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Relational expressions in STAR file dictionaries.
N Spadaccini1, S R Hall, I R Castleden
1Department of Computer Science and Crystallography Centre, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Perth, Australia. nick@cs.uwa.edu.au
Journal of Chemical Information and Computer Sciences
|January 11, 2000
Summary
The STAR File uses data dictionaries for information exchange. A new relational expression language, dREL, enhances these dictionaries, enabling direct evaluation of derivable data and improving archival methods.
Area of Science:
- Structural Chemistry
- Computational Chemistry
- Data Management
Background:
- The STAR File is crucial for data exchange in structural chemistry.
- Data dictionaries are essential for automatic data validation and checking.
- Current data dictionaries lack precise relational representations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a new method attribute for specifying relationships between data items.
- To enhance data dictionaries with relational representations and direct evaluation of derivable data.
- To propose a new relational expression language, dREL, for this purpose.
Main Methods:
- Developed a new relational expression language named dREL.
- Implemented dREL as a method attribute within data dictionaries.
- Described the design concepts of the dREL parser.
Main Results:
- dREL improves the precision and semantic content of data dictionaries.
- The method allows for direct evaluation of derivable data items.
- Enhanced dictionaries facilitate automatic data validation and checking.
Conclusions:
- The dREL language offers a novel approach to specifying data relationships.
- This method is expected to significantly impact future data archival strategies.
- The dREL parser design is applicable across various scientific disciplines.