[R] label storage and conversions: DBMS and R

[TyagiAnupam@aol.com]

Hi R users, 

I am new to using DBMS with R for large datasets. Thanks to all who responded 
with useful suggestion to my earlier postings about using large datasets and 
DBMS with R. I am writing to get some help about how to design good tables in 
DBMS to take full advantage of the wonderful built-in facilities in R, like 
labels.

I am using RMySQL client. Because R makes good use of variable and value 
labels and data (column) types, I would like to create tables with 
appropriate design in terms of,
 (1) datatype (char, varchar, int, etc.) in DBMS such that it corresponds 
with the appropriate datatype in R (factor, numeric, etc.) when converted,
(2) How best to store variable and values lables and formats in DBMS, so they 
are correctly included in the data.frame that DBMS clients like RMySQL create 
for use in R. 
If I had only a few variables and values this will not be a problem; I can 
use meaningful variable names or create labels directly in R. But with 1600 
variables, many with about 10 catagorical values, this approach does not look 
promising. Is there a document somewhere that addresses this issue? What 
would be a good way to solve this problem?
Anupam.
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Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. 
                  -- Niels Bohr