SignPuddle database design options

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
July 11, 2013

Hello Ingvild, Charles, Adam, Steve - Everyone -
I am glad you have been able to use the Text field in SignPuddle for the Themes or Tags as you mention - The Text area can be used for that, as well as definitions and translations, and both Text and Terms fields are searchable, so you should be able to find all the signs that have been tagged by one Theme right now…

But I agree, Ingvild, that your diagram attached shows that these Tags are needed in more detail...

It seems a new era is beginning for databases using SignWriting… SignPuddle is now being used as a part of a larger sign language linguistic project at the University of Connecticut, called "SignTyp", directed by Dr. Rachel Channon and Dr. Harry van der Hulst. Thank you, Charles, for initially introducing them to SignWriting. Now many years later, thanks to the hard work of Dr. Channon, who wrote the grants necessary to make it possible, Steve is beginning incremental work on the University's server to make SignPuddle a database that will be useful for the SignTyp Project's linguistic research. It will take time before this is available in the way it is envisioned, but we are grateful for the work, and I know it will be very useful for the world when the SignTyp database is available online.

So I believe Steve is trying to update our SignPuddle Online to somewhat match some of the fields needed for the SignTyp Project  - 

I suspect we can never know in advance what each project or user will need, so you are right, Ingvild, that flexibility is also needed - that was my original vote, was for flexible fields that the users can name differently depending on their needs…but now I realize we need some specifics too….

Val ;-)

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On Jul 11, 2013, at 4:20 AM, Ingvild Roald <iroald at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

> So would I. I addition, I would like to be able to tag, or make extra categories, like 'law', 'health', and a lot of others. This is useful, almost necessary, for the Pudle to be of use for interpreters and others jumping from subject area to subject area. For now, I am trying to solve this by using the term 'tag' and add subject area (example: tag: person). 
> As we know so little about Norwegian SL, (and most other SLs), I would also like a number of open categories. For instance, to me it seems as some signs constitute 'families' based on related meanings and realted handforms (or other aspects of the signs). I have attached an example of what I mean by this. 
> 
> Ingvild 

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