Biota: The Biodiversity Database Manager
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Frequently Asked
Questions about
Biota
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What is Biota's future? (Biota 2) Biota 2 is a major redevelopment effort, with a new interface and dozens of new features, including the option for an onboard Web server...yet your Biota 1.x Data Files will be 100% compatible with Biota 2. As of May, 2002, Biota 2 is in the final stages of beta testing, with an expected release in fall, 2003. If you plan to use Biota in a Client/Server (multi-user) environment, and you need to get started before Biota 2 is commercially released, please contact Robert Colwell to discuss joining the Biota 2 beta project. Several sites are already using Biota4D Version 2 under 4D Server 6.7+. |
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In addition to tools for efficient input of new data, Biota has a sophisticated Import Editor that imports data directly into Biota relational tables from any delimited, plain text file--such as the tab-delimited text files that Excel, Access, and many other applications can produce. In the Biota Import Editor, you first choose the target table--the Biota table you want to import into--from a popup list. Then you choose the target fields from another popup list, in any order, to match the order of columns of the text file to be imported. You can indicate that certain text file columns be skipped, and you can specify the delimiters. Extensive, on-the-fly data validation and error messages insure the integrity and correct formatting of imported data. In addition to importing new records, the Import Editor supports two other powerful import modes: (1) Update Mode, for updating of existing records by primary key field matching; and (2) Merge Mode, for merging partially overlapping sets of records or for importing from text files that have reptitive entries (only the first is accepted). You might use the Update mode, for example, for adding determinations to specimen records or names to (morpho)species records.
Usually, the most tedious part of data importing is preparing the text files for import. The amount of work involved in preparing the text files for import to Biota depends heavily on the precise data structure of your existing database, and thus how easy it will be to map your fields and tables on Biota's fields and tables. You may be able to export directly from your current database to create most of the appropriate text files, using standard tools in your present application, but you will probably have to do some work in Excel or another spreadsheet to create unique record codes if the table structures differ. The Biota manual and Supplement provide detailed instructions on import strategies for existing data. An Export Editor, with exactly the
same design as the Import Editor, allows you to export
absolutely anything you put into Biota to delimited text
files (with the obvious exception of images, which are
imported/exported to image files). Biota also offers many
other export tools for specialized export needs. |
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First, please read this important note about 4D Server. The same Data Files that you create using BiotaApp (the stand-alone, single-user version of Biota) can be used in client/server mode over a network (and vice-versa). To use Biota in client/server mode, you run a special version of Biota called Biota4D Multiplatform under 4D Server, a product of ACI-US . 4D Server is not a simple file server, but provides true simultaneous client access to the data file on the server. Biota4D Multiplatform serves, simultaneously, clients on both Windows (95 or NT) and Macintosh (PPC or earlier Macs) platforms, from either a Mac server (order Biota4D Multiplatform for Mac Servers) or a Windows server (order Biota4D for Windows Servers). When you buy 4D Server for either Mac or for Windows from ACI, it includes Client software for both platforms. You can order Biota4D from Sinauer Associates, the publisher of Biota. You can purchase 4D Server either directly from its maker, ACI-US, or from an authorized reseller. At present, the best price to educational and government institutions appears to be through PC/MacWarehouse at 800-696-1727. Be sure to ask for educational prices if you qualify. With educational pricing, a recent quote was $829 for the basic 4D Server pack, for 2 users (2 simultaneous connections); plus $195 for each additional user ("a 1-pack"), or $1535 for a "10-pack" (10 additional simultaneous users). Street prices are about $900 for 4D Server basic pack, $225 for a "1-pack," $900 for a "5-pack," and $1700 for a "10-pack." Prices change and special offers appear, so you wish to check also with ACI-US itself at 408-252-4444 x 252, PC/Mac Zone at 800-403-9663 (they bargain if you got a cheaper quote elsewhere, as long as they stock the product) or PC/Mac Connection at 1-800-800-3333 to compare prices. You may also want to try your campus bookstore, which can order 4D Server from Douglas Stewart Corp. (800-279-2003). Even if you are certain you want to
use Biota in client/server mode, I recommend ordering the
single user version (BiotaApp) to start with, for two
reasons. First, it is only $125, whereas you will otherwise
have to buy 4D Server ($$$$$) plus Biota4D ($175) to see
whether you like Biota. Second, you will almost certainly
want BiotaApp for administrative maintenance of the database
on the server machine if/when you go the client/server
route, for faster access. (It is not practical to use the
server machine simultaneously as a client under 4D
Server.) |
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The best way get an overview of the
data fields Biota provides is to study the Biota
data model, which also show
how the fields are organized into linked tables. As the
Legend box in the data model diagram explains, all fields in
the diagram named in italics can be renamed
according to your individual needs. In addition, you can
create as many Auxiliary Fields as you wish, for the
Species, Specimen, Collection, and Locality tables.
(Auxiliary fields are excellent for entering and storing
data, and they can be exported to text files for
manipulation or analysis by other applications, but they are
not as easy as "Core"
fields
to search and sort within
Biota.) |
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Click here
for a full analysis
of Biota's data model in
relation to the Association of Systematics Collections
Information Model for Biological Collections. |
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Yes. It is very simple to convert a
Mac Biota Data File to a Windows Biota Data File, and vice
versa. The process takes a few seconds, regardless of the
size of the file. To convert a Data File, you use a small
utility called 4D Transporter, supplied with Biota for
Macintosh (under license to ACI-US, the maker of 4D
products). The entire process takes less than a minute, as
explained in detail in Appendix G of the Biota manual and
elaborated in Appendix S4 of the Supplement for Version
1.2. |
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The Biota Website is maintained by Robert K. Colwell, colwell@uconnvm.uconn.edu. Last updated 10 June 2003.