[Bug-gnubg] Removing Player Records??

[Albert Silver]

> > Yes, but it'll be hard to do anything inside gnubg with these data.
> > For example, just showing the current players' record dialog would
> > require us to read through the entire file and average a bunch of
> > numbers. Such operations are provided by RDBMS for our convinience.
Of
> > course, this adds new dependencies.
> >
> > Also, the suggested CSV file is not normalised leading to duplicate
> > data.
> >
> > It would also be quite flexible to add new fields without breaking
all
> > previous versions.
> >
> > As you can guess I'm not entirely conviced that we should stick with
a
> > CSV file :-)
> 
> I suppose my basic take is that we shouldn't be trying to do anything
> with the data within gnubg, only exporting it. In essence, remove the
> view player records item and the supporting code. 

I completely disagree, and think this is a very bad idea.

> Or freeze it at
> about the functionality it now has (I suppose we could save a bit more
> of the stats and display them), but really we should simply not make
> any effort to duplicate other and better tools in what is really a
> backgammon program. 

Yes, exactly, and what is the purpose here? If it is *only* to play
against, you can also remove tons of other features such as the analysis
features, the rollouts features, the market windows, the end of game
statistics, including FIBS rating calculation, error rates, etc.
Afterall, they are all guilty of manipulating data.

The Player Records is one of its most useful features, and I can't begin
to understand why anyone wouldn't want it. I use it to keep track of how
I play, and my progress (or lack of) over time, as well as my opponents.
Every single user I know uses it, and the only complaints have been on
the limitations. 

                                                        Albert