Caveats

1
Caveats

• You should never examine XML as plain text.
  Instead use an XML aware viewer/editor (browsers
  are modest possibilities MS XML Notepad is
  better XML Spy etc have multiple views for
  different purpose)
• You should never produce non-trivial XML with a
  generic XML editor. Instead use (schema aware)
  specialized software.

2
Caveats

• SDD should not be generated by hand. Rather,
  tools that support descriptive data should
  produce and consume SDD (Not that hard to do
  because XML databinding frameworks like Castor
  generate a lot of the code from the Schema)

3
Caveats

• This presentation ignores all previous Caveats

4

• Goal Code the taxonomic treatments in Wheelers
  Ants of the American Museum Congo Expedition in a
  way that would support using XQuery for such
  questions as
• Which ants are similar to Myrmocladoecus?
• Which ants have a bidentate thorax?
• Which ants have an arboreal nesting habitat?
• Provide the description of Myrmomalis.
• Which ants have the same nesting habitats as the
  Myrmocladoecus?
• Part of NSF grant to AMNH investigating issues of
  digitizing legacy systematics literature, Tom
  Moritz, PI, Norman Johnson (Ohio), Bob Morris
  (UMass-Boston), Klements Boehm (Karlsruhe) also
  Donat Agosti (AMNH), Drew Koning (AMNH), students
  at UMB, Karlesruhe, and Magedeburg.

5
SDD Example

• Example of scoring of a character
• Exploration of Terminology
• Example of XQuery against sample instance
  document if time permits

6

• Subgenus Myrmocladoecus Wheeler (Myrmorhachis
  Emery, 1920 not of Forel, 1912).Thorax usually
  margined, often bidentate or bispinose. Scale of
  petiole often spinose or mucronate. Usually
  small and somewhat like Polyrhachis. Thorax
  sometimes with a dorsal depression. In one
  species, pronotnum dentate. Nests in hollow
  twigs. (Neotropical).
• Subgenus Myrmeurynota Forel. Pronotum very broad,
  with a lateral, lamelliform margin, often
  vaulted. Thorax rapidly narrowing behind.
  Epinotum very narrow at its sloping face, which
  often has a peculiar appendage. Gaster broad,
  short, and small, sometimes more or less
  spherical. Probably arboreal. (Neotropical).
  spy

7
Which ants have an arboreal nesting habit? let
stateID doc("ants.xml")/Datasets/Datas
et/DescriptiveData/ Terminology/Characters/C
haracter/Categorical/States/
StateDefinition./Label/Representation/Text/
text()"arboreal/_at_id for taxonKeyRef in
doc("ants.xml")//CodedDescriptions/CodedDescriptio
n ./CodedData/Character/State/_at_refstateID
/Header/ ClassName/_at_ref for taxonName in
doc("ants.xml")//Dataset/ExternalDataInter
face/ ClassNames/ ClassName_at_idtaxonKeyRef
//Text return ltantsgtltantgttaxonNamelt/antgtlt/
antsgt