From heidorn@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu Sun Mar 30 13:03:04 2003 Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:47:46 -0600 From: Bryan Heidorn To: karen Medina , lesley Deem , jingzhao@uiuc.edu Subject: OpenKey Ideas for design On the input screens, the user dies not care that the documents being saved are XML. In fact in come implementations, they may go directly to a database. So, remove the word, XML from the buttons. Users need to be able to read in and edit prior data on Taxon, character group, character, state and image. Authorized users should be able to insert new character groups, characteristics and states within a particular domain such as a plants. Navigation, user should be able to go to any element The taxon, character and state form fillers should be object oriented. Of primary importance is polymorphism in selection lists functions so that they may exist in multiple formats in multiple locations without any impact on the remainder of the program. When the user asks to insert a new character, the list of potential elements should be returned by an object in any format. We can call this Characters(). Characters() returns a characterlist object which contains character groups and characters. For example, Characters(plantacae/leaf) should return an object containing LeafSize, LeafShape, LeafAttachment and others. These might come from a directory structure, a database or a SOAP service. The calling object should not know or care. We currently are putting them in a directory structure. A call to Characters(plantacae/leaf/leafshape), will return a CharacterObject which will have a name, description, type and list of valid shapes but the calling function should not know where they come from. Karen and Lesley, The Taxon.dtd includes life span as a privileges characteristic. I think it is just a character like everything else. Character, character groups and states can all have images and text to describe them. The parent links are not obsolete. It is that we have not had time to make a functional system. If we want this to work, we will eventually have to do it. Even in this form we should include an optional parent in the DTD so that I do not need to deflect criticism on the point in talks. In the new DTD markers for that is optional, what repeats, what is required is not included! There should be a required repeating ----------------------- /leaves/leafshape Leaf Shape http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey/charactervalues/ovate.xml http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey/charactervalues/oblong.xml http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey/charactervalues/lanceolate.xml http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey/charactervalues/palmate.xml This is actually the Character State or value