Today saw our development team at Oxford ArchDigital implement the addition of the MIDAS XML elements to the Scheme’s database. This has been long over due and completes a 7 year impasse between the Scheme, ALGAO and the NCMD. It is now possible for the data that we have been collecting since 1997, to be integrated into the local and regional HERs. Of course, in an ideal world, the HER would be a national website (like ours for instance) managed locally by staff in each Development Control office. I know some people will disagree with this ideal, but it is a real dream. Collecting data from all aspects of the Environment, onto one central database would create so many possibilities for academic study and developing the landscape of Albion.
The database agreement has now been signed up to by 33 HERs (out of about 102), and over the next few days, I will be issuing them with passwords and logons to access this data. They will then begin to download records which have either been validated by a finds adviser or pushed forward for verification by a finds liaison officer. Once they have decided what format to access this data in (CSV or XML), the data can then be absorbed into the data structure of the local HER, or generated as a layer in the GIS system that they use for their department.
I’ve trialled both systems, using the discontinued GIS programme known as fGIS.
I’ll be asking each HER to return some statistical analysis, so that we can improve on our recording. Whether they decide to help out with this will be a different matter entirely!
OpenCalais helped to tag this with: XML
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