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Museum and University Data, Program and Information Exchange

NETWORKS

The April, 1972, issue of DATAMATION summarizes information
on seven existing networks in the United States, and devotes add¬
itional articles to other subjects in networking. What with the

delightful "April Foolishness" in the same issue, it is worth
reading.

Of the seven systems described, three are emphasized as
permitting dynamic file access. This allows a program to access
remote data sets as if they were local, so the program can operate
on a distributed data base with no special planning. This is
central to my concept of a MUDPIE network, since it seems likely
that at least in the early stages of inter-scientist exchanges
each of us will be maintaining files of immediate use to others
(i.e., taxonomic matrices), and a system permitting easy mutual
access is vital. The MERIT system (Michigan Educational Research
Information Triad) is already functional with taxonomic matrices
(see MUDPIE 14, p. 4). It currently includes the Univ. of Mich¬
igan , Michigan State and Wayne State. There is no indication of
expansion of the net to include others, but they are solving prob¬
lems that will make the future easier for all later. The DCS
network (Distributed Computer Systems) is an experimental layout
at U. Cal. Irvine. Stated aims include low cost, reliability,
easy addition of new services, and low incremental expansion costs.
If they ever apply those concepts on a nationwide basis, it is
made to order for MUDPIE. The third is the TSS network, an
experiment involving IBM and some of its 360/67 users. Since
this is a commercial venture, perhaps it has the greatest poten¬
tial for immediate development into a functional unit available
to MUDPIE.--JAP.

CALCULATORS FOR FIELD USE

The Lake Survey Center, NOAA, has recently been using a small
electronic calculator, the Hewlett-Packard 9100B, as an aid in
processing field measurements made by its precise leveling parties.
This calculator is mounted on the front seat of a truck, and car¬
ried along with the survey crew. All measurements made are entered
directly into the machine's keyboard, entirely eliminating the
traditional notebook and pencil. This calculator checks all the
data and will flash a red light if any errors are detected. Sur¬
veyors no longer need to spend several hours a day checking and
rechecking their computations. P J Fremont, of the LSC Horizon¬
tal Control Section, who wrote the programs for the machine, is

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P r ®P®ring a paper on "The Field Use of Electronic Calculators."——
From NOAA Week, vol. 3 (3), 1972, p. 3.

KEEPING UP WITH ARPA-II

The ARPA network is now the number one candidate for be¬
coming a nationwide network, according to DATAMATION, April,
1972. Pressure is increasing on DOD from universities, other
government groups, and private organizations to be allowed to
join the net. A movement exists, apparently, to change the
status from a DOD-sponsored research activity to a commercially
run computer net. It is still very expensive to participants,
however, and probably would be too high priced for most if it
went commercial.--JAP.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CLASSIFICATION

The Classification Society (T J Crovello, Sect., Dept of
Biology, Notre Dame IN 46556) has initiated a bibliographic
project designed to aid its members in keeping up with the current
literature on classification. A Committee of the Society has
spent two years drawing up a list of references dealing with
classification theory and methods. The list was gradually reduced
in size to a basic profile of 50 articles. This profile has been
submitted to a multidisciplinary information retrieval organiza¬
tion, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), which also
publishes Current Contents and the Science Citation Index. ISI
is providing on a weekly basis punched cards containing articles
("hits") published during that week which cite one or more ar¬
ticles on the profile. The punched cards are being accumulated
and at six-month intervals will be sorted by computer, after which
a list of hits will be mimeographed and distributed to members.

The cost of the service, currently on a one year trial basis for
North American members only, is being borne by a $3 surcharge on
the basic $3 membership fee.--Abstracted from article by W W Moss,
in Entomological News.

I'M SORRY, BUT COULD YOU REPEAT THAT?

Investigators at the National Bureau of Standards have found
that high noise levels in computer laboratories not only contri¬
bute to simple and recurrent errors by programmers, but also is
so high that individuals in the room are in danger of losing their
hearing. Ear plugs, anyone?

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A SOLID STATE JABBERWOCKY

"Twas Burroughs, and the Illiacs
Did JOSS and SYSGEN in the stack
All ANSI were the acronyms.

And the Eckert-Mauchly ENIAC.

"Beware the deadly OS, son!

The Megabyte, the JCL!

Beware the Gigabit, and shun
The ponderous CODASYL!"

He took his KSR in hand:

Long time the Armonk foe
So rested he by the Syntax
And APL'ed in thougt.

And as in on-line thought he stood
The CODASYL of verbose fame.

Came parsing thru the Chomsky wood.
And COBOL’ed as it camel

One, two! One, two! And thru and thru
The final poll at last drew NAK!

He left it dead, and with its head
He iterated back.

"And has thou downed old Ma Bell?

he fought Come to my
Tree Oh Hollerith

He macroed

arms, my real-time boy!
Day! Array! Array!"
in his joy.

'Twas Burroughs, and the ILLIACS
Did JOSS and SYSGEN in the stackj
All ANSI were the acronyms,

And the Eckert-Mauchly ENIAC.

(Written by W. J. Wilson; stolen from Datamation, April, 1972 by JAP)

MUSTARD

(Museum and University STorage And Retrieval of Data)

THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Mathematics Division, is
developing the "Environmental Information System" as a center for
coordination of bibliographic information of several types. Five
different sources of information are now involved in the input of
data to the system: the Information Center of the Eastern Decid¬
uous Forest Biome of the International Biological Program; the
Environmental Mutagen Information Center; The Environmental Pro¬
gram Information Center; the Ecological Science Information Cen¬
ter; and the Toxicology Information Query Response Center. Through
the use of a generalized system of input, the data of all of these
centers are compatible. In order to facilitate continued input to
the center, a paper giving definitions and guidelines for 25 data
elements or information fields as they are applied in putting
information into the EIS, with examples covering some of the
variations one might encounter, has just been issued, and is
cited below.--JAP.

Oen, C J, N F Sollins SDK Trubey. Guide to the generalized
bibliographic format for the Environmental Information
System. ORNL Publ. EIS-71-3, 1972: 1-36.

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ENTOMOLOGICAL INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL

Ross A. Arnett, Jr., has recently (1970) published a book
under the title above (available from Bio-Rand Foundation, 1330
Dillon Heights Ave, Baltimore MD 21228, for $7.95), which
summarizes the processes and procedures an entomologist (read
systematist, equally validly) must go through in order to keep up
with current literature. The volume is designed as a text book,
and includes throughout assignments, bibliographic tasks, and
problems meant to push a student into trying out the techniques
described. At the same time, it should prove fairly valuable
reading to others, providing they skim over material and state¬
ments obviously provided for a beginner (e.g., "in order to com¬
plete the assignments utilizing automatic data processing and
computer programming access to such equipment is necessary.").

There is not too much in this book concerned directly with
computer storage and retrieval, and MUDPIE readers should not
expect to find it too useful in that direction. The program pre¬
sented by D. L. Jameson in Bioscience, 19, 1969, pp. 232-233, is
revised and included for those who need a retrieval algorithm
(pp. 120-122) , and a test run on a literature search using three
code words is included. Almost all of Arnett's suggestions,
coding, and directions are tied to the 80 column IBM card. This
may or may not be good, depending upon facilities available. It
may still be true that most computer users are still forced to
input information in an 80 column format, but the ease with which
the same job is done on a time-shared computer should perhaps have
been mentioned in a book of this sort.

Arnett discusses in some detail (pp. 56-60) his plan called
"Data Documents for Systematic Entomology," which has since been
implemented by the journal Entomological News. This concept de¬
serves wider attention, and will be handled more completely in
a later issue in MUDPIE.--JAP.

GEOLOGICAL DATA HANDLING

A project on the s
the Sedgwick Museum, De
reached the end of its
ject users* requirement
have been examined and
and processing of data,
oped for these tasks ha
and indexes, and will b
IBM 370/165. A final r

torage and retrieval of geological data at
pt. of Geology, Cambridge University, has
first phase. During the course of the pro-
s for a geological data-handling system
a system designed for the input, storage
The package of computer programs devel-
s been used to produce sample catalogues
e adapted for use on the University's new
eport of the project will soon be avail¬

able.

Continuation of the work will be possible under a grant from
the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, London. The

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project, funded at 18,300 pounds for two years, is under the sup¬
ervision of H B Whittington. It will be concerned with the eval¬
uation of the whole system. It includes a rigorous testing of
the system to meet the needs of the curators of the Sedgwick Mu¬
seum; an assessment of its cost and effectiveness in this context;
and the production of catalogues and indexes of the material as
required. In addition, ways will be sought to inform potential
users--geologists and other scientists--of this approach to data
handling, in the hope that they can be helped to organize and make
the best use of their records and data.--From OSTI Newsletter,
no . 4 , 1971 , pp. 3-4.

RECENT LITERATURE

laceres, C. A., A. L. Weihrer & R Pulliam. Information science
applications in medicine. IN: Cuadra & Luke, Ann. Rev.
Inform. Sci., vol. 6, 1971: 325-368.

Cuadra, C. A. & A. W. Luke, Eds. Annual Review of Information

Science and Technology, vol. 6. Publ. for American Society
for Information Science by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chicago
1971: 1-524.

d'Aubenton, F., J. Daget and J. Spillman. Classification

numerique des Blageons Leuciscus ( Tel estes) soufia..,8e
note. Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle,

Ser. 2, Vol. 42, no. 5, 1970 (1971): 839-848.

Gruenberger, F. J. Computing--A Second Course. Canfield Press,

San Francisco, 1971:xi + 255.

U. F., Ed. Geostatistics: A Colloquium. Plenum Press,

N.Y.-London, 1970: xiii + 177.

Moss, W. W. Taxonomic repeatability: an experimental approach.
Systematic Zoology, vol 20, 1971: 309-330.

Samuelson, K. International information transfer and network

communication. IN: Cuadra & Luke, Ann. Rev. Inform. Sci.,
vol. 6, 1971: 277-324.

Trifari, J. C• Fating national timesharing services. Computer
Decisions, Nov., 1971: 28-32.

April, 1972

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

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