Thank you Peter,
This is very useful indeed, and yes, I did have
a look at eXist, but not sure I'd be prepared to use this
software for the project without specific technical support.
However, I should have perhaps explained that
after numerous discussions with
colleagues, trials and advice from our computing centre here in Leicester, the
decision was taken to catalogue our manuscripts creating a data-capture
database. We need to be able to publish our data soon, ideally June 2006, it is
not a single publication at the end of the project. We are relying on our
computer centre, which suggested managing our data from Microsoft Access on
my desk machine, but then publish it for Web access on the university SQL
server. I am some how hesitant about using Access as it does not seem
to have any flexibility in exporting the data, a part from SQL and XML.
FileMaker Pro 8 seems to have more flexibility at this hand exporting in PDF,
SQL, XML and excel. A similar method was used by the PASE project, I
think.
I am digressing here, anyway, we would still want to
export the data in XML and clearly there are standards which may not be
ignored. Thus my question relating to a possible correlation between TEI
and relational databases.
I look forward to the West Midland
Catalogue.
All the
best,
Orietta
In fact, this is not quite what Scriptorium does. Scriptorium was
actually originally built as a relational database, using Access indeed, and I
believe that this is still what it is, at base. The Scriptorium people
were indeed heavily involved in the drafting of the XML manuscript descriptoin
guidelines which first became the MASTER system, and now underlie the TEI
guidelines. It was one of their aims to be able to export data from their
database into Master/TEI XML, and possibly to import from Master/TEI into the
database, but I am not sure how far they got with this. In any case, one should
distinguish their arrangement from that now used by quite a few database systems
now available (mostly proprietary and very very expensive), which can read XML
schemas, configure a database accordingly, and then automatically import data
direct from the XML into the database.
One such system, which seems very powerful, is free, and has been used with
some success by some people at least, is eXist (
http://exist.sourceforge.net/): very
powerful, very configurable. I don't know of an implementation of EXIST
for Master/TEI encoded manuscript descriptions but this would surely be
possible. One system which was built specifically for MASTER records was
the PHELIX system, built at Oxford for the MASTER project. This had some
very neat features indeed -- where is it now?
And, of course, I have to mention the Anastasia implementations of
XML-encoded manuscript descriptions. The original MASTER catalogue is not
now functioning. But there is a quite wonderful early print book (not
manuscript! -- but the encodings work just fine, it seems) database of books
printed in or about Japan c.1550-1650 at
http://133.12.23.145:8080/html/.
This features, among many amazing things, some very clever cross-language
searching -- choose 'place name' in the search menu and look for 'Kyoto' and it
will find you Kyoto in Japanese! It also has many images, and lots of other fine
things.
If you are looking for an XML online catalogue of manuscripts: Wendy
Scase's West Midland Manuscripts project is also coming your way, again,
done with Anastasia. This is
http://www.sd-editions.com/AnaServer?MWM+0+start.anv.
This website is currently being updated and should look much nicer in a few
days. But what is here, gives some idea of what can be done
all the best
Peter
***original message
Dear all,
Does anybody know about
electronic manuscript projects which are
using/have used relational
databases following the TEI guidelines for
'Manuscript
description'?
Scriptorium seems to have done
it, any other similar project? If so, do
you know of any related
publication?
I'd be very grateful for any
advice, pitfall etc.
Best wishes,
Orietta
Dr Orietta Da
Rold
Research
Fellow
English
Department
University of
Leicester
University
Road
LE1 7RH
Tel. +44 (0)116 252
2778
The Production and Use of English
Manuscripts