U D P

no. 21

Museum and University Data, Program and Information Exchange

SURVEY OF COMPUTER PROGRAM CATALOGS-III

"COMPUTERS IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES"

This is an annual list of computer programs available for
workers in the environmental sciences, with strong emphasis on
geography. It is prepared by John R. Tarrant of the University
of East Anglia, who states "the object...is to promote the sharing
of information on the use of computers and the availability of
computer programs in the environmental sciences." Publication
is in January of each year, and entries for the issue must be
received by September 30 of the previous year. The first issue,
for 1971, includes material submitted by 249 individuals or de¬
partments , with the material arranged alphabetically by the names
of the submitters. The programs available from each submitter
are then numbered sequentially within his number, and may include
as many as 52 listed programs (Dept, of Geography, University of
Bristol, England). Each listing includes the following infor¬
mation : Name of submitter? Full Official Address; Computer used?
Core size of machine and core required by program (if known)?
Peripherals needed? Language of program; Author of program ?

Address of author? Title and brief description of program; Purpose
for which program is being used? and Keywords for indexing. Dr.
Tarrant is interested in the receipt of programs for inclusion
in future issues, and would like to have the above information for
any program submitted. Users of the compilation are expected to
write to the author for a copy of his program. An Index is in¬
cluded with fairly broad headings to guide one to material of
interest.

The

from:

listing is published by and can be purchased
Geo Abstracts

School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich, NOR 88C, England

for $2*.Q£>

, "l L , *

/ ' * t W v> 'W./ X

/ w* 1 * y *4 ^

/

( DEC 161971

\

^loKAKIC-*^

A second listing available from the same source is "Computers
in Geography (1970)," which sells for $1.25. I have not seen a
copy of it, and cannot give any information concerning it.--James
A. Peters.

SOMETHING NEW IN '72

Starting with the first issue
a section devoted to the storage and

in 1972 MUDPIE will include
retrieval of catalogue data

concerning museum specimens, an area receiving considerable atten¬
tion in museums around the world (see reports in this issue on the
automation of data in systematic collections and on the Bolus Her¬
barium system). As an individual scientist and systematist watch¬
ing the development of such systems, I remain very doubtful about
their ultimate success and their value as opposed to their costs,
but it seems rather dog in the mangerish for me not to recognize
the overall interest in and movement towards the activity in mus¬
eums. I hope that inclusion of material concerning this activity
in MUDPIE will lead to the presentation of views both pro and con,
and perhaps form the basic framework for a thorough discussion of
the movement at the ICSEB meetings in Boulder in 1973.--JAP.

REMARKS WORTH REPEATING

In a recent paper included in the volume
Computers in the 70's," edited by Gruenberger
turns several felicitous phrases worth passing on

"Consider our overkill capacity in terms of
Every computer has at least one high-speed pr
producing 1000 pages per hour in six copies. F
per month, and 65000 machines, it figures out to
per month for every person in the country. Have
1200 pages this month? If we extrapolate to 1980
printing speeds of 3000 lines per minute), the
14,000 pages per person per month."

"Documentation is like sex: when it's good,
good; and when it's bad, it's better than nothing

Expanding Use of
, Dick H. Brandon
to you, such as:

printed output,
inter, capable of
iguring 600 hours
around 1200 pages
you read your
(300000 computers
figure goes to

it's very very

M

"An industry of a
penditures, and 65,000
we slash the oh or slash

million people, $22 billion in annual ex¬
machines, with a controversy over whether
the zero is totally ludicrous."

"I can go to work for you...as a systems analyst and do abso¬
lutely nothing for 18 months and you will not know it ...After six
months, if you ask me. I'll tell you that I've been gathering
data. Six months later I'll tell you I've been doing data analy¬
sis. And at the end of 18 months. I'll tell you that I've had to
gather new data because the users have made changes. And if, af¬
ter that, you challenge me to produce something. I'll quit."

"We have made
who is fired can
crease of $1000
gap). The loyalty
that is how you tel
member, he gave his

unemployment totally
get a n new job withi
a year (a number that
gap for systems analy
1 those two groups apa
talk in March, 1970!)

obs

ol

e te

. A pro

gr

n

two

hou

rs, and a

t

c

an

be

ca

lied the

lo

s

t s

is

$

2000 a ye

ar

r

t. "

(o

n this o

ne

ammer
an in
yal ty
— and
, re-

3

GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE DATA-BANKING SYSTEM FOR SPECIMEN
INFORMATION DEVELOPED AT THE BOLUS HERBARIUM

The system referred to below was prepared with the aim
of allowing the fullest possible use of the many kinds of in¬
formation on specimen labels in taxonomic collections. Data
are entered from specially formatted positions on punched cards.
Simple verbal controls punched onto cards provide for data
checking and input, selective retrievals, sequencing, listings,
frequency analysis and map plotting.

1. APPLICATIONS t The syst
collections from terrestr
readily be adapted for fo
serve as an aid in making
checklists, aiding in mak
reference material for co
uses may range from prepa
collectors' itineraries.

em can be used for plant and animal
ial or marine environments. It could
ssil or petrological data. It may
taxonomic revisions, preparing local
ing identifications and setting up
llecting expeditions. More uncommon
ring lists of Types to tracing early

2. DATA : The record for each specimen is formatted to include
the following data: taxonomic position, species' name and

author; type status, institution, collector and specimen num¬
ber; ecology, frequency, altitude and date collected; the name
of the locality and its geographical grid reference. In a
modest-sized computer (16K core, 512K disk) there may be some
4,500 specimen records in a given bank. Individual banks may
have several times more records than this, in a larger machine.
Besides the main banks, files are maintained in the computer
for authors', collectors' and institutions' names, citations
for grid regions, ecology, frequency. Type status and the re¬
trieval criteria.

3. DATA ENTRY : All entry operations are accompanied by print¬
outs that can be checked and verified. The specimen records
can be processed by an editing program. The printout from
this can be used for proof-reading against the specimen labels.
The cards are corrected before the data are admitted to storage
in the bank. Facilities are provided for later changes to

the stored records. To reduce punching effort, the taxonomic
data for a species need only be entered on a single card.

The taxonomic data are united with the specimen information
on other cards (one per specimen), in the computer, to give
the respective records. As in all other parts of the system,
the user is aided by full sets of error messages for unaccept¬
able data or instructions.

4. RETRIEVAL AND OUTPUT : The criteria for the selective retrie¬

val of data from the bank may be broadly framed, or quite speci¬
fic. A criterion, describing the subject (e.g. altitude) can

be followed by a single datum, a list, or a range of data (e.g.
1000 m; 800 ra, 900 m, 1000 m; 800—1000 m). Up to 40 criteria,
each with a single datum, list or range, may be specified.

: . ■

.

.. J 0 r ' ' '

■ . • - ,-wy ,**r %>,’

1 > j»

t . O i " O' 1 ’

■

- * „• 1 il .

■ . I . .

S ' ,■ i. ' i

, •■:'■} it i fi r.< 6 ii 1 ';- - '>• ■ •

• v .«(' > ■ 1 ,

• '«.■* . « • •

: : :

•

• • >

-1 -

■ to 0. ■ '* \

*

_

-4-

To qualify for retrieval, a record must match one of the data
for every criterion cited. The retrieved records can then be set
in an order given by further criteria. A useful ordering is
by geographical co-ordinates and collectors. Classes of data
in the record can be chosen to appear in the print-out of the
retrieved information. In addition, individual kinds of data
can be specified for listing in alphamerical sequence, with
counts of the numbers of records in which each citation appears.
Where geographical co-ordinates are specified for this, a dis¬
tribution map of the collecting sites is given on a computer-
linked plotter.

5. DATA COMPILATION AND RUN TIMES : Every effort has been made
to strike a balance between the needs of both simplicity and
shortening the time for compiling the raw data. These factors
must also be seen in the need for avoiding over-long run times
with modest computing facilities. Records with an average
amount of data can be compiled at a rate of about 30 per hour,
and proof-read at about 120 per hour. An IBM 1130 (16K core,

512K disks) took, for 1000 records, 39 minutes for full editing,

16 minutes for entry to the bank, 3 minutes for a simple retrieval
operation and 4 1/2 minutes for plotting a small distribution
map. These compilation and run times appear to be reasonably
acceptable for a comparatively modest-sized machine.

A FORTRAN-IV program listing will be published shortly, and
a general account of the system has been accepted for publication
in an early issue of TAXON. At present the system is being adapted
for a UNIVAC 1106 with remote-access and time-sharing facilities.
Further inquiries from readers of MUDPIE would be welcome.--A. V.
Hall, Asst. Curator, Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town,
Rondebosch, C.P., Africa.

AUTOMATION OF DATA IN SYSTEMATIC COLLECTIONS

The Conference of Directors of Systematic Collections, which
includes 31 representatives of most of the larger institutions in
the United States and Canada, established at its meeting in May,
1970, a committee to study automation of data concerning specimens
in natural history collections. This committee, composed of R. S.
Cowan, Chairman (Smithsonian)? Roland Force (Honolulu); N. G.
Hairston (Michigan)? and P. S. Humphrey (Kansas), reported to the
1971 meeting of the Conference. The group is primarily concerned
with data "about" specimens, not in data derived from the study of
the specimens. They are concerned not only with improvement of
the ways of collecting and distributing this type of data, but
also with ways to integrate inter-museum objectives in a cohesive
plan. The Committee has concluded that both purposes are desir¬
able, and has indicated certain stipulations and goals for immedi¬
ate attention. They will attempt to develop format in such a way
that restrictions on computers, systems (and hopefully, languages!
—ed. note) will be minimal. They are interested in inter-museum

5

cooperation from the outset, to prevent incomp
They recommend establishment of a central Clea
participating museums, and they also recommend
Science Foundation be approached for funding.

atibility
ringhouse
that the

of files.
to assist
National

The Committee recommended the Smithsonian as a temporary site
for the Clearinghouse, with review and a decision as to a perma¬
nent location after three years of operation. They also recommen¬
ded that a Board of Governors composed of the Directors of all
participating Museums be established to determine Clearinghouse
policy and act as liaison with the various concerned bodies. The
full conference voted to accept and implement all of the recommen¬
dations of the committee.

Further developments concerning this
icated as they become available to MUDPIE

activity will be commun
--JAP.

RECENT LITERATURE

Beaman, J. H., Ed. Some Applications for the Taxonomic Data

Matrix: Six term papers by students at Michigan State Uni¬
versity. Flora North America, report 63, 1971:1-103.

(The six papers presented in this summary are listed below.)

Furlow, J. J. A computer program for analyzing native tree-
species composition of local floras. FNA Rept. 63, 1971:
9-18.

Gage, S. H. A systematic approach to cereal leaf beetle behavior.
FNA Rept. 63, 1971: 19-32.

Natarella, N. J. A computer data package for the selection of
ornamental shrubs. FNA Rept. 63, 1971: 33-42.

Stevens, W. D. The general taxonomic data matrix format used

for Sarcostemma (Asclepiadaceae). FNA Rept 63, 1971: 43-66.

Taggart, R. E. Automation of identification procedures in palyn-
ology using taxonomic data matrices. FNA Rept. 63, 1971:
67-90.

Valasek, D. M. A computerized phemological study of Sanford
Natural Area. FNA Rept. 63, 1971: 91-103.

Berztiss, A. T. Data Structures—Theory and Practice.

Academic Press, 1971: xiii + 442.

Dawson, C. B. & T. C. Wool. From Bits to If's—An Introduction

to Computers and Fortran IV. Harper & Row, 1971: xii + 159.
(Another publisher attempting to capture a little of the
teaching market. Hardly worth the trouble of charging it
from the library.--JAP)

*

Furlow, J. J., L. E. Morse, & J. H. Beaman, Computers in bio¬
logical systematics, a new university course. Taxon, vol.

20, 1971: 283-290.

Gruenberger, F., Editor. Expanding Use of Computers in the 70's:
Markets-Needs-Technology. Prentice-Hall, 1971: viii + 120.

Jackson, D. M. Classification, Relevance, and Information Retrie¬
val. IN: Alt, F. L. & M. Rubinoff, Advances in Computers,
vol. 11, 1971: 60-125.

Mitchell, R. K. Information Sciences and Computer Basics—an

Introduction. Linnet Books, 1971: xii + 101. (A programmed
text—does everyone find these as irritating to read as I?

—JAP.)

Patten, B. C. Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology, Volume
1. Academic Press, 1971: xv + 607. (A series of contributed
papers, divided into three parts: Introduction to Modeling;
One-Species Models; and The Ecosystem: Simulation.)

Pylyshyn, Z. W. Perspectives on the Computer Revolution.

Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation, 1970: xx + 540.
(A collection of readings concerning computers and their
"relationships" to man. Everybody who is anybody is there,
and they tend to repeat each other much more noticeably than
if you were to read them separately and independently.--JAP.)

December, 1971

Division of Reptiles and Amphibians
National Museum of Natural History
Washington, DC 20560

)

4