Diversity Workbench Performance

The following points outline the advantages of the Diversity Workbench concept:

• Modularity of the framework

The single application components collaborate through agreed software interfaces. That is, each component of the Workbench applications is able to stand alone but is also able to use services from other applications, without knowing about the internal design and implementation of them (encapsulation principle). This results in a great flexibility concerning the technical design, allows a differentiated user-administration and the easy set up of user-specific projects and entry forms adapted to specific projects. It facilitates the direct access to web services and external data resources.

• Platform with currently 12 components

The components include one with GIS functionality and extensions on mobile platforms with synchronisation mechanisms. They are appropriate to store different kinds of interactions between organisms and to facilitate the management of institutional collections, i. e., loan, exchange, sales and purchase of biological material, form letters. The majority of components are implemented as data-oriented, xml-enabled relational databases.

• Virtual working environment for processing biodiversity and ecology data

This results in a single system for multiple scientific aims concerning the management and analysis of biological and geosciences data, e. g. collection data, observation data, descriptive and ecological data, taxonomies, taxon-mediated checklist data, terminologies, ecological plots, images and literature data.

• Client-server-technology

The user is working on local desktop using the internet or intranet for accessing advanced technology administrated on a central server.

• Model-driven and user-mediated rich database client development for complex data structures and interactions

Joint efforts for modelling data flows and the creation of new components are continuously going on. For customized data entry grid-forms as well as tree-oriented data entry forms are designed.

• Supporting import/export standard formats, e. g., data export mapping for the ABCD schema

These standards mediate the availability of data via international networks and portals like GBIF.

• Setting up of mechanisms for creating user-specific import/export interfaces

These solutions facilitate the data flow from and towards custom-built project databases, e. g., of extern institutions like national environmental agencies and biological societies.

• Implementation of web services

Web services, e. g., for single data access makes the data available for external databases and data access tools.

• More than 10 years experience, resulting in the launching of the SNSB IT Center in 2006

This sustainable success since 1999 was the outcome of the engagement of the Diversity Workbench Co-workers.

• Hosting and management of data collections from more than 30 institutions worldwide (mainly Germany, but also Brazil, Great Britain, Russia, Spain and U.S.A.)

User are supported by online-manuals and workshops and the free access to the software developments which are available for download.

See also Comparison of major Database Systems with focus on Collection and Observation Data, status of 2011 and GFBio Technical Documentations, status 2018