basically my whole career is based on reading question here but now I'm stuck since I even do not know how to ask this correctly.
I'm designing a SQLITE database which is meant for the construction of data sheets out of existing data sheets. People like reusing stuff and I want to manage this with a DB and an interface. A data sheet has reusable elements like pictures, text, formulas, sections, lists, frontpages and variables. Sections can contain elements -> This can be coped with recursive CTEs - thanks "mu is too short" for that hint. Texts, Formulas, lists etc. can contain variables. At the end I want to be able to manage variables which must be unique per data sheet, manage elements which are an ordered list making up the data sheet. So selecting a data sheet I must know which elements are contained and what variables within the elements are used. I must be able to create a new data sheet by re-using elements and/or creating new ones if desired.
I came so far to have (see also link to screen shot at the bottom)
a list of variables
which (several of them) can be contained in elements
a list of elements
elements make up the
a list of data sheets
Reading examples like
Store array in SQLite that is referenced in another table
How to store a list in a column of a database table
give me already helpful hints like that I need to create for each data sheet a new atomic list containing the elements and the position of them. Same for the variables which are referenced by each element. But the troubles start when I want to have it consistent and actually how to query it.
How do I connect the the variables which are contained within elements and the elements that are contained within the data sheets. How do I check when one element or variable is being modified, which data sheets need to be recompiled since they are using the same variables and/or elements?
The more I think about this, the more it sounds like I need to write my own search tree based on an object oriented inheritance class structure and must not use data bases. Can somebody convince me that a data base is the right tool for my issue?
I learned data bases once but this is quite some time ago and to be honest the university was not giving good lectures since we never created a database by our own but only worked on existing ones.
To be more specific, my knowledge leads to this solution so far without knowing how to correctly query for a list of data sheets when changing the content of one value since the reference is a text containing the name of a table:
screen shot since I'm a greenhorn
Update:
I think I have to search for unique connections, so it would end up in many-to-many tables. Not perfectly happy with it but I think I can go on with it.
still a green horn, how are you guys using correct high lightning for sql?
