with a filemaker database available to anyone at the regionals we were at, and excel the year before that.
i guess you just cant read emotions over the internet.

[Josh Hambright]

I fully understand how your engineers may find it useful to get the information from people on your team but with the First SN (Scouting network) its fully open source. You can take as much as you want or as little as you want and give back as much as you want or as little as you want. One way that this information becomes really useful is if you weigh your teams judgement against other peoples observations, oftens times while scouting you will miss an important feature of a robot and it will come back and bite you in the butt during a match, but maybe someone else caught it but you missed it. Also the unified database will allow for teams to share match scouting that will save each individual team ALOT of time. And then there is always the chance you make it to nationals and suddenly in your division there are 80 teams and only maybe 15 of which you have seen in competition before. Thats a whole other scouting headache, but there are surely going to be other teams who have scouted them so you could save some time and maybe only scout certain teams in your division and then pick and choose the data your getting into your database from the big database to fill in the spots you missed.

Just my observations.

[swando]

yea but then what would i do at regionals if everyones scouting for me?
myes well... forgive me but i personally would like a backup... i would just be worried if (by the way it looks) its all stored at a central location, and youre trying to make everyone work together etc. etc..

in chicago they had the wireless internet set up and there were problems last year about our network and their network fighting... so this year the man in charge said something to the effect of 'if i have to smash their computers with a hammer, the thunderchickens will not put up a network.' so we had to spend almost the entire practice day doing nothing because we wouldnt recieve instructions on how to use their network until later in the day... then it ended up we could only have 3 IP addresses when we scout all four robots on four computers so need 4 IPs because thats the way we set up our database, so we had to inconveniance a team by having them come down and sign to give us their IP, then their network wouldnt work with our macs, then we had to allow anyone on any computer to access our database, overloading and crashing our server...

but i degress.

essentially i just wouldnt be able to believe that a centralized standard database would cater well to our specific logistical needs unless youre incredibly thorough. so we have different needs. i understand that this database will be great for everyone who cant scout everything and we will probably end up falling back on it somewhat if we can or must, and i understand that everyone is working really hard to make it work, but i dont want to have to demand things from you guys so it would work for us, i know i can demand things from myself and it will work for us.

so yea does anyone have one of those them there access databasers?

just my retort.

[Josh Hambright]

YEs my team has an access database

And we plan on keeping a very similar database (though our software guy has been working on learning filemaker so we may use that next year)

As far as the database concerns go, i agree that there have been many problems with teams offering things such as internet in the past at competitions, and i can agree that until all the kinks get worked out the system could be buggy, but i just ask for it not to be ruled out because of past experience with completely unrelated stuff.

If you wanna talk to our ACCESS database guy his SN on here is: Squat

I'm done.

[Lindsey]

Originally posted by swando
so yea does anyone have one of those them there access databasers?

I made the access db for my team, if there's anything I can help you with let me know. If you're interested I can give you a copy of the db my team used a Nat's, it has auto info. I found out how to do pictures too late so the db I have doesn't have them. It doesn't have a rating system but depending on what you have in mind I'll do my best to help.

I saw the db oneangrydwarf's team had at Nat's, it's awesome you should defiantly talk to the guy on his team.

I plan on creating a prototype db to eventually use next year, I'll let you know when I get it done.

Lindsey

[Leon Machado IV]

I know how to put pictures into a database. If you want to know, email me at lmachadoiv@inspirationinc.org and i'll try to write a walkthrough for ya.

[jon]

ahem. mySQL is better.

[Tom Schindler]

Originally posted by jon
ahem. mySQL is better.

ahem. define "better" - on what terms, sure it may be able to hander larger numbers of records quicker, but who needs that?

Lets say you scout every team in every match at a regional, 100 or so matches, 4 teams per match, thats 400 scouting records... say you do double the scouting at nationals, thats 800 scouting records. I personally don't think you will see more than 1% speed difference between access and mysql at 800 records.

just my $.02

Tom