DiversityDescriptions
DiversityDescriptions is an application component of the database framework Diversity Workbench. It might be installed as part of a DWB environment, but also be used as a stand-alone application, e. g., in a local installation. Each DWB module is devoted to a specific data domain, but DWB-DD is much more generic and designed following the Entity attribute value model (EAV), called also "open schema".
DiversityDescriptions is organising any kind of descriptions, descriptions of organisms, taxa and any item, element or entity, which is object of diversity or descriptive research.
- The descriptions are characterized by a triple structure, namely ’item-descriptor-state’ or ’item-descriptor-value’ or ’item-character-character state’ or ’entity-attribute-value’ or ’element-property-value’.
- The descriptors (= characters, attributes, properties) are not limited to morphological characters and functional traits, but could be physiological, ecological, behavioral and survey parameters, molecular descriptors and descriptors of data content schemes. Beside summary data, sample data as gained by ecological field sampling are addressed with own functions.
- The descriptor states or values, which build the item/description, can be generalized to one of the presently supported data types (categorical states, quantitative values and statistical measures, molecular sequence data and free-form text as a fall-back option).
DWB-DD can be used to describe traits of individual organisms, any research items/ elements/ entities/ objects (e.g. specimens, observation and measurement events, plots) as well as taxa, syntaxonomic entities (e.g. species, plant-sociological entities, ecosystems) and to organise measurement series over the time. An Introduction to DiversityDescriptions presented in 2020 is explaining some of these aspects. DWB-DD is used, e.g., for research data management in DEEMY and LIAS light. Furthermore, DiversityDescriptions is a suitable tool for conceptual schema development and schema publication in a Linked Open Data (LOD) resp. Semantic Media Wiki context as done for MOD-CO.
DiversityDescriptions is ready to manage and exchange research data organised as DELTA files, SDD XML schema files and as EML XML schema files (for schemas and standards see here). Most research data in environmental sciences are, however, organized according proprietary schemas. In these cases DWB-DD is able to generate XSD document files together with the XML data files. There are also functions on schema mapping and an ubiquitous import wizard on board.
An implementation project to connect DiversityDescriptions data pipelines to a future software application DiversityNaviKey is on the way.
Database version 3.0.10 is used as underlying data base for Quiz applications.
For download of test versions check DiversityDescriptions clients for beta testing.
Software for .Net Framework 4.8
Online manual
The manual is provided in html format with Content and Keywords, see also DWB user manuals. Earlier versions were regularly published as pdf files. They are stored under Previous versions of pdf files from DWB user manuals. The compiled help file in CHM (= MS online help format) is included in the zip archive with the download of the client application.
Client application
Current version
The client application is built for Microsoft .Net Framework 4.8.
Beta test versions
For download of test versions check DiversityDescriptions clients for beta testing.