New Database Model ZXDB

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R-Tape
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by R-Tape »

:geek:
Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Nov 10, 2018 7:34 pm A large new ZXDB update is available!

And now it includes hundreds of higher resolution inlays provided by Pavero :)
YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHGGHHHHHHGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Nov 10, 2018 7:34 pm A large new ZXDB update is available!

And now it includes hundreds of higher resolution inlays provided by Pavero :)
Thanks Einar!

BTW, do you plan to add new maps also? Maybe in the next update? ;-)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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I was just wondering if someone had already made a plugin to utilise the resource, was going to use on homebrew legends to streamline my work load lol.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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zapiy wrote: Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:52 pm I was just wondering if someone had already made a plugin to utilise the resource, was going to use on homebrew legends to streamline my work load lol.
https://api.zxinfo.dk/doc/
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

A new ZXDB update is available!

Have fun :)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

pavero wrote: Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:58 pm
Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Nov 10, 2018 7:34 pm A large new ZXDB update is available!

And now it includes hundreds of higher resolution inlays provided by Pavero :)
Thanks Einar!

BTW, do you plan to add new maps also? Maybe in the next update? ;-)
Sorry, not yet... but it will happen soon.

I have been developing a new ZXDB management system, that will allow more frequent ZXDB updates and reduce my workload. This way, I will have enough time to work on additional tasks, such as updating the maps list. Stay tuned...
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by kolbeck »

Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:30 am A new ZXDB update is available!

Have fun :)
thanks. Everything related to zxinfo.dk has been updated to 24th. nov update.

/Thomas
https://api.zxinfo.dk/v3/ - ZXDB API for developers
zxinfo-file-browser - Cross platform app to manage your files
https://zxinfo.dk - another ZXDB frontend
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:30 am A new ZXDB update is available!

Have fun :)
It'll be another day or two before it appears at SC by the way.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

A new ZXDB update is now available, containing a few dozen new entries and files provided by Thomas (thank you!)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

A new ZXDB update is available!

This is a partial update, containing just a few new titles. Things are still somewhat chaotic down here at the ZXDB underground labs, with lots of boxes getting moved around to accommodate our brand new ZX-Ed system, and most of our resident staff is too busy preparing for the holidays. Sorry for the inconvenience! Everything will be back on track shortly...
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Image

YEAAAHH!!! Petercanweinstallitcanweinstallitwhencanweinstallitisitinstalledyet?
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Doing it now [mention]R-Tape[/mention]

You can explain to Mrs J why I went straight into the study when I arrived home!
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by R-Tape »

Sorry for the delays update fans. We're still getting used to ZX-Ed and fixing a few bugs. We'll start with some small but regular test updates as soon as we can.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

A new ZXDB update is available!

This is a small partial update, created with the aid of ZX-Ed for the first time. :)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by R-Tape »

Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 6:09 pm This is a small partial update, created with the aid of ZX-Ed for the first time. :)
YEAAAHHHH!! Thanks Einar.

Image

Small steps, but we're getting there!
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

A minor ZXDB update has been released.

In this update, 4 database columns related to product prices ("spanish_price", "microdrive_price", "disk_price", "cartridge_price") are being moved from table "entries" to table "releases". For now, these columns still exist in both tables, so any site referencing these columns at table "entries" can have time to make the proper adjusts. But in next update, they will only exist in table "releases".

There were no major content changes this time. Therefore if SC prefers to skip this release and wait for the next one, that's fine!
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Einar Saukas wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 5:57 am In this update, 4 database columns related to product prices ("spanish_price", "microdrive_price", "disk_price", "cartridge_price") are being moved from table "entries" to table "releases".
That's not going to work for titles like Combat School where there are two Spanish releases but only one Spanish price in the entries table.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to have a single price per release with an additional field for "release_format" (cassette, disk, microdrive, cartridge)?
There's already a "release_price" and a "budget_price" for each release - which should be mutually exclusive - but leads to things like Gryzor where the "Original" release also has a budget price of £2.99, while the actual budget release has it's own price of £3.99.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

StooB wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:10 am
Einar Saukas wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 5:57 am In this update, 4 database columns related to product prices ("spanish_price", "microdrive_price", "disk_price", "cartridge_price") are being moved from table "entries" to table "releases".
That's not going to work for titles like Combat School where there are two Spanish releases but only one Spanish price in the entries table.
You are right. I should have given more thought to this. Thanks for pointing this out!

We shouldn't really have a "spanish_price" column anywhere. Instead, I must identify the correct Spanish release on each case that had this specific price, then assign it as the release price.

OK, I'm working on it now...

StooB wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:10 amAlso, wouldn't it make more sense to have a single price per release with an additional field for "release_format" (cassette, disk, microdrive, cartridge)?
No, because a single release may have multiple formats. For instance "Knight Orc" was originally released as both cassette and disk.

StooB wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:10 am
There's already a "release_price" and a "budget_price" for each release - which should be mutually exclusive - but leads to things like Gryzor where the "Original" release also has a budget price of £2.99, while the actual budget release has it's own price of £3.99.
Perhaps this name is misleading. The "budget price" refers to a release that was originally launched at a certain "release price", then some time later had the price reduced on stores for the same release.

For instance, Gryzor was originally released in 1987 by Ocean for £7.95. A while later, the price of this release was eventually reduced to £2.99. Then 4 years later, Gryzor was re-released under the budget label Hit Squad, for the re-release price of £3.99.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Einar Saukas wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:05 am
StooB wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:10 am There's already a "release_price" and a "budget_price" for each release - which should be mutually exclusive - but leads to things like Gryzor where the "Original" release also has a budget price of £2.99, while the actual budget release has it's own price of £3.99.
Perhaps this name is misleading. The "budget price" refers to a release that was originally launched at a certain "release price", then some time later had the price reduced on stores for the same release.
For instance, Gryzor was originally released in 1987 by Ocean for £7.95. A while later, the price of this release was eventually reduced to £2.99. Then 4 years later, Gryzor was re-released under the budget label Hit Squad, for the re-release price of £3.99.
Yes, perhaps "clearance price" or "reduced price" might be clearer. However, this doesn't seem to have been transferred consistently from the original WoS data.

eg: Combat School at WoS had a release price of £7.99 and a budget price of £2.99, while the same entry here has a original release price of £7.99, with the £2.99 having moved to the Hit Squad re-release.

Similarly, ACE 2 at WoS has a budget price of £2.99 which has moved on to the Gamebusters re-release in ZXDB.

Also, some prices seems to have been lost in the WoS/ZXDB conversion:
One of Corn Cropper's prices has gone.
The Damned Forest's budget price is missing.
Both prices for Airline have vanished completely!

Einar Saukas wrote: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:05 am
StooB wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 10:10 amAlso, wouldn't it make more sense to have a single price per release with an additional field for "release_format" (cassette, disk, microdrive, cartridge)?
No, because a single release may have multiple formats. For instance "Knight Orc" was originally released as both cassette and disk.
Knight Orc is a very straightforward case though. You'll need to think about these problems:
  • None of the Spanish +3 re-releases have disk prices, but you could work out whether there was a disk release by looking in the downloads table and put "Unknown" against the disk price for the Spanish release. This doesn't work for 'denied' titles like Barbarian by Melbourne House - WoS shows that there is a Spanish +3 disk release, with no price, that isn't shown here.
  • Alien Research Centre by Zenobi (this one applies to lots of Zenobi releases) - this was originally released on cassette and +3 disk but there's no disk price. Not only that, there's also a re-release on a +D disk, so do you need a +3 disk price column and a +D disk price column?
  • Back to ACE 2, and again there is an original +3 disk release without a price, but there are also a differently priced 48K and 128K cassette releases, so you'd also need a 48K Cassette price column and a 128K Cassette price column.
  • Worst of all is The Artist II where there is an original 48K cassette release at £14.95, an original 128K cassette release at £17.95, there are original +3 and +D disk releases but only one disk price given which may or may not apply to both!
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

Thanks for this list of (possible) issues! It's going to take me some time to check each one, I will report later my findings here.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

In the meantime, I have just released a new ZXDB update!

Technically columns disk_price, microdrive_price, and cartridge_price were moved to table "releases". It makes more sense to store these values per release, instead of just once per title. Unfortunately there's no way to determine what's the specific release for previously existing information imported from Martijn's WoS that didn't make this distinction, so the only options here are either storing the same information in all releases or in original release only, then manually adjusting it later case-by-case whenever possible. At least this way, every price we store from now on will be more accurate.

Column spanish_price wasn't moved. This is typically the release price of the Spanish release of each game, so I'm now working to identify the proper release for each case and assign this value properly. Approximately a thousand games had a spanish price, I have just reassigned about half of them. I will try to sort the rest in the next update.

I will let R-Tape describe what else he included in this update. :)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by Einar Saukas »

There's yet another ZXDB update now, containing credits for cover artists.
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

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Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:19 pm Column spanish_price wasn't moved. This is typically the release price of the Spanish release of each game, so I'm now working to identify the proper release for each case and assign this value properly. Approximately a thousand games had a spanish price, I have just reassigned about half of them. I will try to sort the rest in the next update.
I just read this. Please don't waste time on this - this information came in from the SPA2 database, and the prices are mapped on a per-release basis there.

I can send you a copy of the current (provisional) state of the SPA2 datase, so that you can work from this. Please pass me an e-mail address so that I can send a database dump to you.

Cheers :)
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Re: New Database Model ZXDB

Post by StooB »

Einar Saukas wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:04 pm Thanks for this list of (possible) issues! It's going to take me some time to check each one, I will report later my findings here.
and while you're looking at the releases table, I've found another problem! Everything has a release, whether it happened or not.

eg: Duet was only released on the Hit Pak compilation, but apparently it was released in 1987 at £7.95
(where this price comes from is a mystery as it's not on the original WoS entry or the price of the compilation either)

Unfortunately, it's not just titles that were only released on compilations...

The Eye of the Moon was released by Beyond.

Mire Mare was released by Ultimate!

even Bandersnatch! :o
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