[postgis-users] detabase design question

[Tim Bowden]

On Fri, 2008-01-25 at 14:09 +0200, Andre Schoonbee wrote:
> I do not have years of experience and am faced with a challenge:
> My client have lots of vector data. Some are from a few years ago and they
> want to load all data into postgis. The data covering a wide spectrum -
> basically all spatial data for the country. This is census data, regions and
> the subsequent changes to the regions, National rainfall and also regional
> rainfall. Mining, roads and the changing of the roads the past 10 years.
> Boreholes from 10 years ago, and subsequently replaced by pipelines.
> Veterinarian data, etc...
> 
> So some of the data is national data and some is regional data. But the
> regional data is not always related to the current region, because the
> regions have changed in the last couple of years. 
> 
> So my question:  Is there a basic concept design that will cater for these
> kind of scenarios? Any ideas might help
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andre

Whilst there are great tools to put spatial data into postgis (ogr2ogr,
shp2pgsql), imho it's most important to design according to what you
want to get out.  I'd start with getting a firm idea of what type of
reporting or questions are going to be asked about the data.  Once
you've got that nailed you're well on the track to understanding what
sort of design you'll need.

If you've got as many different data sets as you indicate, you're in for
quite a large job.  I'd strongly recommend getting some expert
consulting advice on site as database design is often not a
straightforward exercise.  Also start small, and add data sets
gradually.  Iron out the kinks for each one before moving onto the next.

HTH,
Tim Bowden