Plant Base
Online (beta)
About Plant Base Online
This freely accessible web database is a new implementation using
the same data source as our stand-alone PC product. It is still
under development but usable from January 2009.
Some parts of our database have previously been available as
a data feed to other web-sites, but we felt it was time to make
the information easily available from our own site.
Easy to remember address:- www.deeproot.co.uk/pbo
The Plant Data
Database record content is the same as our stand-alone applications.
Information is offered in good faith, but as with all plant
reference material the details provided are not necessarily definitive or complete.
Some data items are only an approximation and may be highly dependent
on local area and climate factors.
Updates will be done in sync with the PC product, whenever we
find the time!
Pictures have been reduced in size and quality in order to minimise
storage and loading times.
Performance
We are using shared database and web servers, inevitably performance
will fluctuate. During quiet periods such as early morning, the
speed is very good but can slow down dramatically at peak periods.
We have ensured optimal database access and kept pages as "lightweight"
as possible for quicker loading. If finances allow, will will
consider faster hosting options.
Online versus Installed Plant Base?
We do not see the online service as competing with the original
application, which is fully installed on the user's machine (or
even the new mobile edition).
For anyone who wants to frequently look up plant information,
the stand-alone database product is by far the best. With no Internet
dependency, it is very fast to use and always available. Most
importantly, the database can easily be updated to suit personal
needs. It also has larger, better quality pictures and a number
of other additional features, which would not be appropriate for
the online service.
But for occasional queries, the online service makes the information
freely available to all - as it should be.
Advertising
Some plant pages may carry relevant advert links, as do some
other pages. We dislike indiscriminate and intrusive advertising,
so these companies have been carefully chosen and mostly used
by us personally in the past. Some of the sales pages also contain
useful additional information and images. Please click through
these links if you are considering any purchase, it helps pay
for the upkeep of the site and naturally, costs you nothing.
Terms of use
As is the case with our stand-alone database, the plant information
should be regarded as under continuous development (and always
will be!). We cannot accept any liability resulting from its use.
Subject to the above, you are free to use the text data presented
in any way that you wish. Most of the pictures are covered by
copyright and may not be reproduced commercially without prior
permission and payment of a small fee (see
image licensing details).
You are welcome to link directly to the plant pages. The URLs
are based on the botanical name and will not change unless the
plant is renamed!
The complete database may be licensed for bespoke commercial
use. It has been available for some years, our work on the online
service simply expands the format and implementation choices.
Contact us for details.
Technology
Plant Base Online is a typical implementation using MySQL and
PHP dynamic pages (LAMP). The database was converted directly
from the production release of Plant Base for Windows, using MySQL's
own Migration Toolkit. The database structure, designed 10 years
ago, is unchanged and worked perfectly. The PHP pages were hand-coded
by ourselves and tested using a local WAMP server, before uploading
(our most sincere thanks and admiration goes to all those responsible
for these fine open source projects).
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