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Using links with multiple databases

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Using links with multiple databases
Hi,

I'm going to use an example, and would like to know if something like this is possible with links.

Yahoo Mexico has it's own database and Yahoo Spain has it's own database, but BOTH of them "share" their links and help build a third database that is Yahoo in Spanish.

Could this be done with linkssql? (technically speaking)
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Re: Using links with multiple databases In reply to
This is something Alex would have to address, as for the licensing.

With a little trickery and a field or two in the database, you can make modifications using the "dynamic" parameter to affect the builds so as only to pick links that match the build criteria _and_ the dynamic field criteria.

This still uses one database to run all the links, but can build separate "trees" with different subsets of links.

Until some statement from Alex about the liscening issues, that's as detailed as I can get.

It wouldn't be hard to build this sort of support in to links, but it could be abused to use one copy of links to run several unrelated sites off different domains, rather than one multi-level search heirarchy.

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Re: Using links with multiple databases In reply to
Hi,

I'll be contacting Alex so he can clarify about the license issue.

This would not be for unrelated sites... it's a business directory in Mexico and will be expanding to Spain... that's why I'd like to have the different link trees BUT also the whole database in one place.
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Re: Using links with multiple databases In reply to
Hi,

Like most software, one Links SQL license covers one installation of the program.

We do offer discounts for multiple copies.

If your site depends on having many copies installed (i.e. a directory where your top level categories are too different to put in one database), then please contact me to work something out.

Cheers,

Alex
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Re: Using links with multiple databases In reply to
Alex,

For clarity, the issue is a bit more subtle. What if you have one "installation" of links, but you modify it to use several "links" databases?

Such that you only have one copy of the scripts, but you've modified them to operate on a site with the structure:

Main Links Page -
-- sub links site 1
-- sub links site 2
-- sub links site 3

Where each of the sub-links sites uses a separate links database, but the same copy of the program code?

An example would be (using the one above) a Yahoo type directory, that wanted to regionalize, and keep databases by country or language. This way, the "main" page would be a composite of several databases, but each of the links off that page would trigger a passed parameter that defined the database -- similar to Page.cgi but static.

I would actually like to see this feature built into links, so that each subcategory could have it's own database/links structure.

Right now, that's a little vague in terms of licensing, and there are even ways that "domain" licensing can be abused (check the WWWThreads forum for the licensing discussion).

But, if each sub category could use a diffent links database, and set of templates, but share a common top-level, then you could really easily integrate several features into Links, such that Links becomes a "community" program, not just a links program. One category could be "links" another could be "classifieds" another could be "shopping" (something I'm working on now), etc.

The central logic for all of these is the same -- database access and generation of a categorical output page -- but the data required by each is different.

If the links off the main categories were of a page.cgi?parameters variety, and the navigation bars also contained "dynamic" linking, then the templates could be static, and tailored to each different subcategory, but you'd "jump" or "cgi" out of that category to the new area.

Dynamic generation would not be affected much, since you'd just be passing another paramter to mark which database you are using, not only the template set and location.

Coupled with user registration and some of the things Alex has hinted he's been working on, you then have a complete community builder program, that is one step away from "home pages" communities, but very close to a "my page" like on Yahoo.