Le forme di mercato

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Web-Designer for virtual museums
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TUC 1
Introduction

• This e-course is organized through Training Unit
  able to be Capitalized (TUC) which can be
  decomposed into Didactic Unit (U.D.) and Learning
  Object (L.O).
• In order to understand the main logic behind the
  organization of this programme, notice that
• each T.U.C involves several educational goals,
  which sum up to the basic skills of a
  web-designer for virtual museums
• each D.U discusses one single educational goal
  through several topics
• each L.O identifies one single topic. All L.O
  together compose the whole e-course.

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TUC 1
DU 2 The publication of data on the Internet
DU 3 Software used for modelling 3D images
DU 4 Photography
DU 1 Upload the database

• LO 1.0 Databases and the publication of data on
  the Internet
• LO 1.1 General Information
• LO 1.2 The relational model
• LO 1.3 Management systems of the relational
  databases
• LO 1.4 Configuration of databases
• LO 1.5 Physical implementation of data (a)
• LO 1.6 Physical implementation of data (b)

• LO 2.1HyperText Markup Language
• LO 2.2 Active Server Pages (ASP)
• LO 2.3 ActiveX Data Object (ADO)
• LO 2.4 Structured Query Language (SQL)
• LO 2.5 JavaScript

• LO 3.1 3D Softaware Object Modeller
• LO 3.2 VR WORX 2.5
• LO 3.3 PhotoModeler
• LO 3.4 PixMaker PRO

• LO 4.1 Projecting the camera set
• LO 4.2 Lightening
• LO 4.3
• The camera

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Upload the database
DU 1

• This lecture unit focuses on the main advantages
  of a dynamic web site, by which user-friendly
  interactive databases are developed. The System
  of Management for interactive databases (RDBMS)
  is crucial in order to create a virtual museum.
  In this scenario, DU1 is specifically aimed at
  web-designers whose expertise is applied for
  museum- communication purposes.
• The objectives of DU1 are
• To plan and realize a System of Managing
  Relational Databases
• To define the structure of the database
  (organizing data in tables and their
  connections)
• To identify the operations that can be executed
  in interactive modality.      

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Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
LO 1.0 Abstact
The main advantages of a dynamic web site
compared to a static one are, on the one hand,
the easiness of administration (updating the
information contained) and, on the other hand,
the permission given to users to create selection
interrogations for listing the data searched. The
addition or modification of contents is very
simple because this content is stored in a data
base or in text, graphic or multimedia files, in
such a way that those who are in charge of
contents do not need to possess HTML (Hyper Text
Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets),
JavaScript knowledge or other technologies
specific for Web design and often used in
designing presentation pages. In the
development of the European Virtual Museum the
use of a RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management
System) is compulsory, due to the complexity of
data necessary for the complete description of
objects it contains and also due to the need for
the information to be always updated by
specialists of partner museums. The existence of
such RDBMS Databases allows the registration of
all general and special information referring to
objects presently suggested by partners (museums,
research institutes etc.) or completed step by
step.
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Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
LO 1.0 Abstract
Moreover, these databases together with the
multimedia files can offer supplementary packages
of special information referring to other
archaeological objects research and
archaeological sites in the area museums or
general or specialized museum collections
historical monuments and / or special cultural
objects useful data and addresses for
transportation, accommodation, and visiting
cultural and tourist objectives virtual shop
(replicas/copies). For the publication on the
internet of the information contained in the
databases, managed by a RDBMS, the main
technologies used are ASP (Active Server Pages)
and ASP.NET (www.aspfree.com www.asp.net), PHP
(Hypertext Preprocessor) www.php.net, JSP (Java
Server Pages) www.java.sun.com/products/jsp/
.All these technologies have server-side
scripting. In such a case the Web server
interprets the file (.asp, .php, .jsp) and sends
an equivalent .htm file to the browser of the
client computer. If the file contains scripts
created with VBScript or JavaScript, the
scripting engine from the server executes the
respective codes. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer
Protocol) is a dependant protocol, in such a way
that any modification made by the user in an
interactive page, as unimportant as it may be,
must be sent to the server which sends back an
updated image of the page. This process is called
circuit through the server.
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Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
LO 1.0 Details

• The advantages of using such technologies are
• Dynamically edit, change, or add any content of a
  Web page
• Respond to user queries or data submitted from
  HTML forms
• Access any data or databases and return the
  results to a browser
• Customize a Web page to make it more useful for
  individual users
• Provide security and access control to different
  Web pages
• Tailor your output to different types of
  browsers
• Minimize the network traffic.

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Practice
LO 1.0
(Forum)
For a better understanding of this topic,
associate weights to each of the RDBMS
advantages reported below. Use (), () and
() in order to indicate low, medium and high
relevance respectively. Explains the main
rationale behind your choice in the last column.
Finally, discuss your choices with your
colleagues.
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General Information
LO 1.1 Abstract
The models and techniques of organizing databases
have developed in such a way that they satisfy
the needs of users to have a faster and easier
access to a larger amount of information.
Shortly, the concept of a database can be
defined as being one or more collections of
interdependent organized data, together with the
description of the data and the relation between
them. Relational databases refer to a
collection of data, structured as tables called
relations. The term relational comes from the
fact that each registration in the database
contains information referring to a single
subject. Moreover, the data organized in
categories of information can be manoeuvred by a
single entity, based on values of associated
data.
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Fundamental objectives of a database
LO 1.1 Details

• 1. Centralization of data in a database solves
  the following problems
• suppressing the redundancy of data
• ensuring the uniqueness of registrations
• centralized control of data
• 2. Interdependence between data and the
  application programmes updating of data from a
  database must not affect programmes of data
  modelling.
• 3. The possibility of connecting data entities,
  which are indispensable for an efficient
  exploitation of the informatics system.
• 4. The integrity of data provides the reliability
  and coherence of the database. Thus we must
  define integrity restrictions like
• belonging to a list of values or interval
• belonging to a certain format
• rules of coherence with other data.

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Fundamental objectives of a database
LO 1.1 Details

• 5. Security of data the database must be
  protected against any logical or physical
  destruction (updating anomaly). This is done by
  saving, from time to time, some copies of the
  database.
• 6. The confidentiality of data is assured by
  procedures of
• identification of users by name or code
• authentication by password
• authorization of differentiated access by rights
  of creation, consultation, modification or
  erasing for certain segments of data.
• 7.The division of data allows the connection of
  transactions simultaneously solicited on the same
  registration of the database, by blocking waiting
  requests and their ulterior serving

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COMPASS Database of the British Museum
LO 1.1 Case studies

• COMPASS (Collections Multimedia Public Access
  System) (http//www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass
  /)
• The database currently includes objects from
  ancient Egypt and Sudan central, south and east
  Asia and the Museums collection of
  two-dimensional pictorial art. 437,052 objects
  are available online
• 154,330 of these have one or more images
• The database has versions for both adults and
  children.
• The website is visited by a large number of
  people. According to their statistics, the number
  of page views to the site are
• 2002 8,227,638
• 2003 12,866,087
• 2004 18,153,123
• The COMPASS website was paid for by a generous
  donation by the Annenberg Foundation (
  http//www.whannenberg.org/ ) which enabled the
  Museum to restore and re-vamp the Reading Room at
  the British Museum. The COMPASS project was part
  of this. The Childrens COMPASS site was funded
  by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• The adult section is very well organized and
  there are several searching facilities depending
  on the area of interest of the visitor. Moreover,
  there are many useful links and also background
  information on almost every item. There are
  online tours on a variety of subjects and there
  is also information about current exhibitions.
  The online tours cover a wide range of topics,
  starting from New Tours and The British Museum to
  collections referring to Africa, Americas,
  Europe, Greece, Rome, Egypt and so on. Apart for
  the fact that each object featured is illustrated
  with high quality scalable images for detailed
  study, there is also plenty of information about
  the objects, as well as references and links to
  related objects. The database was designed for
  the general visitor and thus the information has
  been written accordingly. Therefore, technical
  terms are explained in glossary links and if one
  is interested in learning more about an item,
  most of the articles give references to books
  written or recommended by the Museums curators.

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• Childrens COMPASS was launched in February 2002
  and uses a search engine designed for children.
  Apart from the childrens tours and the articles
  written for 7-11 year old pupils, there are also
  classroom activities and quizzes, as well as an
  Ask the Expert facility. The online tours are
  specially written to cover topics from the UK
  National Curriculum, including Literacy,
  Numeracy, Science and Art as well as History.
  There are also examples of childrens work,
  online animations, games and puzzles, web links
  and reading lists. In addition to the online
  tours, there is also a Search engine that allows
  children to look for information from the
  following areas Africa, the Americas,
  Anglo-Saxon England, Asia, Ancient Egypt, Europe,
  Ancient Greece and Roman Britain.

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• Childrens COMPASS was planned so that children
  with disabilities could use it as well. The
  worksheets have a set of teaching suggestions for
  how they may be adapted, both for children with
  learning difficulties, as well as for those who
  need extension activities. For those with reading
  difficulties, there is software available for
  reading the text on childrens COMPASS aloud.
  Childrens COMPASS has been designed from the
  outset with visually impaired users in mind
  (ttp//www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/hi
  xclient.exe?_IXDB_compasssearch-formgraphical/e
  du/main.htmlsubmit-buttonsearch). Thus a
  text-only version of most screens enables
  screen-readers to browse, while text size and
  colour can be easily changed using the browser
  tools.
• The site has been designed and evaluated by the
  New Media Unit at the British Museum, in
  consultation with local primary schools and with
  the advice and assistance of the Museum Education
  Department.

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• According to Tim Jacques from the New Media Unit,
  the following worked on COMPASS website
• Head of New Media project manager
• Content Manager responsible for the content on
  the site
• Imaging Manager responsible for the images on
  the site
• Creative Editor responsible for all the text
• Design Manager responsible for the design of
  the site
• Access Officer responsible for all access
  issues for the site
• Education Editor responsible for the editorial
  content on the Childrens COMPASS site
• Imaging Assistant helping the Imaging Manager
  and also HTML coding for some pages
• Support Officer administration for COMPASS
  Project
• I.S. Support IT support for the project, though
  not full time on COMPASS alone

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• In addition, there were also Editorial Assistants
  to help with editing the text, and curators and
  freelancers who wrote the object text. Also,
  there were a number of interns who worked for
  fixed periods of time, usually to compliment
  their studies.
• The technology for the site and delivering it to
  the web was provided by a company called System
  Simulation Ltd. Their Index (www.ssl.co.uk)
  software provided the database. System Simulation
  Ltd. offers a comprehensive package of support
  arrangements tailored to user requirements.
  Training is provided for application builders,
  database administrators and end-users. Tools for
  importing data from a wide range of third party
  files and databases to Index applications are
  also available.
• Information management systems frequently require
  support for a range of specialist functions as
  well as the basic storage and retrieval
  facilities.

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LO 1.1 Case studies
COMPASS Database of the British Museum

• The application tools provided with Index are
  designed so that appropriately tailored systems
  are very easy to make, use and maintain. The
  facilities provided by this software include
• Interfaces to newswire systems
• Storage management for large text and image
  archives
• Interfaces to Point of Sale equipment
• Interfaces to EDI systems
• Interfaces to scanning and OCR software
• Script-based multimedia authoring
• Loan management
• Exhibition design
• Index has been successfully integrated with
  RDBMS and other more specialised applications.

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COMPASS Database of the British Museum
LO 1.1 Case studies

• System Simulation Ltd. has implemented the
  British Museums new Merlin collections
  management system based on MUSIMS. Data have been
  imported from the previous system and the data
  structures and procedures have been upgraded in
  line with modern and international museum
  standards. The Terminology Client includes
  thesauri developed by the British Museum and
  other international standards. The Unicode
  facility enables the museum to catalogue and
  search using historical and non-European scripts.
  Merlin provides data and resources for the
  COMPASS public access system through an
  integrated Index Content Management System, also
  supplied by System Simulation Ltd.
• System Simulation Ltd. worked closely with the
  COMPASS team and supplied the software
  architecture for the COMPASS project. Thus, the
  Content Development System was used for the
  creation and management of all content including
  selected data imports from Merlin (the Museums
  collection management system) and the Publishing
  Pipelines delivering content to all versions of
  COMPASS on the web and to the specially designed
  touch-screen consoles in the Reading Room.

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COMPASS Database of the British Museum
LO 1.1 Case studies

• COMPASS offers a variety of interfaces for
  exploring the Museums collections in new ways,
  therefore enabling visitors to get a better
  understanding of objects and their contexts.
  Childrens COMPASS find specially designed
  features for children, as well as parents,
  teachers and schools. The programs presented
  there are aimed at the specific needs of both
  teachers and children, and the subject areas of
  the UK National Curriculum.
• There is also a high-access text-only version
  provided for visually impaired visitors. For the
  outstanding efforts to ensure that the website is
  accessible to visually impaired people, The
  British Museum COMPASS won the Visionary Design
  Award 2002 from the National Library for the
  Blind.

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LOUVRE Data Bases

• Four online databases are accessible via the
  Louvre Web site
• Atlas
• The Inventory of the Department of Prints and
  Drawings
• La Fayette Database of American Art
• Joconde

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ATLAS

• Atlas is a data base allowing the consultation of
  the works of art exhibited in the Louvre, around
  30000 works of art.
• The web user, like the visitor will find the
  information traditionally shown on the labels
  next to the works of arts. It is drafted under
  the responsibility of the museum's curators.
  Because the information is written in French, the
  search has to be in French.
• The enrichment of the illustrations in the
  database is in progress and is periodically
  updated.
• The content is available in French only.

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Inventory of the Department
of Prints and Drawings

• The online illustrated inventory of the
  Department of Prints and Drawings is an
  exhaustive catalogue of the museum's 140,000
  works on paper, by some 4,500 artists. It
  provides access to the drawings, cartoons,
  pastels, and miniatures listed in the original
  handwritten inventories of the Cabinet des
  Dessins of the Musée du Louvre and the Musée
  d'Orsay. It also includes drawings from the
  Edmond de Rothschild Collection, drawings from
  French private collections confiscated to Germany
  during World War II and assigned to the Office
  des Biens Privés, paintings on paper and
  miniatures on loan from the Department of
  Paintings, and autograph drawings from the
  Cabinet des Dessins. Works may be searched by
  inventory number, artist, school, date, subject,
  or technique, or in the context of the history of
  the collection. Information about the artists (in
  French) is also provided (lives, works, style).

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La Fayette

• This bilingual online catalogue presents more
  than 1,700 works produced by United States
  artists that entered the national collections of
  France before 1940.

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Joconde

• Developed by the Direction des Musées de France,
  Joconde incorporates 120,000 descriptions of
  drawings, prints, and paintings from the 7th
  century to the present day, from the collections
  of over sixty French museums. Joconde provides
  access to commentaries (in French) and pictures,
  notably of works in the collections of the Musées
  des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, Lille, and Rennes.
  Joconde has been accessible online since spring
  1995, and via the French Minitel system (3614
  Joconde) since 1992.

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ARCO Data Base

• ARCO Augmented Representation of Cultural
  Objects
• ARCO is a research project, funded by the
  European Union, aimed at developing technology
  for museums to create 3D Virtual Exhibitions on
  the Web. Virtual exhibitions are created by
  digitising museum artefacts, which are then
  transformed into Virtual Representations, which
  can be X3D or VRML models or scenes
• ARCO is developing innovative technology for
  creating virtual representations of museum
  artefacts using a stereo photogrammetry system
  and user friendly software-Object Modeller
• 3D modelling tool is being developed to refine
  the virtual representations-Interactive Model
  Refinement and Rendering, Virtual representations
  are managed and organised into virtual
  exhibitions using an XML driven Object Relational
  Database and Content Management System.
• ARCO also defines a Metadata Schema that
  describes the ARCO data model, and multimedia
  content used in virtual exhibitions, from
  digitisation to visualisation.

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ARCO Data Base

• X3D is the ISO standard XML-based file format for
  representing 3D computer graphics, the successor
  to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML).
  X3D features extensions to VRML the ability to
  encode the scene using an XML syntax as well as
  the Open Inventor-like syntax of VRML97, and
  enhanced application programmer interfaces
  (APIs).
• VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language,
  pronounced vermal or by its initials, originally
  (before 1995) known as the Virtual Reality Markup
  Language) is a standard file format for
  representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive
  vector graphics, designed particularly with the
  World Wide Web in mind.
• XML The Extensible Markup Language is a
  general-purpose specification for creating custom
  markup languages. It is classified as an
  extensible language because it allows its users
  to define their own elements. Its primary purpose
  is to facilitate the sharing of structured data
  across different information systems,
  particularly via the Internet, and it is used
  both to encode documents and to serialize data.

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ARCO
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EPOCH

• EPOCH European Network of Excellence in Open
  Cultural Heritage
• EPOCH is a network of about a hundred European
  cultural institutions joining their efforts to
  improve the quality and effectiveness of the use
  of Information and Communication Technology for
  Cultural Heritage.
• Participants include university departments,
  research centres, heritage institutions, such as
  museums or national heritage agencies, and
  commercial enterprises, together endeavouring to
  overcome the fragmentation of current research in
  this field.
• The overall objective of the network is to
  provide a clear organisational and disciplinary
  framework for increasing the effectiveness of
  work at the interface between technology and the
  cultural heritage of human experience represented
  in monuments, sites and museums.

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EPOCH - TOOLS

• MeshLab
• MeshLab is an open source, portable, and
  extensible system for the processing and editing
  of unstructured 3D triangular meshes. The system
  is aimed to help the processing of the typical
  not-so-small unstructured models arising in 3D
  scanning, providing a set of tools for editing,
  cleaning, healing, inspecting, rendering and
  converting this kind of meshes. The system is
  heavily based on the VCG library developed at the
  Visual Computing Lab of ISTI - CNR, for all the
  core mesh processing tasks and it is available
  for Windows, Linux (src) and MacOSX

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EPOCH - TOOLS

• ARC 3D WebService
• ARC 3D is a group of tools, allowing users to
  upload digital images to ARC 3D servers where a
  3D reconstruction is performed of the scene and
  report the output back to the user. ARC 3D also
  provides a tool for producing and visualising the
  3D scene using the data computed on the servers.
  The first simple application is the upload tool.
  All that is required is that a sequence of images
  is uploaded to the server. The order of the
  images can be set by the user, and the images can
  be subsampled before uploading for a faster
  service. This is where the service really does
  its work. ARC computes the reconstruction also
  over a distributed network of PCs. Depending on
  the size, number and quality of the images that
  have been uploaded, a typical job may take from
  15 minutes to 2 or 3 hours. Once the
  reconstruction has been successful, the system
  notifies the user by email. They can then use
  this data to produce a 3D model with the model
  viewer tool.

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EPOCH - TOOLS

• The EPOCH ViewerThe Epoch Viewer is a tool for
  interactive display and exploration of 3D scenes
  containing digital 3D artifacts. It is not only a
  viewer for static, pre-defined scenes, but it
  also allows to compose, edit, and save 3D scenes.
  It supports 3D object formats that are
  specifically developed for CH. It has an
  integrated scripting language that allows to
  attach scripted behaviour to each object, which
  can even be used to realize 3D user interfaces.
• The CityEngineCityEngine is a system using a
  procedural approach based on L-systems to model
  cities. From various image maps given as input,
  such as land-water boundaries and population
  density, our system generates a system of
  highways and streets, divides the land into lots,
  and creates the appropriate geometry for the
  buildings on the respective allotments.The
  CityEngine, a 3D modeling software for urban
  environments, will be commercially available in
  May 2008.

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EPOCH - TOOLS

• AMA - Archive Mapper for ArchaeologyAMA is a
  tool created for mapping existing archaeological
  datasets, including excavation databases, museum
  collections and free text data, to a CIDOC-CRM
  compliant format. The AMA web tool allows users
  to import XML data models of their existing
  archaeological archives and to map them to the
  CIDOC-CRM ontology schema, creating direct
  relations with the CIDOC classes. The tool also
  allows the definition of simple and complex
  relations among the already mapped elements to
  enrich their semantic meaning.

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Virtual reality in Archaeology

• http//arheologie.ulbsibiu.ro/virtual.htm
• The purpose of this interdisciplinary project is
  to help the archaeologist to control, present and
  use the results of their work with the new
  information and communication technologies (ICT).
  
• A particular ICT of most relevance to this work
  is Virtual Reality (VR). A virtual reality world
  is an virtual environment (VE) simulated on the
  computer through which a person can feel almost
  as a part of the real world (Allen et alii 2000,
  p. 1575). It is used in archaeology because it
  can offer
• Three-dimensional models that aid interpretation
  of the architecture.
• Visualise information of a high complexity.
• It can combine the visual images with the sound
  in a real time
• Access through the Internet using virtual reality
  can be more easily understood by the large public
  without losing the quality and the original
  impact.
• This is the technology that can bring to life
  the past in a revolutionary way, this should take
  place at the end of each archaeological study.

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Virtual reality in Archaeology

• Structure P8 from Parta
• The reconstruction of wooden and clay floors,
  Parta
• The reconstruction of a sustaining wooden
  structure , Parta
• Neolithic sanctuaries from Romania
• Neolithic oven
• Parta proposal 1 with actual river position
• Parta - 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes 1
  and 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes 2
• A 3D reconstruction of the Romanic church from
  Cisnadioara and its fortification
• Proposal of the virtual reconstruction of the
  Romanic rotunda from Orastie (the first part of
  the 12 th century).

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Imaginary exhibitions

• A Unique Way of Experiencing Art in 3D - Louvre
  Museum
• The imaginary exhibitions are a virtual 3D
  space which provides an exciting opportunity of
  discovering works of art from the Louvre and
  other museums, exploring monuments, visiting
  places of the past...
• Louis Lacaze Reconstruction of the room
  dedicated to his collection
• Discover a 3D modelization of the La Caze
  room now the Bronzes room, Sully wing, first
  floor, room 32 as it was in 1913, when it
  housed 177 paintings by masters such as
  Rembrandt, Chardin or Watteau, from the
  prestigious collection bequeathed by La Caze to
  the Louvre.
• 3D imaginary exhibition Jean-Honoré Fragonard
• This imaginary exhibition is a tribute to
  Fragonard, one of the greatest French painters of
  the 18th century, and also one of the first
  curators of the Musée du Louvre.

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Imaginary exhibitions

• The south church at Bawit in 3D
• This virtual visit to the Bawit monastery
  takes us back in time to ancient Coptic Egypt in
  the first millennium of the Christian era. This
  imaginary exhibition presents the elements that
  were found during the site excavations and
  features a reconstruction of the church as
  archaeologists imagine it was in the 7th century
  AD.
• The Virtools plug-in is required

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Imaginary exhibitionsLouis Lacaze
Reconstruction of the room dedicated to his
collection
3D modelization of the La Caze room
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Imaginary exhibitions
Jean-Honoré Fragonard

• 3D imaginary exhibition Jean-Honoré Fragonard

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Imaginary exhibitions
The south church at Bawit

• The south church at Bawit in 3D

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3D Life Player

• Version 4.0.0.96
• BrowserInternet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla,
  Netscape
• Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows (98, 98SE, ME,
  2000, XP or Vista)
• Download

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The relational model
LO 1.2 Abstract
The relational model was defined and published
for the first time in 1970 by Dr. Edgar F. Codd,
a researcher at the IBM laboratories from San
Jose (California), who published his works
referring to the relational model for databases.
This relational model has the advantage that it
allows the designer of the database to study the
properties of the managing system of the database
without being forced to implement it. The
theoretical fundament of this kind of a database
is represented by the mathematical theory of
relations. One of the main characteristics of
the relational model is its simplicity and
strictness from a theoretical point of view, a
fact that placed it before other models, being
adopted within the last decade by the majority of
researchers and programmers in the field. The
data and relations are explicitly represented,
using a logical structure called relation. On the
other hand, the relational model was
mathematically defined, providing a modern means
of studying the logical properties of a database
system.
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The relational model
LO 1.2 Abstract
Unlike the relational model, other models,
previously used, the hierarchy model and the
network model did not have such a powerful
theoretical background. Another essential
difference between the relational model and the
other two models is that while the former is
oriented towards a multitude, the other two are
file oriented this results from the fact that if
for the hierarchy model and the network model the
programmer must design procedural programmes,
which should access the database registration by
registration using physical connections for
registrations while for the relational model,
just one instruction in an non-procedural
language (like SQL Structured Query Language),
usually determines the modelling of more
registrations
44
The relational model
LO 1.2 Abstract
Another particular property for the relational
model is that only the logical properties of the
database can be addressed and not the physical
ones, because it is not oriented towards the
calculation system. As a result, the model does
not include the rules, structures and operations
referring to the physical implementation of the
database system. However, one of the objectives
of the relational model was to introduce a clear
distinction between the physical and logical
aspects of a database, an objective called by E.
F. Codd the independence of data. At the
beginning of the theoretical foundation of the
relational model, there were serious fears
regarding the efficiency of applying the
relational model for large databases. The
extraordinary technological development in the
field of electronics and informatics within the
past few years is obvious in the rise of the
modelling power of computers and has led to the
elimination of these fears through the large use
of the relational database systems including on
personal computers.
45
The components of the relational model
LO 1.2 Details
The components of the relational model are

• The relational structure of data. Within
  relational databases, the data is organised as
  tables, called relations. Associations between
  relations are explicitly represented through
  connection attributes.
• The operators of the relational model. They
  define the operations that can be done on
  relations, with the purpose of realising the data
  modelling functions (visualisation, insertion,
  modification, erasing).
• Integrity restrictions of the relational model.
  Also called integrity rules they define the
  demands that must be satisfied by the data within
  the database in order to be considered as correct
  and coherent compared to the real world that they
  reflect.

46
Management systems of the relational databases
LO 1.3 Abstract

• In order to reach the objectives for which it was
  created, a database must have an associated
  system of data management, which is the software
  of the database.
• Through the system of data management the
  following activities can be accomplished
• defining the structure of the database
  (organizing data in tables and their connection)
• introducing and modifying data
• fast access to data through different types of
  interrogations
• presentation of data as reports (listed on the
  screen or printed) in which the data resulted
  from interrogations are summarized
• security of data.

47
Management systems of the relational databases
LO 1.3 Abstract

• A database management system (DBMS) is a
  mechanism whose fundamental principle lies,
  generally speaking, in the so-called abstracting
  of data stored on the support. There are three
  abstracting levels corresponding to the three
  models of data physical, conceptual and logical.
  (Figure 1)
• The physical model (or internal) regards the data
  as they are stored on the
• support and represents the zero level of
  abstracting
• The conceptual model regards the data through its
  real significance
• The logical model (or internal) regards the data
  through the eyes of the final user. For a
  database there may be more logical models,
  depending on the different possible categories of
  final users.

48
Planning databases
LO 1.3 Details

• Projecting database applications implies, from
  this point of view, two extremely important
  initial steps logical projection and physical
  implementation of the data model. The data model
  forms the basis of the entire application system
  which will exploit the database. The logical
  projection refers to the establishment of the
  conceptual model of the database, which is
  independent compared to the particular DBMS that
  will be used. The result of this first step is a
  document that will contain the detailed
  definition of the data structures which will be
  implemented. The physical implementation consists
  of the transposition of the conceptual model
  produced in the previous step, on the specific
  DBMS.
• The main RDBMS that are the basis of dynamic and
  interactive Web pages
• Oracle (www.oracle.com)
• Microsoft SQL Server (www.microsoft.com/sql/)
• Microsoft Access (www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/d
  efault.aspx)
• MySQL (www.mysql.com)

49
Practice
LO 1.3
Figure 1 Abstracting levels of a RDBMS
50
Configuration of databases
LO 1.4 Abstract

• According to these objectives, the construction
  of a database implies the following steps
• analysis of the system (domain) for which the
  database is projected
• projecting the structure of the database
• introducing the data in the database
• exploitation and maintenance of the database.
• The first step in the configuration of the
  database is the setting out of the objects that
  must be included and their properties. A single
  object together with its properties forms an
  entity of data. Each entity of data must be
  unique in order to be differentiated from the
  others. The properties of the objects included in
  entities of data are called attributes. The
  identification of objects (data sources) together
  with their properties is called data modelling.

51
Configuration of databases
LO 1.4 Abstract

• The purpose of the data model is to create a
  logical representation of the data structure,
  used for the creation of the database. The models
  using objects and tables (which will be created
  afterwards on the grounds of these objects) are
  called conceptual data models.
• For the configuration of databases we identify
  two conceptual data methods or models
• the bottom-up method for the creation of an
  application database. According to this method
  the configuration of the database begins with the
  image of data listed on the screen or with a
  printed report. It is used for the creation of a
  simple database, which uses a single type of data
  object
• the top-down method, in which the configuration
  begins with the identification of objects (data
  sources) for the creation of subject databases
  (databases formed by tables dedicated to a single
  class of subjects).
• A better solution is the configuration of
  databases with the help of groups of objects
  which are connected by subject. This means the
  use of the top-down method (model).

52
Objectives
LO 1.4 Details

• The main objectives that must be fulfilled after
  the configuration process of a database are
• fulfilling the needs of the user for getting
  updated information in time and economically
• the elimination and minimization of repetition
  (redundancy) of data from the database
• providing fast access to certain information
  elements from the database, necessary for
  different categories of users
• the possibility of extending the database
  according to the users needs
• the security of data which consists of stopping
  the access of unauthorised persons to the
  database
• the easiness in the creation of applications for
  the introduction, editing, listing and
  rediscovering of information.

53
Physical implementation of data (a)
LO 1.5 Abstract

• The Implementation of data consists of the
  transposition of data entities in tables made up
  of columns (fields) and rows (registrations). The
  attributes of entities together with the
  connection attributes (which will be added) will
  be the columns (fields) of the tables. The values
  associated to these fields represent the rows
  (registrations) from tables.
• The implementation of relations between entities
  can be made through four possibilities
• one-to-one the value of the key field from a
  single registration from the new table must
  correspond to a unique value of the associated
  field from the existing table (the tables have a
  one-to-one correspondence of rows one row in a
  table cannot have more than one corresponding row
  in the other table)
• one-to-many the field main key from the first
  table must be unique, but the values from the key
  field of the second table may be associated with
  more entries (one-to-more relations ties a single
  row in a table to more rows from another table by
  means of a relation between the primary key of
  the main table and the corresponding key of the
  associated table)

54
Physical implementation of data (a)
LO 1.5 Abstract

• many-to-one the new table may have more values
  in the key field which may correspond to a unique
  value of the associated field from the existing
  table (it is the opposite of the one-to-many
  relation
• many-to-many they have no restrictions, there
  are no unique relations between the key fields
  from the existing table or the new table both
  key fields contain duplicate values. These types
  of relations cannot be expressed as simple
  relations between two participating entities. In
  order to create a many-to-many relation we must
  create an intermediary table which should have
  many-to-one relations with two main tables.
• Observation we must remember the fact that
  many-to-one and one-to-many relations are one and
  the same thing, depending on the table to which
  we refer.

55
Physical implementation of data (b)
LO 1.6 Abstract

• The normalization is a standard procedure by
  means of which the attributes of data are grouped
  in tables, and tables are grouped in databases.
  The purposes of the normalization are the
  following
• the elimination of doubles in the tables
• the permission of carrying out future
  modifications in the structure of tables
• minimizing the impact of structural modifications
  of the database in the applications of users who
  use the data.

56
Physical implementation of data (b)
LO 1.6 Abstract

• The normalization is carried out in five steps
  (forms of normalization)
• the first normal form indicates that the tables
  must be plane and must not contain repetitions of
  groups
• in the second normal form the data from the
  columns without key are completely depending on
  the main key
• for the third normal form, all the columns
  without a key in a table must respect the rules
  of the first and the second normal form
• for the fourth normal form, independent data
  entities must not be stored within the same table
  when between these entities there are
  many-to-many relations (it eliminates the
  redundancy due to mn relations).
• for the fifth normal form, the exact
  reconstruction of the original table from those
  tables from which it had been separated, must be
  possible it seldom appears in practice.

57
The publication of data on the Internet
DU 2

• For the creation of the Web site of the European
  Virtual Museum, we used Microsoft Active Server
  Pages technology. Further on we are going to
  introduce the main elements which are part of
  this technology
• This lecture unit explains deeply what is meant
  by (a) HTML, (b) ASP and (c) how entering the
  database thought the web. Main features of SQL
  (structure Query language) and Java programming
  are discussed.
• The objectives of DU2 are
• to identify the operations that can be executed
  in interactive modality
• to know how to use the main software for
  realizing the web pages.

58
LO 2.1 Abstract
HyperText Markup Language
One of the first fundamental elements of the WWW
(World Wide Web) is HTML (HyperText Markup
Language), a standard which describes the primary
format in which the documents are being
distributed and seen on the WEB. Many of its
features, as the independence of the platform,
the structuring of formatting and the hypertext
connections, make it a very good format for
documents published on the Internet.   The
official HTML standard is given by World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) which is affiliated to Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF). W3C stated a few
versions of the HTML specification, like HTML
2.0, HTML 3.0, HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0, HTML 4.01 and,
most recently XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup
Language). At the same time the authors of
browsers (navigators) like Netscape (Netscape
Navigators) and Microsoft (Internet Explorer),
have often developed their own HTML extensions
excluding the standard process and incorporated
them in their own browsers.  
59
LO 2.1 Abstract
HyperText Markup Language

• Presently, HTML 4.0 is widely utilized and the
  HTML specifications have already been published.
  HTML language offers WEB designers the following
  possibilities
• to publish the documents with headers, texts,
  tables, lists, photographs etc.
• to find information on-line by means of
  hyperlinks accessed by a simple mouse click
• to project forms for the achievement of
  transactions with distant servers, for searching
  for information or for commerce specific
  activities
• to include table calculation sheet, video clips,
  sounds and other applications directly in
  documents.

60
LO 2.1 Details
The origins of HTLM
HTML was initially developed by Tim Berners-Lee
at CERN (Centre Européen de Recherche Nucléaire)
in 1989. HTML is a language based on SGML
(Standard Generalized Markup Language) which is
an international standard (ISO 8879) approved
in 1986. HTML was initially seen as a possibility
for physicians using different computers to
change information between them by means of the
Internet. Thus a few conditions were necessary
independence of the platform, hypertext
possibilities and structuring of documents. The
independence of the platform means that a
document can be listed in a similar way (or
almost identical) by different computers, vital
for a numerous and various audience. Hypertext is
translated by the fact that any word, phrase,
image or element of the document seen by the user
(client) can refer to another document or even to
paragraphs within the same document, which makes
the navigation between components of the same
document or between multiple documents easier.
The strict structuring of documents allows their
conversion from one format into another as well
as the interrogation of a database containing
these documents.
61
LO 2.2 Abstract
Active Server Pages (ASP)
Active Server Pages (ASP) is a powerful
instrument developed by Microsoft. An ASP file
may contain text, HTML tags (markers) and
scripts. The scripts in an ASP file will be
executed by the server through IIS (Internet
Information Server) which is part of Windows
2000, Windows NT 4.0 (Option Pack) or PWS
(Personal Web Server) in Windows 95-98. An ASP
script, executed by the server, is always limited
by lt gt and may contain expressions,
instructions, procedures, or operators accepted
by the language use (for example JavaScript). ASP
pages use ADO objects (ActiveX Data Objects) to
achieve the connection of data after which,
through the Structured Query Language (SQL),
different types of queries on the databases can
be carried out.
62
LO 2.3 Abstract
ActiveX Data Object (ADO)

• ADO is used to access a database through a WEB
  page. It was created by Microsoft and it is
  automatically installed at the same time with
  Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server)
  package. By means of the ADO component the
  following operations in an ASP file may be
  fulfilled
• The creation of an ADO connection with the
  database
• Opening the connection with the database
• The creation of an ADO recordset
• Opening a recordset
• Drawing out the necessary data from a recordset
• Closing a recordset
• Closing the connection with the database.

63
LO 2.4 Abstract
Structured Query Language (SQL)

• SQL is an ANSI (American National Standards
  Institute) standard language used for the
  querying of MS Access, MS SQL Server, DB2,
  Informix, Oracle, Sybase databases etc.
• With the help of SQL we can make selection or
  action queries (adding, deleting and modifying
  registrations) upon databases. It consists of
• SQL Queries for querying the database
• SQL Data Manipulation Language (DML) which
  allows the introduction, deletion and updating of
  data (registrations) by using the instructions
• INSERT INTO introducing new data in a table of
  the database
• DELETE deleting registrations
• UPDATE updating (modifying) registrations.

64
LO 2.4 Abstract
Structured Query Language (SQL)

• SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) allows the
  creation, modification and deletion of tables in
  the database, as well as the creation and
  deletion of an index (search key). For this
  purpose the following instructions are being
  used
• CREATE TABLE
• ALTER TABLE
• DROP TABLE
• CREATE INDEX
• DROP INDEX

65
LO 2.4 Case studies
The State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum Project, as a partnership
between IBM Corporate Community Relations () and
the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg,
began in 1997. The website () presents
significant historical information on the
Hermitage Museum, its extensive collections,
offerings, events, membership and special
exhibitions. The Hermitage Museum website enables
the world to see the Hermitage collections from
anywhere in the world using IBM Digital Library
technology, based on IBM RS/6000 computers and
IBM Digital Library software from the IBM Santa
Teresa, California Lab. The special application
software was created in IBM's e-business Solution
Centre in Naples, Italy and the site design and
user interface of the website were developed by
IBM's e-business Services in Atlanta,
Georgia http//www.haifa.il.ibm.com/projects/soft
ware/hermitage/index.html. At the core of the
project is IBM's Image Creation Studio based on
IBM Research's Pro/3000 Scanner with PC's and
special image processing software, which produce
high quality, high resolution digital images from
originals or transparencies of works of art from
the Hermitage collections. The images feature
IBM's patented digital invisible watermark
technology to protect Hermitage image usage
rights. For this project, 2000 images have been
scanned and retouched by the Hermitage Museum
staff.
66
LO 2.4 Case studies
The State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum website provides a
searchable database of high resolution images
from 12 distinctive categories of works
(painting, prints and drawings sculpture
machinery and mechanisms arms and armour
furniture and carriages ceramics and porcelain
applied arts jewellery textiles numismatics
and glyptics costume archaeological artefacts),
HotMedia images of selected rooms and items,
Query By Image Content Search (QBIC Search) and
the "Zoom View" Java-based technology developed
expressly for this project. It allows the user to
zoom in on a particular part of an illustration
for detailed analysis and to study descriptive
material (http//www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/i
ndex.html). Query By Image Content search
technology allows users locate works using visual
tools, by selecting colours from a palette or by
sketching shapes on a canvas. With advanced
search visitors can find a particular item by
selecting a specific category of artworks, the
type of item, the style, trend or tendency,
country of origin, theme, genre, the personage
represented and the data range. In the section
Zoom View Gallery users can scrutinize the
slightest details of an artwork using an
innovative technology. High-resolution images are
provided by IBM's specialized Image Creation
Studio using patented IBM technology developed at
Watson Research labs to digitize art objects and
protect images. The network used to host the
website includes multiple farms of IBM RS/6000
and support millions of hits each day.
67
LO 2.5 Abstract
JavaScript

• JavaScript is a programming language for WEB
  pages. It is used in many sites for improving
  their design, for the validation of some forms
  etc. It has been developed by Netscape and it is
  the most popular script language for the
  Internet. It is recognized by all popular
  browsers (navigators) from version 3.0 and more.
  The main characteristics and uses of the
  JavaScript language
• it has been created for developing the
  interactivity of WEB pages
• it is a line of command language
• it is written directly in HTML document
• it does not need a preliminary compiler
• anyone can use JavaScript without a licence
• it is tolerated by all important navigators, like
  Internet Explorer or Netscape.
• The complete description of the Active Server
  Pages technology, and not only, can be found at
  www.asp.net.

68
Practice
LO 2.5

• The language offers WEB designers the following
  possibilities
• to publish the documents with headers, texts,
  tables, lists, photographs etc.
• to find information on-line by means of
  hyperlinks accessed by a simple mouse click
• to project forms for the achievement of
  transactions with distant servers, for searching
  for information or for commerce specific
  activities
• to include table calculation sheet, video clips,
  sounds and other applications directly
• in documents.
• True or False?
• 2. With the help of SQL we cant make selection
  or action queries (adding, deleting and modifying
  registrations) upon databases.
• True or False?
• 3. JavaScript is a powerful 3D software product
  that calculates measurements and constructs 3D
  models from your photographs simply and easily.
• True or False?

69
DU 3
So