Week 4 Readings

Wikipedia Article-Database Systems

I thought the wikipedia article, although a bit hard to get through, was interesting and informative. I totally forgot about punch cards being used in early systems! I think I might have saw on in the Smithsonian. I also did not realize that there are so many different models of database systems. I liked that the article discussed both the pros and cons of each model. I did although find the section about replication slightly offensive with the listing of the master/slave replication concept. Maybe someone should rename that concept.

Intro to Metadata: Pathways to Digital Information: 1: Setting the Stage

I really liked this article. I felt it was pretty clear and it used examples in relation to libraries, archives, and preservation! I felt I could actually relate to some of the information. I have never heard of megadata, but it seems it can do a multitude of things and is rather important in relation to many fields and very helpful in the library and information science industries.

An Overview of the Dublin Core Data Model

I would first like to state, although I know that the author said it was a work in progress, could we please work on to typos? I found it to be really distracting while wading through the article. That being said, I thought the article was interesting. I think it is great that the DCMI is an international effort spanning across more than one discipline and also supports cross discipline discovery. I did find the computer lingo examples a little confusing, but I do think the author did explain them well with his examples. He also clarified some of the lingo from the second article I was not fully understanding.

Muddiest Point

Can some Shareware be changed to open source so it is free? Can an open source be changed to shareware in order to make some profit?