[dba-Tech] Questions about 2 Unusual Databases

Arthur,

While I have nothing to contribute for #2, have you looked at ChessBase? I've edited a couple chess newsletters. I even created a chess "font" for creating diagrams. But I gave up trying to record chess games by computer when I saw that ChessBase was on the case.

There's also the Chess Informant database. Here's a description of Portable Game Notation (PGN) that's used for a lot of these databases:

http://www.very-best.de/pgn-spec.htm

Steve Erbach
Neenah, WI

> ------------Original Message------------
> From: Arthur Fuller <artful at rogers.com>
> To: "Discussion of Hardware and Software issues" <dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
> Date: Wed, Oct-27-2004 12:13 PM
> Subject: [dba-Tech] Questions about 2 Unusual Databases
> 
>  From time to time I ponder the following two databases, trying to come 
> 
> up with the optimal design in terms of both space and performance. This 
> 
> is strictly a question of personal interest, and I have no commercial 
> interest in either solution. I simply find them interesting problems, 
> and I thought I'd trot them out in search of feedback from my 
> colleagues 
> here.
> 
> 1. A database that records chess games. It strikes me that perhaps the 
> most compact way to store a game is by using the modern notation for 
> the 
> moves themselves. But in addition to recording the sequence of moves, 
> the database would also be expected to record situations and be able to 
> 
> compare them. I.e. given two sequences, A and B, that both result in 
> exactly the same position of pieces, irrespective of the number of 
> moves 
> it took to get there, the database should be able to detect this as 
> quickly as possible. For example.... aha! This is exactly the same 
> position that Bobby Fischer faced in year 19xx, when playing somebody 
> at 
> some tournament, but they got here in 11 moves and the current players 
> got here in 13 moves. (The idea behind this requirement is that certain 
> 
> positions have known solutions, i.e. paths to checkmate.)
> 
> 2. A music database that records (let's keep it simple in version 1) 
> melodies and single-line compositions (i.e. ignoring instrumentation, 
> harmony, counterpoint, etc.). The idea here would be to compare any two 
> 
> rows and determine whether they are identical. For example, George 
> Harrison v. the Ronnettes, for "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine" 
> respectively. Ideally, this database should also be able to see past 
> the 
> selected key (in the musical sense), and also the tempo (piece A is 
> identical to piece B but played twice as fast). Perhaps version 2 could 
> 
> also detect that melody A is identical to B except that it is inverted 
> (upside down) or perhaps retrograde (backwards) or even retrograde 
> inverted.
> 
> Ok, database designers. There you have the specs. Any brilliant ideas 
> out there for solutions?
> 
> A.
> 
> P.S.
> Although these are in fact strictly database issues, I am not going to 
> cross-post to the AccessD and SQL lists because they are so obviously 
> unrelated to the immediate problems most of us have when posting there.
> 
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