Tim Cook wrote:
> Paul Fuller wrote:
>> "Names are fickle, Identifiers are permanent"
> 
> The problem with tagging is that either a) it stores the data in an 
> external database that doesn't follow the file when you copy it to a new 
> medium or b) it alters the file, changing its MD5 hash and making it not 
> identical to the other copies of it on the internet (or wherever), so 
> it's harder to find duplicates in large sets of files or quickly 
> determine which images of an existing set are missing.
> 
> -- 
> Tim Cook
> http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

Well if you rule out adding external data and using the file attributes 
then you are stuck with hierarchy and that is just the least useful 
thing for reasons already mentioned.

I agree with Darren's answer that you can always store the original MD5 
as an attribute.  Ditto for the original name, source website and any 
other attributes that you are interested in.

I also should have said that you should of course normalise the data. 
So for example don't tag the file with the Artist's DOB etc.

You can always generate whatever structure you want from the metadata. 
Say if you want to export selected files for some purpose where the 
database approach does not work.

The advantage is that you can generate whatever from the metadata. 
Can't say the same for the structure approach.

Post a reply to this message