Re: Tree, Folder, and document design issues

George Newton used his keyboard to write :
Since uidesign is one of the sleepiest ngs on this domain, I hope that
this post is appropriate for this ng.

I'm redesigning a document manager tree notes type app.
(I'm using VirtualTreeview in a pure virtual design.)

I have been considering the apparent conventions followed by
Windows Explorer and Powerdesk, the WE replacement I use,
as well as numerous PIM/free-form database apps I tried before
reconciling myself to redesigning my own.

Since there are two windows for the folders in file management apps,
the whole treee sits on the left, and the child directory and
grandchild directories sit on the right.

However, in document manager type app, the edit window usually
sits on the right - in my case anyway - and there is only the
one tree view on the left.

I use these substitutions for convenience and clarity:

F = folder, N = document/note

The issue at hand for me is what is normal/expected/sensible
in terms of the following:

this is the convention of possiblities that I will follow,
as of the moment. If there are reasonable arguments against
this limitation, I'd like to hear them.

F
F
F {closed}
F
N
F
N {these notes are the children of the root}
N

So, in the above, only a Folder can have child Notes and child
Folders.

I can imagine allowing variations like the following, but in
terms of efficient access and ordering of data it seems
unwieldy:

F
F
F {closed}
F
N {note has both child folders and child notes}
F
N {note is a child of the immediate folder above}
N {note is child of note that is parent to the folder 2 lines above}
F
N
N


I'd appreciate any comments or references to discussions or papers
about this.

What I see is nothing more than a simple tree with multiple types for nodes. EG.

NodeType ( ID int, Title Varchar(30), Icon BLOB)

MainNode (
ID int,
Title Varchar(60),
Parent Int,
TypeID Int /*Foreing Key to NodeType*/)

Notes ( ID INT, /* Foreign Key to MainNode*/
NodeData BLOB)

I do not see anything difficult implementing this except perhaps gathering all the nodes for a parent including sub nodes in any depth which can not be implemented with out recursion easelly.

Can you elaborate a little more? Are you going to use an RDBMS? If not are you going to use any kind of DB? What is it that you find <unwieldy> as you put it?

regards
Yannis.



--
You talk a great deal about building a better world for your children, but when you are young you can no more envision a world inherited by your children than you can conceive of dying. The society you mold, you mold for yourself.
----Russell Baker-------


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