My company has been using Linux, the PHP CGI, and the Mysql SQL
database server as a key propellant for it's business.  I love
this environment so much, that it got me to thinking.

When I make a large piece of music with Csound, I end up
littering a large directory tree on my hard drive with
endless lists of 'notes' portrayed in ASCII.  This fact
is actually quite soothing to me in itself!

What has happened to me, is that after having been inundated
with various techniques of database creation and management
at my workplace, I have actually begun to see that the methods
that I have been using at work could actually reinforce and expand
those that I have been using at home to manage my music data.
As yet, I am focusing on 'score' data.

I want to be able to structure score data so that different aspects
of my piece (different score generator programs) could have a notion
as to what another part of the piece is doing, or using as pitch or
timing information.

My idea is rather undeveloped as yet, but I have a preliminary notion
as to the structure of the data that would be used.  I am going to
list it here as an SQL database structure:


CREATE TABLE note (
  note_rsn       bigint(20) unsigned DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL auto_increment,
  opcode        float(4),
  start         float(4),
  end           float(4),
  PRIMARY KEY (note_rsn)
);

CREATE TABLE pfield (
  pfield_rsn    bigint(20)      unsigned DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL auto_increment,
  p_note_rsn    int(10)         unsigned,
  value         float(4),
  PRIMARY KEY (pfield_rsn)
);

CREATE TABLE notelist (
  notelist_rsn  bigint(20)      unsigned DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL auto_increment,
  p_note_rsn    int(10)         unsigned,
  name          varchar(20),
  PRIMARY KEY (notelist_rsn)
);



So, the 'note' is the center of attraction.  If there are pfields beyond
the third, then they are linked to the note by way of the 'p_note_rsn',
or, 'pointer to note record sequence number'.  A similar relationship is
held between the 'note' and 'notelist', so that an actual score can be
pulled from 'notelist' through the 'name' field.

I was walking along the coast of southern California today, mingling
my toes with the surf, when a very striking thought blessed me as I
was mulling this data-structure over and over through my mind:

Supposing there were specific data types for things like
'sets of notes'.   By this I am referring to a vague concept that
was brought up to me by a teacher that I admired.  He showed me
a book (the title of which escapes me now) that had been compiled
by a composer that was enthralled with the idea of analysing and
composing music from the standpoint that there is a very basic unit
of music, called a 'set', which is really just an array of pitches.

The above data structure allows for the functionality of the present
(past?) 'cscore' lib.  I know however, that there is a larger canvas
of relationships between score elements to be covered.  I like the
idea of the SQL server as the core of score data, because it can span
pieces, users, computers, and continents!  I would like to consider
'hosting' score data, for use, and particularly *dynamic* use by the
entire globe of csounders.

I am going to use perl to tie things together.  I will try to make the
interface to the database generic, as with the DBI:: package.

I solicit any help in the design of the tables of this database, and
in the surrounding software.  I want it to be done correctly.

Thanks,

Toby