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1 message in edu.ku.nhm.mailman.taxacomBad Day at the Bar Code Corral| From | Sent On | Attachments |
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| Peter Rauch | Aug 7, 1995 5:18 pm |
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| Subject: | Bad Day at the Bar Code Corral | Actions... |
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| From: | Peter Rauch (pet...@VIOLET.BERKELEY.EDU) | |
| Date: | Aug 7, 1995 5:18:00 pm | |
| List: | edu.ku.nhm.mailman.taxacom | |
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 17:26:00 EST From: Chris Garvie <CGarvie_+a_XeTel-Au_+lChris_Garvie+r%Xetel_Corporation at MCIMAIL.COM> Subject: Bar coding boxes??
1) I can't think of any good reasons why anyone would want to bar-code specimen boxes etc.
Interesting observation. But, was there something that anyone on Taxacom said that elicited this comment?
Bar-codes in industry are typically used for similar items
Collections managers have found discipline-legitimate reasons to put barcodes on dissimilar items.....
2)Setting up a database in whatever way (one large file, many linked ones etc), defining all the fields, and writing the software is the easy part of making a system. [Could do it in ...] ... weeks, assuming you could give [the programmer] the specifications.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now, _there's_ a major assumption ...and problem! And, even if one person gives you "the" specifications, will the next person give you compatible, commensurate specifications for _their_ (somewhat similar) application (which might be written by the next software developer)? The notion of "standards" comes to bear at this point. The standards are not (only) those of the software industry, they are the ones of the biosystematics/collections/ environmental/ecological community which will "give" the developer an opportunity to write non-unique applications. One of the issues that raised all of this tortured discussion was the topic of community standards with respect to the use of bar codes to track specimens. If the user community hasn't come to grips with all of the critical standards (esp. those which would have a great impact on the automation of their "business"), then those ill- specified software programs will lead to inability to share and exchange and pool data.
The corner S/W store does not have an off-the-shelf the answer to your problems but there are many S/W developers who do.
Yes, we hire them, educate them to the ways of systematics and biocollections management and use, and guide them to develop useful software for us. If they're _really_ good, they guide us to provide accurate, sufficient, descriptions of our business. Generally, like most complex things, there is a significant amount of interdisciplinary learning/educating/sharing that goes on in the process.
Peter