DELIA - The DELTA Integrator

About DELIA

DELTA’s “Holy Grail” of managing and moving data across multiple projects is no longer a pipe dream! DELTA (or Descriptive Language for Taxonomy) is a methodology and file format for managing the creation of taxonomic descriptions on a computer.

DELIA, the DELTA Integrator, extends the utility of DELTA format files by providing functionality that the DELTA System software can't. It provides a way to manage multiple datasets coded in DELTA and is designed to integrate with and complement the existing DELTA System suite of programs. It is designed for those DELTA users who are interested in managing their data in an integrated environment.

It currently has the ability to:

1. Integrate and maintain multiple DELTA projects (ie copy characters and items across projects)
2. Integrate with DELTA softwares (CONFOR & INTKEY)
3. Automatically generate derived character scores (eg. weed category, which is based on distribution. As the distribution of a weed changes, its category changes)
4. Automatically generate TIMAGE and CIMAGE files
5. Generate Exception reports to validate the data

Do you:

• Spend a lot of time maintaining DELTA data-sets?
• Want to be able to move characters and items across projects?
• Want to be able to automatically derive character scores based on the scores of other related characters?

If any of these are the case, DELIA will be your indispensable companion!

DELIA can read and write DELTA formatted files and will communicate directly with the INTKEY suite of programs. It will also automatically generate the taxon image (TIMAGE) file for input into INTKEY.

If you are part of a workgroup, DELIA will enable you to amalgamate and consolidate any number of DELTA projects, making their management much easier.

The Western Australian Herbarium, after seven years research, is proud to release DELIA, the DELTA Integrator. The beta-test version of version 1.0 is now available and we hope to release the production version soon. For more details contact Mike Choo.

Features

DELIA is a sophisticated tool and is developed in modules. We will release and support additional features, as they become available.

System Requirements

DELIA will run on Windows 95, 98 and NT. DELIA has not been tested on Windows 2000 or Windows ME. However, it will probably work. It will not run under Windows 3.1.

Once installed, consult the file Readme.txt for more information.

Registering DELIA

By registering to evaluate DELIA you give us a better idea of who is interested in DELIA and how we can improve DELIA's functionality.

To register, please fill in the registration form.

Downloading DELIA

DELIA beta version is now available for testing!

Have you registered with the WA Herbarium? If not, click here to register.

Before Installing

Before installing DELIA, it is highly recommended that you uninstall any previous versions.

Beta Version is Now Available and its Free!

Thank you for your interest in beta testing DELIA. We look forward to your feedback and participation.

DELIA is being developed on a shoestring budget. Though this version is packed with valuable features, we can only afford to target specific areas at any one time. For this release, the focus is on moving Characters and Items across Projects. Please evaluate and test only these features and provide us with your valuable feedback.

This test version is free, but, because of our funding limitations, we may have to consider charging for the production version (much as we loathe to). Please evaluate this version and provide us feedback on its performance. We would also like your input on how much ($US) you consider would be a fair charge.

Downloads (Beta version):

1. Click Download DELIA in Zip format to download a compressed (zipped) module. (DELIAZip.exe, 10.1 Mb). After downloading, run DELIAZip.exe and follow the instructions for installation.

2. Click Download DELIA Setup.exe to download an automatic installation module. (DELIASetup.exe, 10.1 Mb). After downloading, run DELIASetup.exe for complete installation instructions

Please note that downloading either of these files could take one or two hours with a 56k modem.

DELIA Beta version "Readme" File

We are happy to release the Beta version of DELIA. This Readme.txt file contains important information. Please read it.

This is the first release of DELIA and we hope that you will find it useful.

DELIA is Copyright © 2001-2002 Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management (now Department of Environment and Conservation).

Please read the disclaimer file for important liability information.

Online help is available in DELIA, as well as a Microsoft Word 2000 user guide that comes installed with DELIA. If you don't have Word 2000, you can download a PDF Version of the file, and its associated glossary.

Beta version restriction

Please note that in the Manipulate Items between Projects facility, a limit of 40 characters has been imposed. This does not apply to the production version.

Having Problems?

See the online help or user guide for more information. You may also be interested in these particular notes:

1. Make sure you uninstalled any previous version of DELIA before installing. This is very important.

You may also find it useful to visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Bug Fixes

We are reliant on feedback from you as to bugs, weevils or problems in functionality. Any feedback will wind up making DELIA a better program. See the file bugfix.txt for details on new features, bug fixes and outstanding problems.

Any bugs, problems or suggestions should be addressed to Mike Choo, Science Division, Department of Conservation and Land Management..

Projects already using DELIA

• Weed Information Network of Western Australia (WIN)
• Weed Categories of W. Australia
• Ptilotus of Western Australia
• Hakeas of Western Australia
• WAGENERA
• Grasses of the Wheatbelt
• Isopogon
• WA Samphire Project

Publications on DELIA

Chapman, A.R. and Choo, M. (1996). Institutional DELTA databases: a case study. DELTA Newsletter 12, pp. 14–15.

Choo, M.H.C. (1998). An institutional model for managing descriptive taxonomic data (ABSTRACT). In Biodiversity, Biotechnology & Biobusiness: 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Biotechnology: Perth, Western Australia, 23–27 November 1998: Programme & Abstracts (eds M. van Keulen & M.A. Borowitzka). Australian Biotechnology Association (W.A. Branch), Perth. pp. 37.

Choo, M. and Spooner A. (2001). Integration of taxonomic descriptive data across multiple database platforms and softwares (Weed Information Network - A Case Study) in International Union of Biological Sciences Taxonomic Database Working Group (TDWG): Sydney, Australia, November 2001 Conference.

• View the abstract of paper that was presented at the TDWG Conference.
• View the abstract of the TDWG DELIA demonstration.

Citing this web site

Please cite this web site in the following manner:

Choo, M.H.C. (2002-). DELIA - An integrated DELTA database management software for Windows 95/98/NT/XP. Department of Environment and Conservation. http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/content/view/2401/482/.