CIDOC NEWSLETTER

Volume 7, August 1996
   [en français svp]

DATA STANDARDS WORKGROUP REPORT

At the ICOM meeting in Stavanger, the Data Model Workgroup and the Data Terminology Workgroup merged and became the Data Standards Workgroup. Each of the former groups then presented a product: the CIDOC Relational Data Model of the Data Model Workgroup, and the Information Categories Guidelines of the Data Terminology Workgroup.

Project plans of the Data Standards Workgroup called for three data standards to be linked to the CIDOC Relational Data Model: Archaeological Sites, Ethnology, and Information Categories Guidelines. The workgroup also plans to hold a workshop in Nairobi, details of which are to be announced later.

The Data Standards Workgroup held an interim meeting in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, March 6 - 8 to discuss object-oriented (O-O) methods and techniques for extending and strengthening the CIDOC Relational Data Model.

Following presentations, demonstrations, and much discussion, the group agreed to the following:

  1. Future CIDOC data models will be developed using O-O methods, techniques, and formats. During this development phase, the current CIDOC Relational Data Model will continue to be available. Users are reminded, however, that it will be in a dormant state (as there are no plans to modify or enhance it). The O-O model will hold all the relevant information contained in the existing relational model, and it will offer flexibility and extensibility not possible with a relational approach. Information which is implicit in the relational model will be represented explicitly in the O-O model. More specifically, the O-O model can provide varying levels of information, from a general overview to a targeted search, enabling the display, use, and retrieval of information from multiple points of access simultaneously.
    The scope of the current relational model focuses on the documentation of museum objects and their provenance. The O-O model will enable more specific collections management and research data to be included. Communication, the exchange of information and public access to museum information will be enhanced.
  2. The group intends the O-O model to be a 'Conceptual Reference Model' (CRM), which can be enriched by complementary, domain-specific models. The CRM is seen as a key product which will provide the intellectual and conceptual framework for defining and integrating formal compatible subsets and extensions. The role of the group is to provide a forum for the consolidation, validation, and integration of these CRM components.
  3. A first draft of the CRM will be created by a subgroup which will analyze the current relational model and convert it to an O-O format. The subgroup will report to the larger group on the problems and exceptions encountered, identify the necessary transformation rules, and make recommendations for enhancing the CRM. This first version should be completed and distributed to workgroup members in time for the September CIDOC meeting in Nairobi.
    Future work involves testing and extending the CRM by applying it to specific applications, projects, and problem areas. This work will be entrusted to subgroups with specific interests and expertise who will report to the full workgroup.
  4. To complement the O-O model, the group intends to furnish support material to include presentation documents, guides, transformation rules, and other information needed to understand and use the new model. The O-O model requires a different mind-set for looking at museum data: although it is more flexible and extensible, it is also more complex.

We look forward to sharing this work with the CIDOC community this September in Nairobi.

Nick Crofts and Pat Reed, Co-Chairs