GEDCOM A Universal Genealogy Language March 30, 2003 Bay Area Genealogical Society Houston, TX

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GEDCOMA Universal Genealogy LanguageMarch 30,
2003Bay Area Genealogical SocietyHouston, TX
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Introduction

• Presenter
• Dan Cochran
• [phone]
• dan-cochran_at_att.net

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Introduction

• Scope
• Cover
• GEDCOM
• Not Cover
• Genealogical Research
• Genealogy Software Programs
• Computer Basics

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Agenda

• GEDCOM Concept
• Demo of Data Import / Export
• GEDCOM Details
• Questions

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Acronym

• GEnealogical Data COMmunication

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The Standard
The GEDCOM standard was developed by the Family
History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints to provide a flexible,
uniform format for exchanging computerized
genealogical data.
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Purpose
The purpose of GEDCOM is to foster the sharing of
genealogical information and the development of a
wide range of inter-operable software products to
assist genealogists, historians, and other
researchers.
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Results

• Facilitate exchange of genealogy information
  electronically among researchers
• Eliminate data entry errors
• Reduce or eliminate duplication of effort

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Without GEDCOM Standard
PAF
Brothers Keeper
Roots IV
Family Tree Maker
Ultimate Family Tree
Master Genealogist
Family Origins
Reunion
Generations
Ancestral Quest
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With GEDCOM Standard
PAF
Brothers Keeper
Roots IV
Family Tree Maker
Ultimate Family Tree
GEDCOM
Master Genealogist
Family Origins
Reunion
Generations
Ancestral Quest
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Analogy
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Import / Export Demonstration
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Technical Aspect
Everything you did NOT want to know about GEDCOM
and were afraid to ask.
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Levels of GEDCOM

• Low Level - GEDCOM Data Format
• General-purpose data representation language
• Represents any kind of structured information in
  a sequential medium
• Defines the syntax and identification of
  structured information in general
• Does not deal with the semantic content of any
  particular kind of data
• Can store other types of data, not just
  genealogical data

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Levels of GEDCOM (cont)

• High Level - GEDCOM Form
• Each type of data that uses the GEDCOM data
  format has a specific GEDCOM form
• For a genealogist the Lineage-Linked GEDCOM Form
  is used
• Commercial software developers use Lineage-Linked
  form to create genealogical software
• Can exchange compiled information about
  individuals with accompanying family, source,
  submitter, and note

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Structure

• Records represented as a sequence of tagged,
  variable-length lines, arranged in a hierarchy
• Format
• Hierarchical level number, a tag, and an optional
  value (Level - Tag - Value)
• Record may also contain a cross-reference
  identifier or a pointer
• Record terminated by a carriage return and/or a
  line feed character

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Structure Example

• 0 _at_I14_at_ INDI
• 1 NAME Roble Clinton /Naylor/
• 2 SURN Naylor
• 2 GIVN Roble Clinton
• 1 SEX M
• 1 BIRT
• 2 DATE 3 Nov 1903
• 2 PLAC Waldron, Platte County, Missouri
• 2 SOUR _at_S8_at_
• 1 DEAT
• 2 DATE 8 Mar 1952
• 2 PLAC Seaside, Clatsop County, Oregon
• 2 SOUR _at_S8_at_
• 3 PAGE Certificate Number 2539
• 1 BURI
• __________ Continued __________

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Tags

• Tags in the GEDCOM line are taken in a
  hierarchical context
• Tags identify the information contained in the
  line in the same sense that a field-name
  identifies a field in a database record
• With tags data is self-defining
• Tags allow a field to occur any number of times
  within a record, including zero times.

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Tags (cont)

• Tags allow the use of different or new fields to
  be included without introducing incompatibility
• User defined nonstandard tags can be used (first
  character is an underscore _)
• The receiving system will ignore data which it
  does not understand and process only the data
  that it does understand

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Relationships

• GEDCOM defines the inter-record relationships
  that allow a record to be logically related to
  other records, without introducing redundancy
• Relationships represented by a cross-reference
  pointer and a cross-reference identifier
• Inter-record relationships are optional
• Cross-reference identifier is analogous to a
  primary key in relational database

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Previous Versions

• Version 1.0 and 2.0
• Drafts for public discussion
• Not established as a standard
• Version 3.0
• October 1987
• Version 4.0
• August 1989
• Version 5.5
• January 1995
• Most Current Version

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Supported Character Sets

• ASCII
• 8-bit USA version
• ANSEL
• American National Standard for Extended Latin
• 8-bit ASCII and Extended ANSEL Codes (diacritic)
• Super-set of ASCII (33-128)
• Preserves Control Characters (1-32)

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Supported Character Sets (cont)

• Unicode (ISO 10646)
• 16-bit code (65,000 characters)
• Latin alphabet ( English), Cyrillic alphabet
  (Russian), Greek, Hebrew, Arabic alphabets, other
  alphabets used in countries across Europe,
  Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Asia, such
  as Japanese Kana, Korean Hangul, and Chinese
  Bopomofo
• UTF8 (...the universe...)

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Supported Applications

• Ancestral Quest 2.1 and higher.
• Ancestors and Descendants 1.4 and higher. In the
  Char Set drop-down box, select ANSI..
• Brothers Keeper 5.2g.
• Cumberland Family Tree 2.51.
• DISGEN 7.0e.
• DoroTree 1.2 and higher.
• Dynas Tree 200.
• Everyone's Family Tree 3.03a.
• EZITREE Windows Family History 6.48.
• Family Origins, version 6.0 and higher. In the
  Char Set drop-down box, select ANSI.
• Family Reunion 97.1. In the Char Set drop-down
  box, select ANSI.
• Family Ties 4.0.
• Family Treasures 2.01.
• Family Tree Maker Exchange Utility, 7.5.

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Supported Applications (cont)

• FTREE 1.4.
• GEDitCOM 2.8.
• Genealogical Information Management 3.2.
• Genealogia 3.1.
• Griot Alternative 3.15.
• Generations Family Tree, version 8.0. In the Char
  Set drop-down box, select ANSI.
• Kindred Konnections (myTrees.com).
• Kith and Kin Pro 1.0 and higher.
• The Master Genealogist, versions 3.x and higher.
• Legacy, version 2.0.
• Personal Ancestral File 5.2
• Reunion 3.0.
• Roots IV.
• Tree Draw 2.0.
• Ultimate Family Tree 3.0.

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File Maintenance
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Backing Up Data
It is never a question of will your computer
fail, it is only a question of when. Dan
Cochran
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Backing Up Data (cont)

• Use Multiple Media Types
• Backup to As Many Different Types of Media As You
  Can
• Floppy, ZIP Drive, Tape, Other Hard Drive,
  CD-R/W, etc.

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Backing Up Data (cont)

• Configuration Management
• Clearly Identify Each Backup
• There Is Only ONE Master

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Backing Up Data (cont)

• Disaster Recovery
• Flood, Fire, Theft, Malfunction, Virus
• Put a copy in your safety deposit box
• Periodically send a copy out of state to a friend
  or relative
• Submit work to the Ancestral File

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Additional Information

• Email
• gedcom_at_gedcom.org
• Mail
• Family History DepartmentGEDCOM
  Coordinator3T50 East North Temple StreetSalt
  Lake City, UT 84150
• FTP
• ftp//gedcom.org/pub/genealogy

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Questions

• ???