TECHNICAL OVERVIEW of HERBAL REPOSITORY
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW of HERBAL REPOSITORYThis is a simplified model. Service modules such as documentary references are not shown. Other data such as historical and economic uses of plants will also be included but are not shown. Growing conditions and distribution in the wild are other important areas. It is essential that the Herbal Repository covers all aspects relevant to herbalism and the herbal use of plants. This allows the creation of affinities between previously unrelated spheres of knowledge.
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SearchSearching for information is a major activity in any large data base. An affinities data base such as the Herbal Repository provides structured choices from any part of the data base. There is still the need to find a starting point or to jump to a new unrelated topic. Search engines can provide a text search facility but this is slow and tends to throw up many references which are not the topic required. |
GlossaryThe Herbal Repository also provides a Glossary. This holds all terms with a specialist meaning within the database and it provides an entry point to the affinities system. A specialist will often find this useful when moving outside his discipline in a multi-discipline environment. Three levels of detail can be provided. A definition is supported by a short explanation. When a full article is available the short explanation serves as an abstract to the article. |
Page version 1.03 modified 11 Apr 05 Copyright R. Caws 2005