[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Lore(or Lore-like) Database Management System for preservation?



Please forgive cross-postings.

Lore is a database management system developed at Stanford that's based
on XML.  It has an associated query language called Lorel.

http://www-db.stanford.edu/lore/

This seems to relate in many interesting ways to the recent message from
Phil Coombs that Maverick Collier forwarded to the Archives list about
the XML encapsulation tool called MetaPackager and also to the recent
work the San Diego Supercomputer Center has done with the National
Archives.

The SDSC has taken a two-branch approach of both a relational database
and XML wrappers, since the former has many data processing, correcting
and querying advantages, while the latter has many preservation
advantages.

Lore stores data as XML and Lorel can be used in many innovate ways to
query the semistructured data.  Various indexes can also be built to
meet specific purposes, and things called DataGuides are generated to
reflect the overall structure of the database.  "Instead of data being
required to conform to the schema or DTD, the system automatically
maintains the DataGuide such that it always accurately summarizes the
current structure of the database."

An informative article on Lore and Lorel is at:
http://www.ddj.com/articles/2000/0004/0004i/0004i.htm

I wonder what anyone thinks about this sort of native XML database
management approach for various preservation purposes.  Even XML will be
replaced eventually, but it has great potential value as a means to
reflect information about and relationships between unstructured and
semi-structured digital objects over time.  If such databases were
commonly in use, I could even see more advantages, since the ingest
component of data archiving could go quite smoothly.

In an even more theoretical direction, it seems like there could be
potential to effectively grow a database management system organically
from the sets of XML objects that arise over time.  This is, in a sense,
a lot like the vision expressed by Tim Berners-Lee in his "semantic Web"
based on URIs, RDF and namespaces.  Though I think that an
implementation allowing for more definable boundaries -
"collection-based" as the SDSC researchers have called it - within a
database management system could have great promise for archival
preservation.

Anyone think this sort ot thing makes any sense?

=======================================================
Cal Lee
Electronic Records Project Archivist
Kansas State Historical Society
Phone: 785-272-8681, ext. 280         Fax: 785-272-8682
http://da.state.ks.us/itab/erc/
http://www.kshs.org/archives/recmgt.htm
                  "Obsolete power corrupts obsoletely."
                                           - Ted Nelson

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>