Discussions on FMDb
scalability
how well will it scale for the tens of thousands of records in IMDB? Are they stored persistently in memory or browser cache? how is that data delivered?
This client-side application requests data directly from Freebase through our API using our javascript templating language, mjt (http://mjtemplate.org/). Despite its name, this app has no relation to IMDb except in that it presents our data in a similar way.
Migrated Feature Requests
[NOTE: These were originally posted to the Feature Requests property that is no longer displayed.]
I think it would be cool if there were a stripped-down version of this app that would download quickly, and render/behave properly, on an iPhone. That way, if I've gone the low-tech route of actually visiting a Blockbuster store, then I could find a movie that I haven't already seen (e.g. what's the name of that obscure De Niro film?).
Actually, if this was any more stripped down there wouldn't be anything to see. Pretty formatting is useless if there isn't useful information as part of the display.
Where's the beef?
I'm not a fan of negativity but I looked at the app while watching Dreamgirls on HBO. So, of course I put in "Dreamgirls" in the search field. Issue #1--It found one match and instead of displaying the information it should the list of one item. Why? If there is a single match just show it.
Issue #2, cast list. What cast list. It shows one actress. The cast was just a bit larger than that.
Issue #3, synopsys. There isn't one. Nada. Zip.
Issue #4, the text search box on a dark background must have been a design decision but it is a disaster from a user perspective. I had to click around the area to actualy find the box.
Issue #5, no way to get back to Freebase. Once in you are in unless you like hitting back multiple times or pulling down history.
Issue #6, last issue (I promise). No reason to exist. If you aren't adding anything useful other than a stark interface why bother. At least mashup some additional information from other movie sites. Maybe a google search of the title. Ratings from Rottontomatoes.
The issues you're outlined are valid and are the result of a number of factors. This is a demo app, it was primarily intended to show off how easy it was to present Freebase data in an entirely different look and feel - and the developer who built it was trying to demonstrate how you could create a movie browser with very little code. It isn't full featured, but nor was it meant to be.
I also think your experience would have been better if you'd looked at a more well populated topic, like this one. That said, if you see data missing for a particular film, it would be great to see that added to the appropriate record on Freebase. Your contributions are encouraged.
hiya sidb! totally agree with all of your criticisms, save for the last one. FMDb exists to provide a simple jumping off point for people getting started with MJT, the javascript templating language designed to make it as easy as possible to build simple applications that use Freebase data. I've clarified this in the application's description. thanks for your feedback!
