INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN OCEANOGRAPHY (ITO-98) GOA, INDIA 12-16 OCTOBER 1998

Taxonomy or Systematics are sciences concerned with identification, description and classification of organisms. However, rapidly decreasing numbers of skilled taxonomists has led to genuine concern in the scientific community regarding preservation of this knowledge. Advances in computer sciences can overcome the diminishing state of Systematics using Computer Aided taxonomy. Though, some attempts has been made in the past, many of them were employing only one approach or tool. This has emphasized the need of employing comprehensive approach of relational-multimedia-web interfaced database coupled with expert system shell/engine.

In the present exercise, attempt has been made to employ web interfaced relational database management system to provide fast access to systematics of a species and also to simplify identification of a species of interest. The current attempt is further aimed at disseminating the taxonomic knowledge efficiently to the worldwide community using internet.

In the current system, called "Vargiki-Plantae", MS-ACCESS'97, a web interfaced Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) has been used to create a database for the plant kingdom "Plantae". The database contains tables collecting information on systematics, identification characters, morphological characters, common names, synonyms, diseases, biogeography, economic importance, conservation status, environmental stress and glossary about the species form Kingdom Plantae. In order to support textual information photographs, sketches, pictures and line drawings explaining the characters/features has also been collected in the database. Comprehensive approach of SOL querying and Active Server Pages (ASP) scripting has been used to provide efficient and real-time search facility. HTML input and output interface, allowing Net-Surfers worldwide to access the database from anywhere, anytime on the planet earth.

Currently hosted on the "Indian National Oceanographic Internet Server (INOIS)" [http//dolphin.nio.org/plantae/], Vargiki-Plantae is the first ever attempt of utilising the capabilities of relational database system over the web for identification of plants.