[IxDA Discuss] Anchoring similar data attributes during Search across multiple data types

[James Melzer]

Have you looked at the Spatial ETL tool from Safe
[http://www.safe.com/]? I'm no expert on ETL*, so I can't comment on
their interface, but it might be a place for you to find some useful
interaction paradigms. Their tool does some amazing things with GIS
data, including the kinds of interactions you asked about.

~ James

* "Extract, Transform and Load" used to pull data from one data store,
mess with it, and push it into another data store in a useful format.
If you like the idea of pulling data from three or four sources on the
fly and then throwing it all at a map to make sense of it, this is the
tool for you (like mashups for big kids). It even has a nice connector
to Google Earth, so you can make your mundane enterprise data look
gorgeous. It is basically black magic.

-- 
James Melzer
http://www.jamesmelzer.com
http://del.icio.us/jamesmelzer


On 2/23/07, Pawson, Mark <Mark.Pawson at ihs.com> wrote:
> Apologies for the title. A picture would be so much easier to explain.
> We have a rich GIS mapping application that serves the Oil and Gas
> industry. One of its functions is the ability to query a vast array of
> data types such as wells, batteries, fields, crown land, freehold land,
> dominion land, indian lands etc. The data types, especially the land
> data types, contain similar data attributes such as expiry date,
> price/hectare, bonus price, issue date, Hydrocarbon substance licenced,
> etc. Presently a user who wishes to find all Freehold land expirying by
> 12/31/2007 and all Crown Land expirying by the same date has to run two
> separate queries,(searches). We do not allow queries on similar data
> attributes across separate data types until now.....
>  We have been toying with the idea of an "anchor" on data attributes
> that are related between data types. The thinking being that a user
> could create a query against data type Freehold Land, data attribute
> expiry date and upon running the query, more than one query would be
> performed. So in the above example, an expiry date query against
> Freehold land would also run queries against data types crown land,
> dominion land, indian land that were expirying on the same date. All
> this would be inititated by the user having the option to set data
> attribute anchors On or Off.
> The example here is the simple case. Users can build complex queries
> that contain more than one data attribute.
> For example: Freehold land Expirying 12/31/2007 and Substance = oil and
> price/hectare is $200 and operator is Nexan.
> Throw anchors on/off into a query like this and a few minutes on the
> whiteboard starts getting real ugly.
>
> Is there any similar concepts out there in web search engines or free
> software that I could download and take a look at?
>
> Thanks
> Mark Pawson
> User Centered Design
> IHS
> Energy
>
> 39Flr, PetroCanada West Tower
> 150 - 6 Ave. SW
> Calgary, AB T2P 3Y7
>
> Direct: (403) 770-4518
>
> mark.pawson at ihs.com <mailto:mark.pawson at ihs.com>
> www.ihs.com/energy/ <http://www.ihs.com/energy/>
>
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