How to show data in database with a JTable?

Data overload

  • I'm designing and managing a very ambitious data visualization app for the arts and culture sector, and am trying to find the best way to organize the data types and attributes. Excel just ain't doin' it anymore. We have a multitude of data sources, each with its own set of attributes. The data types interact w/ each other in the (web-based) software. (For example, you might want to filter Data Type A by an attribute of Data Type B.) Each data type comes from a different source and has unique characteristics/considerations. Some data types relate to each other, and some don't. In some cases, we have data that goes back years, all of which will be accessible to the user; in other cases, we don't. My task is to figure out how to make this data available to the user in an intuitive interface, which means that I have to understand in great detail how it all relates to each other. Spreadsheets can only show relationships between two things well, but I need to look at relationships between three or more pieces/types of data, plus somehow show that some individual data types & attributes have the capability of being displayed through time. A relational database seems like overkill to me, not the least because what I really need to be able to do is *see* all of these data types and attributes together, but if there's a GUI that will allow me to do that, that might work. I've never used MS Access before, but I do have access (har) to it and the will to learn. If you have suggestions or ideas that are even tangentially related, it would be helpful. Or pointers to articles that discuss a similar problem. Or, really, anything. Thanks!

  • Answer:

    Have you considered a semantic approach? I am in no way an expert, but what you're describing sounds like exactly what those kinds of databases do best. At my place of employ we work with a few different companies in this space-- I/O Informatics, Cambridge Semantics. Lots of possibilities for great and powerful UIs on top of a semantic framework. Start looking in that direction, maybe?

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Other answers

A relational database seems like overkill to me With the caveat that I work with them every day, what you're describing sounds exactly like what a relational database is good at, taking disparate data sets and tying them together where they match up so you can look at "Type A only", "Type B only", "Type A and B" or any other combination of A-Z you care to tie together. Again, this assumes a decent database design, but it's hard to give any help with that without knowing what at least some of the data is and what format it's in right now.

yerfatma

I just yanked my poor husband, who does this kind of thing all the time, from his work to ask him about this, and he said something similar to Sublimity. I'm going to define a semantic schema, place each data attribute into that schema, and then figure out what sort of visualization each combination of the schema can/will generate. Once the schema is in place and I know that all the data fits nicely in it, engineers will implement this in a relational database.

nosila

Looks like you need to be reading about Database Normalization.

oceanjesse

What you are describing is a 'Data Warehouse'. If you have a limited budget you can build a data warehouse using standard database tech just be aware that everything you read about relational database design will be wrong when applied to a Data Warehouse, i.e. you should denormalise the data instead of normalising it.

Lanark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Q8F1M7yqo? Using Apache Solr and Lucene.

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