Taking Parts sans Database

At the suggestion of Ali, I decided to not bother pretending I’m going to build a nifty database and track all this, but to just start taking parts.

Yesterday I went to drive the Buick and the battery was nearly dead (I blame a defective solar charger that I just started using).  I got out the charger and while I was waiting for it, I thought I’d pull the battery from the Civic — after all, it’s doing it no good to be slowly discharging and I can probably use it for something else … like jump-starting the Buick. Alas, it didn’t have enough juice, but I think it helped a little in conjunction with the charger.

Now I have a car battery. I’m working on converting a gas scooter to electric, so I may use that battery to test the electronics. I got the corrosion cleaned off of it and set it to charging last night. This morning it was done, and seemingly holding a charge. I’m sure it’s not like-new, but it holds a bit of energy.

Researching WordPress Plugins

It doesn’t appear to be all that hard to build a WordPress plugin.  As best I can tell, it’s just a matter of setting up some hook functions to initialize, update, and make changes.  I probably will utilize the WordPress Post Meta methods for the tagging and naming of parts, one way or another, but add my own tables for additional information.

More Database Stuff

I know this is supposed to be a blog about taking apart a car, but so far it’s been more about building a website.  C’est la vie.  Here’s more of the same.

I got to thinking about that whole “use the WordPress term/tag tables” thing I was talking about and am now considering expanding the idea: what if I write the database access as a WordPress plug-in? Then I can use the WordPress Dashboard to enter data, and the whole thing will be more tightly integrated with WordPress.  I think it’s a win-win.  Plus, I get to explore building a proper plug-in in addition to brushing up [er ... relearning] MySQL.

The Basics of Database Building

I’ve long been wrestling with what I want the ReSassy database to do. So far it’s congealed into the following goals:

• I want to track each piece of Sassy.
• I want to be able to summarize data from anywhere on a hierarchy of sub-assemblies.
• I want to be able to summarize data from a dynamic list of characteristics (“parts made of plastic”, “parts that were recycled”, “after-market parts” etc.)
• I want to track all the parts by weight and compare to the total actual weight and the 2094 pound curb weight. I want to be able to enter weight in whatever unit is convenient.
• I want to track financial exchanges for each part: either how much it was sold for, or how much it cost me to get rid of it.
• I want to note where a part will likely end up at the end of its useful lifetime, and to rank its utility during that lifetime and its value or destructiveness after that lifetime.

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