Re: [Gramps-devel] 1.1 database issues

[<D.J...@hw...>]

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 10:53:45 -0600  Alex Roitman wrote:

> > Adding a return for an entire house required the laborious  addition of
> > the same census event to several people at a time. I'd  have loved
> > a create-event, add-to-many capability.
> 
> First off, could you please explain how census is an event? 

I suppose the trite answer is that it's one of the listed events in the Gramps
event editor panel :-)

> I had an impression that, in relation to the person, census is a source of
> information. I can see that census is a standard gedcom event type, but does
> it really make much sense to say that census happened to a person?  

I feel I'm being a touch pedantic here, but in a sense a census is an event if
you're on the receiving end. As I understand it a census enumerator actually
knocked on the door on a specific date with pen and paper in his hand and
demanded that everyone in the house be ... well, enumerated I suppose.

The result of the census is a resource or source.

However, the term "event" here isn't quite that same as that used in common
parlance.

> What does a census event add to a personal record? Wouldn't it be  better to
> enter all the info from the census records and reference that  census return
> as a source instead? I apologize for silly questions, but  I'd like to grasp
> it once and for all :-) 

It probably doesn't matter _that_ much whether it's an event or a source. It's
a source now but an event then, you might say. 

I suppose that from a personal record point of view events are significant
happenings or changes of state such as birth, death, etc. 

> If you happen to have a good  reference explaining the established practices
> of keeping events,  sources, etc, I would love to read it.

Sorry, no. I'm just using common (non)sense. 

> If, however, the census events are to be copied, it makes perfect sense  to
> have them shared: imagine you screw up a date of than event. Then  you copy
> it to 100 people. Then you find your error. You're facing the  joy of
> correcting it 100 times. A reference to a single object would  help.

No doubt about that!

Best wishes,
Dave

-- 
Dave Morriss, Heriot-Watt University                     D.J...@hw...