A spreadsheet to web DB conversion

[nelsons]

Am soliciting help on how to consider (plan) this at an early stage.

Convert spreadsheet to a web db (so to speak).

                  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun etc. Total
JobName1
    Budget 1   20   24   55   23   45   23   etc.. xxxx
    Budget 2   34   54   23   76   45   33   etc.. xxxx
    Budget 3   34   54   23   76   45   33   etc.. xxxx

JobName 2
    Budget 1   20   24   55   23   45   23   etc.. xxxx
    Budget 2   34   54   23   76   45   33   etc.. xxxx
    Budget 3   34   54   23   76   45   33   etc.. xxxx

                      Totals      xxx       xxx    xxx      xxx    xxx    xxx                                   xxxx


 With numbers all the way across - totals at end (right)
 With numbers at the bottom (totals for month)

Any though provoking idea, or samples that would shed light on how to most propery tackle this?

Am currently very adept at garbage in - garbage out, but this is a new level and I want to make sure it is entered with the right (proper) perspective.

Thanks for whatever perspective or samples of this that could be provided.

[rachel2004]

Which db do you plan on using?

[nelsons]

MySQL - thus far its all I have used.

PHP 4.2 or better.

[rachel2004]

As far as how you want to format the data in your spreadsheet, I won't attempt to address that because you knw better than anyone what type of data you wish to keep.

Now, when you've decided your db, tables, and columns, export your spreadsheet to a delimted file and feed it to MySQL with "load data infile"

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/LOAD_DATA.html

That will save you the work of taking everything in your spreadsheet and having to manually insert it into the db.

Now, all of this info is useless to you unless you know how you want to design your db. Once that is decided, then it's just a matter of formtting the columns of your spreadsheet to match each column in any given table of you db.

[nelsons]

Getting the data is is not an issue.

Im trying to figure out first how to normalize with the layout provided. Am trying to figure, do I have 12 month tables?

[rachel2004]

If your goal is normalize, then you need to break the confines of how the spreadsheet was set up. A spreadsheet has its uses. A database has its uses. If you want a good db, don't design based on how the spreadsheet looks anymore than you would create a spreadsheet based on a relational db.

If the only values that you would care to keep in the db are already listed in your first post, it shouldn't be too hard to set up maybe two or three tables.

[BuzzLY]

If you need help with the normalization process, I'd recommend using a tutorial to help you with each of the Normal Forms, like this one. At the very least, run through 3rd Normal Form.

Nobody can really help you with your normalization. You know the data better than any of us, so it's up to you. When you do get the normalization down, though, post your results here and we'll take a look to see if it indeed does satisfy the requirements.

Good Luck!