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Requirements for the design of a scientific data base managemet system

Author
Hampel, V. E.
Published
United States : [publisher not identified], 1977.
[Oak Ridge, Tennessee] : [U.S. Atomic Energy Commission], 1977.
Physical Description
microfiche : negative ; 11 x 15 cm
Additional Creators
Ries, D. R.

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Summary
Probable causes for the absence of a portable generalized data base management system for scientific data at the DOE National Laboratories are discussed. Administrative and technological requirements that seem necessary and desirable for the design of a general Scientific Data Management System (SDMS) in support of the newly emerging national programs concerned with energy and the environment are identified: Authorization and funding for SDMS must clearly come from top DOE management; only then can the redundant development of special, home-grown systems and their costly maintenance, in support of small but active scientific programs, be reduced. A SDMS should, therefore, not be proprietary software. It should be reasonably portable for use on back-end minicomputers and the more powerful machines; it should be self-guided to help the casual user find his way. From a technical point of view, the system should work equally efficiently with vectors, matrices, arrays, complex variables, sparse data and text. It should be capable of storing and displaying data with most of the customary scientific notations and attributes in different units of measurement. The user should be able to use the system as a programmable calculator for simple mathematical tasks, and he should be able to extract and transfer data to his model or application program for more difficult calculations. The system should permit common access to a library of interrelated data bases and reference tables. In this sense, the SDMS should permit expansion to an Integrated Information System on computer networks with distributed resources. Most importantly, the user should be given a reasonable, English-like command language to start, but he should also have the option to create his own dialects and extensions of the system for his personal and programmatic needs. 1 figure.
Report Numbers
UCRL-80171(Rev.1); CONF-771062-5
Other Subject(s)
Collection
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission depository collection.
Note
DOE contract number: W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI Identifier 5206743
Research organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
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