On Fri, 27 Dec 2002 08:50:35 -0500 Roger Turk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Bob, > > What do you want the database program to do? > It seems to be an important, even critical, part > of your planned use of Arachne as an HTML > viewer. > > Roger Turk > Tucson, Arizona >
Hi Roger, One of these days (daze??) when things settle down (soon I hope) I'll give you a call. Two Arachnoids in the same town is a mighty force. This is a long, but comprehensive, answer. For those who are in the less-developed places and pay by the byte, maybe I can pay you back someday with a community project or two. - - - I do a lot of work in developing communities, trying to find ways to help them overcome the reasons that they're called 'developING' and not 'developED'. Even in that environment, information is power. Arachne works well as a tool to help those communities obtain, develop, and share information. BUT, the limitation is that (without access to cheap digital communication) Arachne is only a presentation model of information sharing. All the work of research and development is done in those locations without computers, because they can't afford good programs and are mostly computer illiterate. Database management is one tool that is essential for anyone who desires to investigate anything, compile the results of the investigation, and then manipulate the data to gain various perspectives of the environment or situation which was investigated. This is the power of a relational database. The ability to crunch data provides the equalizing power for 'little people' to compete against the 'big people', because information is power. So, a good DBMS is vital for helping people to take the initiative to help themselves. However, they typically start from below zero on the learning curve, so teaching a multitude of tools (in this case a multitude of programs) is counter productive. If results don't come quickly, the learner either loses momentum or becomes boggled by the details. It's hard to justify taking the time to learn to program in C when the fields need plowed and the cows need milked. It just doesn't happen. So, my goal is to find a method of interfacing HTML (which is easy to learn and can be self taught) with a good database, so that those who need information management tools are able to quickly, easily, and cheaply compete against the 'big boys'. The key, I think, is the use of hyperlinks and DGIs in Arachne to create the code that will manipulate the data in the (DOS) database. DOS is critical in this scheme because it's comprehensive, universal, and free. Among the DOS browsers, Arachne has no competitors that meet that criteria. Arachne is a GREAT tool for sharing previously accumulated material. It's a fantastic teaching and learning device. With a cheap digital camera (and the DOS-ware to download the graphics), almost anyone (e.g., a local school teacher) could develop their own presentation material - all within literally a few hours. It just doesn't interface with a database. I'll give an example from my experiences working in the mountains in Kosovo. In the valley where I worked, there was an ongoing program to test and clean wells that provided drinking water. Most were old and contaminated with organic material, some were deliberately contaminated as an act of war, and some were contaminated somewhere upstream in the watershed. An international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) had a contract to test and clean all the wells in the area. It may already be obvious that there was no incentive to teach the local people how to do any of this work themselves. The contract was for WORK, not for INSTRUCTION. The tasks (of how to do each part of the contract) actually became a closely guarded secret - closely guarded from the locals, to maintain the need for outside assistance. The 'how-to' information would have been a perfect job for Arachne. A comprehensive CD-ROM (with text, graphics, and maybe a movie or two) about well-cleaning would have enabled the locals to do the job themselves. One of the local teachers (or the doctor) could have expanded the instruction to incorporate community health issues, which would have been even better. The contractor had no interest in that, because it wasn't part of the contract. The locals received a minimal product (valuable, but not comprehensive) and none of the money stayed in the local community. Most of the NGO staff wouldn't even buy a cup of tea at the local cafe because the water was contaminated. Many months later ... end of project. A lot of wells cleaned. Nothing else. The locals could have done that with one of the Chemistry Toolkit toys available in the 'educational stores' of any western city. However ... In addition to Arachne, I happen to have in my toolbox an excellent mapping program (called MicroDEM). (It runs under Win-doze, but I use it because it is free and absolutely incredible). It's a great watershed mapping tool. With a digital map (in Digital Elevation Modeling format) of the area AND a database of the well samples, I could have plotted all the work of the NGO and determined sources of contamination. I could have created a GIS of 'dirty zones', focused cleanup efforts in the most needy locations, and located areas of concern for medical workers. But, I would have needed a good relational DBMS - and the data. If I had a DBMS program that was easy to learn, free, comprehensive, and easy to expand and develop, then I could have taught a few local people and let them run the project. Coupled with Arachne, they could have started teaching people from other communities, who would teach others, (etc., etc.). Within months, the entire countryside would have been mapped for watershed contamination, problems would have been identified and fixed, and they would have had in their possession a tool to maintain the program AND to create other programs. But, that didn't happen. What DID happen was that -after one year - the UN realized that the results of all the water-testing-and-cleaning programs were not available for data crunching. They issued another contract for an NGO to accumulate all the results of all the programs, and to compile a national database. But, most of the records lacked geographic coordinates, so it was worthless. The comprehensive database idea was quietly dropped and all the records disappeared into some archive. Two years later, nobody (except the local landowner) knows which wells were cleaned, which are still contaminated, which watersheds have which pollutants, etc. Exactly like all the local community leaders predicted three years ago. And that was the story with every project. Three years later, the local people have no data, no money, and very little hope. Not much to build on for the future. And it happens all over the world. Is it any wonder that many people don't believe us when we say, "We're here to help you". And it's all because Arachne doesn't have a DBMS interface. Okay, that's stretching the truth, but it would help tremendously. And not just in water projects, but in every project (in every place). Data is information, information is power, and power allows for freedom to develop. Without the potential for the power to obtain and maintain freedom, then there is no counter force for suppression and oppression (whether it is corporate or governmental). With an Arachne-DBMS interface and a few other (free) DOS programs - operating within the old and abandoned computer boxes hiding in millions of homes - we could change the world. Well, at least, some parts of the world. And that is why I keep beating the Arachne HTML-DBMS drum. Does that answer your question? I didn't find the interface code in my Christmas (email) box, ... so now I'm making it my New Years Resolution. <grin> A happy and healthy New Year to all, Bob (aka Radical Robert) Dohse - ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com
