CD inventory database

[Gus Chuch]

I’m starting to work on a CD inventory database, I need a push in the right
direction. I would like to be able to read the information off the CD when I
install the disc into the drive. The artist, title and tracks. I know I did
something similar in a C# class in reading files. Can access do this?

Gus Chuchanis

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

It's actually a non-trivial task. Few music CDs actually store that
information: you need to get that information from third-party services.

You can take a look in the Developer section at Gracenote
http://www.gracenote.com/

It's a lot easier, though, to buy an already developed product like
http://www.collectorz.com/music/features.php rather than reinvent the wheel!

 

[David W. Fenton]

It's a lot easier, though, to buy an already developed product
like http://www.collectorz.com/music/features.php rather than
reinvent the wheel!

Except, of course, that hardly any of those pre-developed solutions
handles Classical music well. I'm currently working on a Discography
schema that should work for Classical music (as well as all kinds of
music), and it's a non-trivial problem. I can post the schema if
anyone's interested (it's going to end up as part of a collaborative
project, in any case).

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Except, of course, that hardly any of those pre-developed solutions
handles Classical music well. I'm currently working on a Discography
schema that should work for Classical music (as well as all kinds of
music), and it's a non-trivial problem. I can post the schema if
anyone's interested (it's going to end up as part of a collaborative
project, in any case).

I'm not quite sure what you're describing, David.

Are you strictly talking about a data model capable of storing the relevant
information about each CD, or are you talking about an online service that
would allow owners of the CDs to download that information?

Without the latter, it strikes me that the former isn't of that much use to
someone who wants to automate the capture process. (although, of course,
it'll be a big boon for people who are willing to key the information in
themselves)

 

[David W. Fenton]

I'm not quite sure what you're describing, David.

Are you strictly talking about a data model capable of storing the
relevant information about each CD, or are you talking about an
online service that would allow owners of the CDs to download that
information?

I'm talking about both. The online CD databases are wholly
inadequate for anything but the most basic identification of the
CDs. They use data that comes from the manufacturers of the CDs, who
are concerned with the object, the CD, not with its content, which
is inadequately documented in the data structures that they use.
This is universal in the commercial recording world.

Without the latter, it strikes me that the former isn't of that
much use to someone who wants to automate the capture process.
(although, of course, it'll be a big boon for people who are
willing to key the information in themselves)

It depends on what you want. Do you want to catalog it properly, or
do you want to catalog it using the priorities of the manufacturers
of the recordings? Or the priorities of people who don't have any
Classical music?

I'm sure the online CD database information could be easily
incorporated into a proper schema, but you'd have to know the schema
the online CD databases were using, and I'm not certain they are all
using the same one (though I haven't checked -- I don't rip any CDs
except those created from recordings of my own group, so I have
never even once acquired any data from any of those databases).