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• General Database Information

Vernon Cataloguing

General Database Information

Databases store data and process information, by separating it into increasingly manageable and precise categories. Fields are the smallest element of information, and the fields that collectively describe a single entity (such as an object, person, site, etc) are stored as a record in separate files for each entity type, which are actually independent databases.

So Vernon, while itself a database, is comprised of numerous files which are themselves databases of varying complexity. Records are interconnected to compose integrated views (e.g. the artist from the person file is joined to the works they have created).

But Vernon′s database has characteristics that most conventional databases lack, and which make it ideal for the museum application. These are:

Variable length

 

Vernon's fields and records in the databases are of variable length. All fields and records are elastic, expanding or contracting as data is added or removed. Fixed length systems arbitrarily assign a finite and limited amount of space for fields and records, which is wasted in most cases, but insufficient for the important and interesting items.

Multi-value (repeatable) fields

 

Often you will want to record many occurrences of one attribute.For example, an object may be made of a number of materials and have multiple donors. Vernon CMS defines these types of fields as being multi-valued, which means any number of entries can be made. Multi-valued fields can be associated into groups or sets so that entries are kept aligned. These aligned field groups are called Edit Tables, because they are presented in a table format (i.e.. columns and rows) and the system, of course, allows you to edit these entries directly.

Dictionary driven

 

Each field in the database is defined in a data dictionary which holds attributes such as its name, data validation rules, how it is to be converted and formatted for display and other parameters. Programs accessing the database do so via the data dictionary, and thus know how to handle the data in a consistent manner. Dictionary definitions can be made for data which does not exist, but which can be calculated, such as the age of a person based on life dates. These `symbolic' fields have all the qualities of true data - they can be indexed, retrieved, listed and totalled just as though the data had been entered and saved.

Relational structure

 

Vernon's databases have relational qualities. Elements of data which belong to the same entity (such as an object, a person, a place, etc) are defined as fields in the record which make up that entity. Records in a file can be related to (joined with) other records in the databases to form a composite view on the database.

Thus an Object file record contains information particular to the object, whereas a Person file record contains data about a person. In the Object record there are fields which define details of this object which relate to Persons - such as the maker, donor, owner, cataloguer, collector, etc.

User Interface

 

A field using data from a related file is described as being authority controlled. To make the link to the authority you simply enter word(s) of its name (or part of a name with wildcard symbols) or the code. Soundslike searching is available for difficult spellings.

Terms can also be selected in various ways. You can view the authority file as a list, navigate its hierarchy, search the authority using the Query tools and/or browse its name index (which displays the `nearest hit' for the characters typed thus far and the words which start with those characters from which you can select those you want).

If there are multiple records in the authority file that match your search you are offered these to choose from. You can also branch to the authority file window to review and update any currently used terms, or to create new terms, and then return to the data entry process.