Program for image management needed

I need a recommendation for a program that allows me to select various categories for an image without moving or copying it. Example: There is a yellow car on one photo. Now I want to select "car" and "yellow things" as categories. Later the program should be able to show me all images with "yellow things" on it. An integrated rating system would also be nice. Despite the example I'm talking about managing porn, of course.

I hear you saying you want a database.

I'm working on something like this, but I can't make any promises on when will I finish it. With a series of PHP scripts, and assuming you work in the command line in either Windows or Linux, you will be able to classify any file with any tags in a text-based database (ok for up to 100000 files/database). Text-based = good, portable, non-tied to a particular tool or system, processable with Perl, PHP, etc., editable by hand, all software works on it, easy backups, easy repairs, easy everything, simple. KISS.

Fields are dynamic and regex-based. You can do stuff like "this file is type=Car-Racing;rating=5", or "Give me files of type=Car-.* and files rating=[0-3]". Naturally, you're returned a list of file names, so you can do anything useful with it. Examples: Reclassify them. Browse them with your favorite tool. Hardlink them to a temporary directory so you can browse it with ACDSee and use Back and Forwards with the results of your query. Copy them to a friend. Etc.

Like I said it's all command-line based, thus fast and useful. It's all PHP (not through a web server), so it runs on pretty much everything.

I might later make a Windows GUI client to query the database, and/or a web interface.

>>3
Though that does seem useful, I don't think it would be in this situation. You'd want something that could easily view files - like a plugin or something for Access(or whatever is his database program.)

imgSeek

BTW, while >>3 is an interesting idea, this isn't the first time. In fact, people are constantly developing programs or filesystems that support this; they're just not aware of history.

There's a problem: metadata. Who's going to enter the metadata for several thousand images? That's right: nobody. Nobody except scientists, that is, and your software isn't going to be used by them.

My advice is to do something else. You'll just hit the same wall many of your predecessors have. Why do you think they're moving to image-based query systems like imgSeek?

>>6
people are constantly developing programs or filesystems that support this
Oh, but mine is regex-based, has dynamic keywords, and works with my other tools :)

Who's going to enter the metadata for several thousand images?
You're right; I desisted from classifying my real photos, but I might keep my hentai classified. In fact it already is; I have a directory tree for it, plus a parallel root of hard links with my favorite pics and extra categories. I have to classify it somehow or else I can't jerk off to what I want, and this is a serious problem! :)

So with my tools, I could go to any directory and do something like prisma-set * c=hentai-Maburaho , then only bother for particular files with stuff I want to retrieve later, like prisma-set <serial_number_of_great_pic>.jpg favorite=yes .

image-based query systems like imgSeek
I'll have a look at it, but I have my doubts; you know I'd be drawing boobs all the time and it'd return tens of thousands of results... :P

http://wakaba.c3.cx/soc/kareha.pl/1112692894

Picasa, Photoshop Album 2.0, etc.