Composition Help

Hi All,

 

I need some help and have attached a whiteboard diagram that hopefully shows better than what I can explain with words as to:

 

1) What I currently have set up in FileMaker (2 tables: Domain Types and Domain Members)

2) What I need to be able to do (create compositions - I think)

 

This database has been functional and very important to be able to build and see what "things" are grouped together by "type". This is a little loose in the definition because of the broad type of information in which I am storing. What it basically does currently is allow me to keep a simple 1-level classification of things, for example:

 

Domain Type is the name of the parent table. Sample records from Domain Type:

DOMAIN TYPE = Language

DOMAIN TYPE = Color

DOMAIN MEMBER = English

DOMAIN MEMBER = French

DOMAIN MEMBER = German

Sample records from DOMAIN MEMBER table showing the domain type it is related to:

1. Language, English

2. Language, French

 

3. Language, German

4. Color, Blue

5. Color, Red

6. Size, Large

7. Size, Medium

8. Size, Small 

 

This works fine and is very helpful especially when trying to build a specific vocabulary to be used within a particular context. In other words, if I wanted to know what vales are to be used for the DOMAIN TYPE (Language), I would see those values in the DOMAIN MEMBER table that has the DOMAIN TYPE Language as its parent key.

 

The need has now expanded to be able to "compose", if you will, DOMAIN TYPES together to form a new DOMAIN TYPE. The composed DOMAIN TYPE would include two or more DOMAIN TYPEs, such as Language AND Color to yield a composite name of "Language Color". This "Language Color" is an additional Domain Type and it has no effect on the Language DOMAIN TYPE, nor the Color DOMAIN TYPE. However, making a change to the DOMAIN TYPE in which the composition is based upon, would be reflected in the composition.

 

Sample records I would like to have from Domain Type:

DOMAIN TYPE = Language

DOMAIN TYPE = Color

DOMAIN TYPE = Language Color (NEW composition)

DOMAIN TYPE = Language Size (NEW composition)

DOMAIN TYPE = Color Size (NEW composition)

Next, I need to be able to compose DOMAIN MEMBERs together to create new DOMAIN MEMBERs that belong to the newly creates composite DOMAIN TYPE, such as Language Color.

 

Sample records from DOMAIN MEMBER table showing the domain type it is related to:

1. Language Color, English Blue

2. Language Color, English Red

 

Notice that the Domain Type name is composed (Language Color), and the Domain Member name is composed as well (English Red). I do not want to "type" these values, but rather select them from the pre-existing DOMAIN TYPE and DOMAIN MEMBER records in which they exists already. In other words, if we decide that the word "Red" should be replaced with "Magenta", then the change takes place on the simple Domain Member record of Red. That change would be reflected in the ALL the compositions that used that Domain Member in their compositions.

 

The attached diagram hopefully is much easier for one to comprehend.