GarryJolleyRogers - Wed Nov 25 2009 - Version 1.4
Parent topic: DELTAandBDI.SDD
The proposed SDD schema has significant complexity and we believe that the complexity is necessary to store high quality data. However, we have taken great care to allow relatively simple SDD documents to be created. The SDD primer explains the basics of using SDD.
A frequent argument we encounter is that SDD is more complex and difficult than DELTA. For a number of reasons we do not think this is true. One problem when comparing the complexity of DELTA and SDD is that the complexity of DELTA itself is difficult to assess. DELTA has a few basic directives, namely Character Type, Character List, and Item Descriptions that are minimally sufficient to start describing items. Character List, and Item Descriptions are, however, highly structured and map to several SDD elements.
To allow some degree of comparison I have prepared a list of DELTA directives based on the information in the latest version of the "User's Guide to the DELTA System" (Edition 4.12 by M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine, and E. J. Zurcher, 2000). Since DELTA is originally a command-driven language, some directives contain data, whereas other directives give commands to execute methods in a specific program. The distinction is, however, weak. Many reporting directives (!*Omit Inner Comments, !*Omit Lower For Characters) are required when creating natural language descriptions or keys, and some commands (e. g. or *Insert Implicit Values) have to be executed to obtain meaningful data. Still other "commands" like !*Input File provide the basic functionality to find the files belonging to a project. No other program will be able to create natural language descriptions or keys without evaluating these "command"-like directives.
In the list below I have attempted to mark all directives that are informative only in the context of using the CSIRO DELTA programs in gray and those that contain valuable descriptive or terminological definitions in bold face. Directives considered obsolete or deprecated by DELTA (e. g. !*State Codes) are marked gray as well.
"small">*Absolute Error, *Accept Duplicate Values, *Add Characters, *Alternate Comma, *Applicable Characters, *Character For Output Files, *Character Descriptions, *Characters For Synonymy, *Character For Taxon Images, *Character For Taxon Names, *Character Headings, *Character Images, *Character Keyword Images, *Character List, *Character Notes, *Character Reliabilities, *Character Types, *Character Weights, *Chinese Format, *Comment, *Data Buffer Size, *Data Compression, *Data Listing, *Decimal Places, *Dependent Characters, *Disable Delta Output, *Dist Output File, *Emphasize Characters, *Emphasize Features, *End, *Error File, *Exclude Characters, *Exclude Items, *Heading, *Image Directory, *Implicit Values, *Inapplicable Characters, *Include Characters, *Include Items, *Index Headings, *Index Output File, *Index Text, *Input Delta File, *Input File, *Insert Character Sequence Numbers, *Insert Image File Name, *Insert Implicit Values, *Insert Item Sequence Numbers, *Insert Redundant Variant Attributes, *Intkey Output File, *Item Abundances, *Item Descriptions, *Item Headings, *Item Output Files, *Item Subheadings, *Item Weights, *Key Character List, *Key Output File, *Key States, *Link Characters, *List Characters, *List Heading, *List Items, *Listing File, *Mandatory Characters, *Maximum Number Of Items, *Maximum Number Of States, *New Files At Items, *New Listing Page, *New Paragraphs At Characters, *New Print Page, *No Data Listing, *Nonautomatic Controlling Characters, *Number Of Characters, *Number States From Zero, *Numbers Of States, *Omit Character Numbers, *Omit Comments, *Omit Final Comma, *Omit Inapplicables, *Omit Inner Comments, *Omit Lower For Characters, *Omit Or For Characters, *Omit Period For Characters, *Omit Redundant Variant Attributes, *Omit Space Before Units, *Omit Typesetting Marks, *Output Directory, *Output File, *Output Format Html, *Output Parameters, *Output Width, *Overlay Fonts, *Page Length, *Percent Error, *Previous Input File, *Print All Characters, *Print Character List, *Print Comment, *Print File, *Print Heading, *Print Item Descriptions, *Print Item Names, *Print Summary, *Print Uncoded Characters, *Print Width, *Registration Heading, *Registration Subheading, *Registration Validation, *Replace Angle Brackets, *Replace Semicolon By Comma, *Replace State Codes, *Scale Characters, *Sequence Increment, *Show, *Sort States, *Special Storage, *Startup Images, *State Codes, *Stop After Item, *Subject For Output Files, *Taxon Images, *Taxon Keyword Images, *Taxon Links, *Translate Implicit Values, *Translate Into, *Translate Uncoded Characters, *Treat Integer As Real, *Treat Unknown As Variable, *Treat Variable As Unknown, *Typesetting Marks, *Use Controlling Characters First, *Use Mean Values, *Use Last Value Coded, *Use Normal Values, *Vocabulary, [Delfor:] *Control Phrases, *New Character Order, *New Line For Attributes, *New State Orders, *Reformat, [Key:] *Abase, *Add Character Numbers, *Allow Improper Subgroups, *Characters File, *Dump, *Input File, *Items File, *Key Output File, *Key Typesetting File, *Matrix Dump, *No Bracketted Key, *No Tabular Key, *Number Of Confirmatory Characters, *Preset Characters, *Rbase, *Reuse, *Stop After Column, *Storage Factor, *Treat Characters As Variable, *Treat Unknown As Inapplicable, *Truncate Tabular Key At, *Typesetting Marks, *Varywt, [Dist:] *Items File, *Log, *Match Overlap, *Maximum Items In Memory, *Minimum Number Of Comparisons, *Names File, *Phylip Format [Intkey:] Define Characters "keyword c1 c2 ...", Define Taxa "keyword t1 t2 ...", Define Names "keyword n1, n2, ...".
Note 1: The Intkey directives at the end are normally considered Intkey command line commands rather than DELTA directives. However, the three listed provide essential functionality for DELTA. Otherwise the list of Intkey commands is incomplete, ca. 70 further Intkey commands exist. *Define Characters is used to define character groups for interactive identification in Intkey (and is also supported by DeltaAccess).
Note 2: DELTA directives must be all-uppercase. here they have been written in normal capitalization to improve readability.
The markup above is a personal estimate and other consumers of DELTA data may want to use other directives. However, the list of directives shown in boldface shows that DELTA as a fully usable system is quite complex as well, and necessarily so if all of interactive keys, guided key generation, and natural language descriptions shall be supported.
Furthermore, a comparison between DELTA and SDD should consider not only the old DELTA standard, but also the considerably more complex proposal for a new DELTA (M. J. Dallwitz, T. A. Paine, and E. J. Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1999, 2005) Proposed New Features for the DELTA System). SDD does address most of the issues raised in the DELTA II proposal.
See also the overview DELTA and SDD.
-- Main.GregorHagedorn - 10 May 2006 (First version published outside of Wiki by Gregor Hagedorn on 20. November 2003)