Using a Database Management System (DBMS)Before you start working with the various data resources, you should devise and put into place your strategy for managing them. Without a strategy in place, you may find yourself quickly overwhelmed by the large volume of resources necessary to build a full-featured multimedia title.
There are many different ways to manage this data. You should consider incorporating either or both of the following approaches:
Using a Database Management System (DBMS)
Establishing a specific logical directory structure
A DBMS enables you to control quantities of resources that could number in the tens of thousands for single applications, and far more in environments where multiple applications are being developed.
A DBMS records both the existence of resources and the relationships between different resources. You can run reports showing the type, number, and status of the different resources. Such reports could identify usage patterns (for instance, you don't use any images from a certain photographer). As another example, by including royalty/copyright information with data resource records, you could derive the royalty costs associated with development.
When deciding which DBMS to acquire, make sure to check whether it has the following capabilities:
Able to handle multimedia resources
Compatible with standard networks
Supports the relational database model
Provides a forms utility to support easy development of front end screens
Works under a standard environment (such as MS-DOS or Windows)
Provides adequate backup and purge capabilities
Includes an easy to use report generator
Configurable to meet different requirements
The reason a DBMS is so useful is its ability to consolidate and report information. As producer, you will have your own specific areas of interest in managing the project. For example, you may want to know the total cost of the copyrights used, the distribution of images vs. text vs. audio, or the number of total images scanned vs. the number of images actually used.
This and other types of information can be recorded in the database and made available both during and after a development project. A good DBMS should provide the configuration and reporting tools necessary to let you obtain and distribute the types of information most important to you.
Another useful tactic to consider when establishing your development environment is to create a directory structure that supports your data management system. For example, if you're using Multimedia Viewer to create a title, you may want to set up a structure that divides all the different source files and data resource files into separate directories. Such a structure appears below:
\Viewer contains all necessary directories and files to build and run a Viewer title
\Viewer\title contains the directories and files relevant to a specific title, such as the project file and the final title itself.
\Viewer\title\dib contains the 256-color image files for a title
\Viewer\title\bmp contains the 16-color image files for a title
\Viewer\title\wav contains the audio files for a title
Viewer\title\mmm contains the MacroMind DirectorÒ animation files for a title
\Viewer\title\rtf contains the source text files for a title
Many other logical and equally useful structures could exist. If you're using a network, make sure to decide how to share information between workstations. The effectiveness of setting up such a logical structure depends on how easily it allows you to find and access specific resources.