Managing cross references - permuting and commuting

[DZ3 0]

Dear all

I am working on a photo catalogue. Some images need to be cross referred eg all taken at same event

So I have a join table that connects Id numbers for different images

Two different problems arise

1) Permutation

if I have say 15 images linked to a starting image how can I automatically generate links between the others 

eg If image1 connects to Image2 … image15

I need to have separate connections between image2 and image15 etc

2) commutation

If ImageA connects to imageB

and ImageB connects to imageC

ImageA should also connect to imageC - but there's a clear  danger of circularity/looping

Any suggestions much appreciated

 

Ive duplicated the join table to enable reciprocal relationships - so if A links to B then A shows up in a portal on  B's record

but how to extend the chain is the question...

thanks david

[comment 1,742]

5 hours ago, DZ3 said:

Some images need to be cross referred eg all taken at same event

IMHO, images taken at the same event should NOT be cross-referenced to each other, but to the event. Assuming that you want to enable multiple references for the same image, I would expect to see a table of Collections and a join table between Photos and Collections. Thus all images taken at the same event are related to the same event - and it's an easy hop from any single image to all the other images related to the same event (or any other record in the Collections table that "anchors" related images together).

 

Edited August 8 by comment

[DZ3 0]

Thanks for that - neat and solves the problem. Much appreciated david