Second European Central Crop Databases (ECCDB) On-line Databases Training

Second European Central Crop Databases (ECCDB) On-line Databases Workshop 18-21 February 1998, Alnarp, Sweden

Introduction

From 18-21 February 1998, NGB and ECPGR jointly organized, on behalf of the ECPGR Internet Advisory Group, a training workshop whose objective was to promote the on-line availability of central crop databases. The event was financially supported by ECPGR and NGB.

The meeting was attended by 8 CCDB managers, one guest, the five members of the Advisory Group, the ECPGR coordinator, and two participants from the hosting institute (see Appendix 1). The full programme is given in Appendix2.

Prior to the start of the workshop, the Advisory Group met to discuss practical aspects of the workshop, to review progress on its tasks and to discuss its future role (see summary in Appendix 3).

Since the first workshop - less than a year ago in Bonn - access to CCDBs has increased significantly. The Information Platform on PGR, hosted by ECPGR, has been established providing entry pages to a large number of CCDBs. Many of these are either on-line searchable, downloadable or both. This explains the broader emphasis given in this second workshop. Whereas the first workshop mainly focused on technical problems of getting the databases on the Internet, this workshop also extensively discussed quality issues related to completeness of data sets and adding value to the databases by including evaluation data.

Programme

Morten Hulden, documentation officer of NGB, opened the meeting, and Ms Eva Thörn, head of the NGB, welcomed the participants.

Lorenzo Maggioni discussed the status of the ECCDBs and reported on the outcomes of the Internet Advisory Group’s discussions on the previous day.

Technical issues concerning the development of the European Platform were presented by Kevin Painting.

Daniel Jiménez Krause presented an approach of using BASIS database as a central, powerful on-line DB host (See Appendix 4).

Morten Hulden presented the possibilities of using WAIS for providing on-line access to databases (See Appendix 5)

Herman Nijland presented an approach of linking a PC database such as Access to the Internet using relatively simple software (See Appendix 6).

Theo van Hintum presented aspects of providing on-line downloadable databases (See Appendix 7).

The CCDBs managers gave comprehensive presentations of their database systems.

In addition to the agenda, an extensive introduction to HTML was given by Staffan Liljas. He also gave a demonstration on basic HTML-page design.

Morten Hulden gave a step-by-step practical demonstration of the conversion of the chickpea CCDB into an Internet-accessible WAIS database.

Extensive discussions followed each presentation. Also, issues relating to on-line access and data quality were discussed in separate sessions.

Conclusions

Note: these notes have been compiled from the discussions and the presentations.

3.1 Issues related to creating and maintaining CCDBs

In general the great advances in information technology have not been matched by a concomitant improvement in data quality (data consistency, integrity and completeness). Consequently, this is still a priority.

Problems identified in creating a CCDB:
lack of technical advice on the choice of a DBMS
design of the database structure: proper use of DBMS; software upgrades
obtaining data from other institutions
conversion problems resulting from different formats
poor-quality data
handling characterization and evaluation data - know-how
lack of standardization in the decoding tables used
handling different national (ISO) character sets, e.g. Cyrillic

Problems identified in maintaining a CCDB:

getting updated data from other institutions
conversion problems resulting from different formats
poor-quality data
lack of standardization of decoding tables
handling different national (ISO) character sets, e.g. Cyrillic
choice between replacing or updating existing information with new information
human and financial resources for continuation of activities

Suggestions to improve the effectiveness of creation and maintenance of CCDBs, and to increase their value:

expert advice on database issues
increase of the use of the standard formats for data exchange, e.g. the multi-crop passport descriptor list
support from ECPGR in obtaining data
adding characterization and evaluation data
quality checking of the data in the (new) CCDB format by the contributor

3.2 Issues related to access via the Internet to Central Crop Databases

All participants have Email, three institutions have their own http server, four use a shared http server and one has no access at all to the WWW. One participating CCDB is already on-line on its own server, another via a hosting server. All institutions aim at going on-line. As a first step most see the preparation of downloadable databases as a feasible option, and a few have plans to make their CCDB on-line searchable via a hosting server.

3.2.2. Downloadable databases

are feasible as soon as the CCDBs are in a presentable shape
are of additional value, even if the database is already accessible on-line as searching/reporting can be more flexible
for passport information it is strongly advised to use the multicrop passport descriptor list
the size of the downloadable files should be indicated on the web pages
appropriate documentation should be supplied concerning the installation and use of the databases, etc.

3.2.3. On-line searchable databases

The prerequisites for making a database online accessible are:

appropriate hardware and server software
appropriate technical support
a good and permanent Internet connection

This option is therefore currently affordable only for larger institutions. If these prerequisites are met, installing the on-line databases has become relatively easy, e.g. with solutions like the Internet Information Server with IDC/HTX or WAIS. For passport information it is strongly advised to use the multicrop passport descriptor list

3.2.4. Suggestions for improving access via the Internet

Expert advice and support in going on-line
advice and support in writing HTML pages and also in the correct use of English
if the prerequisites for going on-line cannot be met, then a downloadable copy of the databases or an on-line searchable copy of the database can be hosted at, e.g. NGB, ZADI, CGN
if both on-line and downloadable access are provided, access should be to the same version or ‘release’; and a version number should be provided
All central crop databases should have an entry page on the European Platform.

3.3 Miscellaneous points

the need for a readily available and well-maintained list of institute acronyms and country codes was once again stressed; these are vital to effective data exchange
it is advisable not to include pictures directly in databases but rather to use links to external files
it is advisable to include a disclaimer when distributing run-time versions of a database
confusion between genebank acronyms and prefixes for accession numbers exists in some cases and should be avoided
there is a need for updating the Helianthus descriptor list
the proper presentation of evaluation data remains an unresolved issue

3.4 Evaluation

The participants were asked to fill in an anonymous evaluation form at the end of the meeting. The results are presented in Appendix 8. Following is a summary of the answers.

The participants were content with the information prior to the meeting and the logistics. They were positive about the content; the balance between the different topics was good though several remarked that there could have been more practical elements. There was a lot of relevant new information presented, though some of it was considered to be too theoretical. Also the length of the course was considered good; only one participant would have liked it to be longer. The opinions about length of discussions and breaks varied. The equipment available, e.g. computers with Internet connections, was considered of high quality though more PCs would have allowed more hands-on activities. The meeting was considered relevant to the work of the participants. The evaluation also yielded some very useful suggestions, such as to include individual advice sessions, to have a better tuning of the topics to the specific needs and technical skills of the participants, and to have more printed information available prior to the meeting.

Overall, the course was evaluated as ‘good’ to ‘very good’.