dokuwiki

Quest: Locating a certain place in a certain time: Suzhou 苏州 in the year 1045.

Output:

• a) [red] point on a map (point-ID 32071), coordinates;

• b) info: administrative level (name), since when and until when (time range), info field with quote (text)

• c) what was/which were the predecessor/s, what/which its successor/s (clicking through the directly adjacent ones step by step OR jump to one of all the predecessors/successors by choosing from a list?)
  

putting the find into its administrative context:

• d) superior to … (number of [green] place-points);

• e) subordinated to… (one [yellow] place-point or the polygon of the district etc.);

• f) on an equal level in this subordination with… (number of [white] place-points).
  Show and hide these points by selection/de-selection from a bullet list on the map;
  

Allow to make one of the shown points the 'main' [red] point by clicking on it.

• g) what other databases refer to this point (Suzhou 1045/point-ID 32071) > pop-up list with hits from which to choose and view the co-reference.

Quest: All places of a certain administrative level that have changed their level in a certain period of time: up- or downgrading to the level of a county (xian) in the period 1300-1400.

Output:

• a) number of points on the map [all the same colour, white?]

• b) mouse-over info (since when, until when; quote)

• c) dynamically show the result: “scroll” through the years

• d) click to choose one place [turns red] to proceed as in 1.;
  

possibility to go back to the previous search respectively the sample of finds [white]

Quest: All places named Ma-something (馬?) through the a time range (to more easily decide which is the right one):

Output:

• a) number of points on the map showing name and time-range, mouse-over showing admin. level and info quote (pre-select present provinces to limit search?)

• b) click on one point [turns red], to proceed like in 1.

Searches should be as flexible as possible and should have the possibility to jump to co-references in the other databases (such as the “Technological Landscape”) via “list of datasets that also refer to this space-in-time-ID”. Results of searches that show a period in time should allow 'scrolling' through the results.

Results of searches should be made possible to be saved as a layer. So two searches can be compared.

(Dagmar for sure has enough examples for that . Big question: do we produce NEW space-in-time-IDs or do we use only the ones provided by Harvard CHGIS??)

Other researchers can upload their data permanently (C1) or integrate them into China GIS with leaving the data on their system (???if something like this is acceptable, respectively OK technically or concerning safety) (C2). Moreover they can setup their own database via a flexible interface provided by the China GIS website (C3). It should moreover be possible to enter comment to individual existent datasets (C4)¹⁾

C1 Quest: a researcher has a list or database of geo-referential data concerning China (exclusively Chinese history?) he wants to permanently integrate into the China GIS with the aim to present it dynamically on a map and to put his data in relation to other data already available there.

procedure:

• a) he asks the China GIS to integrate his data by sending a sample of datasets (so we would need a permanent moderator?). The identification of his data with Harvard China Historical GIS IDs (resp. the space-in-time-IDs of the “Technological Landscape”, see above B??) has to be done by the researcher himself and before uploading the data. When granted access for uploading, he uploads a table with the space-in-time-ID in the very first column (what format? excel? txt with TAB and ENTER?). During upload the interface counts the number of columns and rows (as a first proof for the uploading person that the format has been correctly interpreted by the interface) and then successively asks column by column if the column should be integrated into upload and which name it has. So one can skip columns or rename them. The process should make sure the user enters a start-time and an end-time of the validity for each of his entries or for his whole set. Columns giving amount of something (from rainfall to sugar-consumption) should be marked as such (? to allow to show these results as bigger or smaller points, bar etc.?). Should all columns be searchable or should the user choose if a field is searchable or meant as pop-up info? As a final the database is given an individual identification name, a date of upload and the complete reference to the uploading person/institution).

• b) after upload the database can be chosen from a bullet list to provide parameters for searches. When selecting the bullet, a list of the searchable columns is shown each with a slot into which search parameters can then be put.

• c) the 'uploader' can also access his data via a login for smaller changes in the uploaded data (maybe not adding new rows?!) and he can delete the whole set and upload a revised version or extended data.

C2 only the structure is uploaded into China GIS. The actual data are stored on the system of the researcher (so if he is offline it does not work and if he changed the structure of his database, such as renaming a column or adding one, it won't work either, but for the researcher it is easier to revise and continue to work with his data?!)

C3. Beside the duty-field 'space-in-time-ID' the user can flexible decide what and how many fields/columns he needs for inputting his data. He has the possibility to design “Wertelisten” (“value-lists”?) for example to confine his use of keywords, product-groups etc. (Should it be possible to use value-lists of other already integrated databases??). To finally set up his database he goes through the same procedure as in 4.1 (individual name of database, person/institution in charge, date of upload. It should be possible for him to get his own login to continue to add rows of data and to download his data into a table, TAB separated text etc.)

C4. Users can add a commentary to a place in time or to a certain dataset of a certain database (such as a certain silk manufacture established 1230 in Hangzhou). These commentaries are not stored in the respective databases but in a separate database that links the ID of that data set from a certain database with the ID of the commentary in the commentary database (the space-in-time-ID should also be part of the commentary! Possibility to set up and link to a Wiki-page for ones comment??)

• a) Integrate a small database with the data of the publication into China GIS and refer to the name and link in ones publication.

• b) Perform a search in China GIS (using a number of already integrated databases) and save the result (in a kml-file?) so that it can be downloaded and viewed as a visualisation of the data of ones publication. The search result should be shown dynamically (allow scrolling through time, the possibility to select/deselect subsets of data).

• b.1) Perform a search etc. as above and provide a set of commentaries to the finds. The link in the publication (or kml-file or whatever) will only show the wanted commentaries (not those of others, to clearly confine what is shown on the space in time one wanted to refer to!)