Re: Database design issue: seems really bad, yet I'm having trouble coming up with anything better

On Wed, Dec 10, 2014 at 4:17 PM, James H. H. Lampert
<jamesl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The issue isn't how we store the metaphorical "meals"; it's how we store
look-up tables to present users, once they've chosen a metaphorical
"protein," with lists containing only the metaphorical "starches" and
"vegetables" that are available with that "protein."

I think the choices for how to present things to users depends on a
few things, such as how much data we're talking about (could there be
hundreds of proteins and thousands of starches?) and what the users
are going to do with it. Also, what are the implementation and
presentation technologies being used? The answers might be different
if you're doing RPG and green screens versus an object-oriented
language and the Web browser.

Also, you keep asking how to "store" things. In my mind, Matt's
mapping tables are all the storage you need; the part you seem to be
concerned about sounds to me like in-memory stuff, just for final
presentation.

Have you already figured out how you would like the presentation to
look? Sometimes it's good to think in terms of UI, and make decisions
"downward" from there, rather than deciding on an infrastructure first
and building "up" to the UI.

John Y.