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Re: Finding nemo.dic

Dear Colleagues,

   I think this is a very sound idea.  I fear some proprietors of
prefixes may have a little difficulty in getting used to the
creation of a formal CIF dictionary, so I would suggest that
the IUCr offer the services of those who do have experience
with the process to help in making these new and very valuable
dictionaries.

   There is also a formality to deal with -- the copyright notice
and licenses for dictionaries.  I would suggest the use of
one of the open document licenses.


   Regards,
     Herbert


At 2:50 PM +0100 7/6/11, Brian McMahon wrote:
>Dear Colleagues
>
>I try to manage the "official" CIF dictionaries in an orderly way,
>in part through maintenance of the CIF dictionary register
>    ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/cifdic.register
>
>This file (in CIF format, naturally) lists the file names, versions
>and URLs for COMCIFS-approved dictionaries, for DDL dictionaries and
>for some "local" dictionaries used by the IUCr journals office.
>
>By now, we are seeing a reasonably large number of reserved prefixes
>for individual developers (or software applications) - see
>http://www.iucr.org/resources/cif/spec/ancillary/reserved-prefixes .
>Increasingly, in the editorial office, we are having correspondence
>with such developers, and we would like to encourage them to make
>available compilations of local data names in CIF dictionary format,
>in order to reduce the number of warnings emitted by CIF editors such
>as publcif and encifer, and - in principle - to allow normal
>dictionary-based validation of such items. To encourage them further,
>I would be willing to provide an area on the IUCr ftp server where we
>could archive such dictionaries, and make them known through the
>cifdic.register file. Details of how this would work in practice are
>elaborated below.
>
>I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. If you are in favour, I
>could advertise the availability of such a service through the
>cif-developers list.
>
>Best wishes
>Brian
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Below is an extract from the suggested extension to the register.
>"Nemo", of course, is an entirely hypothetical example.
>
>data_validation_dictionaries
>   loop_
>     _cifdic_dictionary.name
>     _cifdic_dictionary.version
>     _cifdic_dictionary.DDL_compliance
>     _cifdic_dictionary.reserved_prefix
>     _cifdic_dictionary.date
>     _cifdic_dictionary.URL
>     _cifdic_dictionary.description
>
>##############################################################################
># COMCIFS approved dictionaries                                              #
>##############################################################################
>   cif_core.dic    .    1.4.1   .    .
>       ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/cif_core.dic
>       'Core CIF Dictionary'
>   cif_core.dic   1.0   .   .    1991-09-20
>       ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/cifdic.C91
>       'Original Core CIF Dictionary'
>  . . . . . . .   # additional "official" CIF dictionaries
>##############################################################################
># Private dictionaries (re)distributed by the IUCr                           #
>##############################################################################
>   cif_iucr.dic   .   1.4.1  .     .
>       ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/cif_iucr.dic
>       'Private data items used by the IUCr in journal publishing'
>   cif_iucr.dic   1.1.1   1.4.1  .     2011-07-04
>       ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/cif_iucr_1.1.1.dic
>       'Private data items used by the IUCr in journal publishing'
>  . . . . . . .   # the above section already exisit for local IUCr 
>dictionaries
>##############################################################################
># Private dictionaries maintained by third parties but with archival copies  #
># available through the IUCr                                                 #
>##############################################################################
>   cif_nemo.dic   .   1.4.1  .     .
>       http://www.nemo.com/cif/dictionary/cif_nemo.dic
>       'Items used by the NEMO software package'
>   cif_nemo.dic   1.0   1.4.1  .     2010-12-25
>       ftp://ftp.iucr.org/pub/cifdics/extras/cif_nemo.1.0.dic
>       'Items used by the NEMO software package'
>
>
>My comments on this proposal:
>
>(1) Such external dictionaries would be stored in a specific area of
>the IUCr FTP/web site; we would try to ensure that access to this area
>involved sight of a disclaimer that the contents were the
>responsibility of the individual developers and did not represent any
>IUCr endorsement of crystallographic practices that they reflected.
>
>(2) Files accepted for archiving in this area would be subject to the
>normal dictionary sanity checks that I apply to the existing
>dictionaries; and they should contain data names that properly
>implement a registered reserved prefix.
>
>(3) In general, the register should also point to a dictionary without
>version number available from the web or ftp site of the third
>party. This should be a URL that represents the most current version of
>the dictionary. In this way, developers can update their local files
>at any time without depending on deposition at the IUCr and associated
>updating of the register. However, specific versions will be advertised
>as being available from the IUCr, thus providing a long-term archiving
>facility which might be useful to such third parties.
>
>(4) Participation remains completely voluntary.
>
>This scheme is intended to be compatible with the suggested use of the
>AUDIT_CONFORM category in the core CIF dictionary, and to remain in
>the spirit of Chapter 3.1.8 of International Tables G on "Management
>of multiple dictionaries" (http://it.iucr.org/Ga/ch3o1v0001/sec3o1o8/).
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-- 
=====================================================
  Herbert J. Bernstein, Professor of Computer Science
    Dowling College, Kramer Science Center, KSC 121
         Idle Hour Blvd, Oakdale, NY, 11769

                  +1-631-244-3035
                  yaya@dowling.edu
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