Latest revision as of 11:08, 16 June 2017

Domain concepts are concepts that are related to the domain at hand... i.e., comic books

Issue Number

The issue number can consist of multiple components. In its simplest form, it is just an integer, usually starting at 1. However sometimes an issue number 0 (zero) will be created, or even an issue number -1 (negative one). Additionally, sometimes a .1 (point one) is added to the issue number, e.g., 15.1

Lastly, when multiple variants exist an issue extension is used to identify the variant. Though this would normally be specified on the variant table an not the issue table.

Keydate

Keydate is a translation of the publication date, possibly supplemented by the on-sale date, into numeric form for chronological ordering and searches. It is in the format YYYY-MM-DD, where the parts of the date not given are filled up with 00. For comics dated only by year, the keydate is YYYY-00-00. For comics only dated by month the day (DD) is 00. For the month (MM) on quarterlies, use 04 for Spring, 07 for Summer, 10 for Fall and 01 or 12 for Winter (in the northern hemisphere, shift accordingly in the southern).

adapted from GCD

Uncertain, Confirmed, None/No, NULL

When looking at the data model in use by the GCD, they have many tables with columns ending with _uncertain. Or they have column starting with no_. For example, page_count_uncertain or no_indicia_frequency.

This seems like a very interesting alternative to using a NULL value. Null typically infers that that there is no value for a given field for a specific record. However a value of NULL does not indicate for certain that there is no value, or if the value exists but has not been entered because it is not known at the moment or hasn't been looked up. So in addition to using NULL, the use of the no_ field clarifies that there is no value rather than the value is unknown.

Additionally, sometimes a value is left NULL because it's exact value is not 100% certain. With the use of _uncertain columns, instead of leaving a value NULL, a non-NULL value can be entered and the value can be marked as UNCERTAIN by setting the corresponding _uncertain field to TRUE. This way, queries can be executed later to find the various uncertain values and either confirm or update them to the correct values.

great concept number 2

poop....

definitions

Ashcan
A comic printed in small numbers, often to secure trademarks for, or to preview material from, regular comics that have yet to be released

Flipbook
A comic which contains 2 stories, which start at opposite ends of the book. Each story is "flipped" upside down compared to the other story.

graphic novel
a term that is used to describe a comic story of sufficient length to be published as a book, in either squarebound or hardcover binding. It is usually used to refer to a story that is first published in book form.

indicia
The indicia is the publisher's official statements in a publication, normally containing the complete name of the publication, date, publisher's address, copyright notice and the names of the main editorial staff. Books may also indicate the authors' names and will have an ISBN and/or a National Library identification number, while periodicals may specify their ISSN. Indicia for periodicals may also detail publishing frequency and subscription prices. Book often do not have an indicia, but the information needed can be found on the copyright page instead, which is usually on the back of the main title page. (This page is also called the "verso".) Additional information may be found in a colophon at the back of the book.

ISBN
The International Standard Book Number for a publication that is not a serialized periodical. This is a unique 10-digit code number assigned to every book published since 1970. It can usually be found on the copyright page or colophon of a book, and may also be printed on the cover or dust jacket. Between 1967 and 1976, an earlier numbering system referred to as the Standard Book Number (SBN) was used by some publishers.

ISSN
ISSN is the standard abbreviation for International Standard Serial Number. This is a unique 8-digit code number that is assigned to serialized periodicals. It may be found in the indicia.

minicomics
Self-published sequential art publications using small formats similar to fanzines or ashcans. Actual sizes may vary. Usually printed in small numbers on photocopiers, folded into a small size, stapled and sometimes trimmed. A recently coined term to distinguish publications of this type from text-based fanzines.