Database Prototyping

[roymond]

I'm thinking it's time for a web-based service where you define your DB tables and fields (or upload an excel spreadsheet), and based on the relationships of key fields, etc. the system automatically creates a DB, and a simple application interface for populating domain values and data, search and reporting. Settings would let you tweak all this after the fact to refine things further. But "mySQL", "database owner", and other such terms mustn't be uttered to throw together a perfectly functional prototype application. If a domain value doesn't exist, there would be a "add new value" option to dynamically add it without any run-around. All of this can be tweaked on the fly, regenerated and presto...onward march! It would allow you to dynamically map values from an existing spreadsheet to the table structure for bulk data loads.

Similar to how damn simple Posterous.com is for blogging (OK, this is a tad bit more complicated, but still...), this would allow folks to then base their DB apps on existing templates or start something altogether new. All the usual media handling capabilities should be automatic. A library of templates and samples would be available to choose from. Let the masses build the next killer app without a freaking DBA.

Does this exist, yet? It's time.

[fluffy]

Have you looked into Amazon's SimpleDB?

[roymond]

Yes, but the pricing isn't clear. I'm looking at http://baseportal.com/ which seems to have what I need.

[jb]

Rails seems to do something like this.

[jast]

Yeah, it's called scaffolding (and in rails you need to write a schema definition in Ruby code, and create a config file containing database access parameters, which is against roymond's requirements).
Also, standard scaffolding is absolutely uncustomizable, making it mostly useless except for rapid prototyping (which is the whole point of scaffolding) and toy apps.
How about, dare I say it, Microsoft Inaccessible?

[Lunkhead]

Hm, sounds more like FileMaker to me. FileMaker will let you visually set up databases, no SQL or Ruby or other code required. I think it will let you work off of a spreadsheet style interface and import Excel files to set up tables. They also have a cheap version called Bento. I don't know about hosting options, though.

http://www.filemaker.com/

In Java if you're using the Hibernate object/relational mapping API you can have it update your scheme as you update your object model, which is handy for rapid prototyping. There isn't a "scaffolding" equivalent in Java for automatically generating the Web pages for doing the basic CRUD operations (create, read, update, delete) that I know of, unfortunately.

[jeff robertson]

Quickbase?

(Full Disclosure: I actually work for Intuit)

[roymond]

Quickbase?

(Full Disclosure: I actually work for Intuit)

I can't seem to get any idea of what $$ is involved after the free trial ends. That sort of sucks. I don't feel I should register until I know what I'm getting into. Do you have a rate card?

[jb]

Yeah, it's called scaffolding (and in rails you need to write a schema definition in Ruby code, and create a config file containing database access parameters, which is against roymond's requirements).
Also, standard scaffolding is absolutely uncustomizable, making it mostly useless except for rapid prototyping (which is the whole point of scaffolding) and toy apps.
How about, dare I say it, Microsoft Inaccessible?

From what I can tell in Rails, you describe what you want to add to your db in a "migration" file, then run a migration function, and Rails adds stuff to your database. Want to add/remove something? Write another migration. Basically, you're supposed to create the db as you go and let Rails handle the details, rather than scheme it all out beforehand.

I guess the migration stuff is what you mean by "write a schema definition in Ruby code", but it's pretty straightforward and made up of Rails methods. The database access parameters thing you do once, to tell Rails the database name and password.

*shrug* Once you get used to it it seems pretty fast and easy. But there's that learning curve...

JB