Version Updates 2017

Geospatially-Enabled OCHRE

  • Added ability to copy points associated with one item and assign them to a different item. This is used by archaeologists to copy "bottom" elevations for a unit of excavation and assign them as a "top" elevation for the subsequent unit of excavation.
  • Added ability to add a label to a point. This is used by archaeologists, for example, to add a code from the Total station to associate it with a point, or to add a label to associate a point with a reference on a hand-drawn top-plan.

Query/Sets

  • Fixed long-outstanding bug of not saving uncertainty on Query property Criteria.
  • Adjusted the Components link option of Concepts to allow grammatical forms and attested forms (not just lemmas), and adjusted the Query to handle these options. See Finding Co-occurrences of Words Within Texts for details.
  • Added an option under Format Specifications to split (multiple) Notes into separate columns. If Note Labels have been used to identify the notes, these will be used as column headings, otherwise the notes will simply be numbered. For example, here is a strategy often used for legacy data:

The Split notes option will generate this effect in the Table view:

Notes split into separate table columns with their Note Labels as headers

  • Added an option under Format Specifications to Split values/units for units-enabled properties. Along with the original units-enabled value, this option will also create columns for the base value (as resolved to the standard unit) and its standard unit. This produces a table with columns of numeric values uncomplicated by their units-designations (which are strings). That is, "50 g" is resolved to: "50 g", "50", "g", "0.05", "kg".
  • Added an option under Format Specifications to include Textual content for tables that list epigraphic or discourse items. This option takes extra trouble to look up a snippet of text to provide context for each sign or word listed in the table. This is a fairly intensive lookup process so this option should be used judiciously.

Variables/Values

  • Introduced special-purpose Variables for Aggregation, Calculation, Concatenation, Conversion, Selection, and Substitution. For details, and for examples of their uses, see Derived Variables (2017-04-19).
  • Added an option to request a pick-list for Alphanumeric Variables, both when doing data-entry of an item's Properties pane, or when selecting the Values of a Query's Properties specification. This is particularly useful for capturing legacy data not atomized as nominal/ordinal OCHRE properties in the usual way.

Check the picklist option ON

This strategy also is useful in conjunction with other string-related operators for alphanumeric properties on a Query specification.

Use string-related operators like "contains" or "starts with"

Added the option for a relational ("Link") Variable to declare itself GEO-enabled. That is, this tells OCHRE that the target linked Values of this Variable will know how to draw themselves on a Map View. Any item that is assigned such a property will then, by implication, be able to draw itself on a Map View. In this example the Topographic point Variable has declared itself GEO enabled.

That means that this tablet, a Locations & Objects item, will be able to determine how to draw itself on a Map View by following the link on the Topographic point value, 01:0300, and get its spatial information there. That is, since that topographic point knows how to draw itself, so too does the item that has been assigned it.

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