Bioinformatics Biocomputing - Ercim

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
consideration of various alternative
models which could be used in training
future IS users we decided to start with a
detailed presentation of the so-called Use
Case Model. Again, what level of detail
should be selected for training nonspecialists
in the development of Use
Case models? Is it a good idea to teach
certain parts of the UML language - and
if so, how detailed a description is best?
Object oriented methods which we have
briefly mentioned are used in many CASE
tools of various types which are
indispensable for IS development.
Developing extensive information
systems without these tools is
unthinkable. The use of objects has
become an essential approach in the
development of modern distributed
applications on the Internet. One of the
most frequent magic words which
emerged quite recently in information
technology is CORBA - Common Object
Request Broken Architectur, there are
other technologies as eg DCOM -
Distributed Component Object Modelbacked
by Microsoft. Is it necessary for
Searching Documentary Films On-line: the ECHO Project
by Pasquale Savino
Wide access to large information collections is of great
potential importance in many aspects of everyday life.
However, limitations in information and communication
technologies have, so far, prevented the average
person from taking much advantage of existing
resources. Historical documentaries, held by national
The ECHO project, funded by the
European Community within the V
Framework Program, KA III, intends to
provide a set of digital library services
that will enable a user to search and access
documentary film collections. For
example, users will be able to investigate
how different countries have documented
a particular historical period of their life,
or view an event which is documented in
the country of origin and see how the
same event has been documented in other
countries, etc. One effect of the emerging
digital library environment is that it frees
users and collections from geographic
constraints.
future IIS users to have at least an idea of
its architecture and infrastructure?
A detailed description of all known
requirements which the new system
should satisfy is the most important
common activity of the future user and the
developer at the start of a system
development project. Experience gained
in many projects shows that it is an
advantage if the process of user
requirement specification is controlled by
experienced analysts. A well prepared
document entitled Specification of User
Requirements is of fundamental
importance for system introduction as
well as for resolving eventual
misunderstandings between the supplier
and contractor. User cooperation is a
necessary condition for the preparation of
such a document. How much information
should the user receive concerning
Requirements Engineering methods?
Giving a comprehensive reply to all these
questions is undoubtedly a complicated
task and their understanding will no doubt
be affected in various ways by the
evolution in the field of IIS development.
The Project is co-ordinated by IEI-CNR.
It involves a number of European
institutions (Istituto Luce, Italy; Institut
Nationale de l’Audiovisuel, France;
Netherlands Audiovisual Archive, and
Memoriav, Switzerland) holding or
managing unique collections of
documentary films, dating from the
beginning of the century until the
seventies. Tecmath, EIT, and Mediasite
are the industrial partners that will
develop and implement the ECHO
system. There are two main academic
partners (IEI-CNR and Carnegie Mellon
University - CMU) and four associate
However, it seems certain that some
understanding of this problem domain is
necessary for all future managers. Let us
remark that this conclusion is borne out
by our experience in developing IIS both
for state administration and the university
environment. A training method which
we have found suitable is based on socalled
‘virtual projects’. A student
becomes a virtual top manager of a
company or institution. Based on a
fictional ‘present state of the IS’ he
formulates the goals and specifications
for his company’s IIS. At a later stage he
attempts, using the user requirement
specification and Use Case model, to
create specification for a selected
subsystem of the IIS. In spite of the fact
that most of our students have little
knowledge of information technology
some of the more than 300 virtual projects
submitted so far are on a high level and
are an encouragement for further and
more detailed consideration of the
questions raised in this note.
Please contact:
Peter Mihók – P. J. Safarik University/SRCIM
Tel: +421 95 622 1128
E-mail: mihok@kosice.upjs.sk
audiovisual archives, constitute some of the most
precious and less accessible cultural information. The
ECHO project intends to contribute to the improvement
of the accessibility to this precious information, by
developing a Digital Library (DL) service for historical
films belonging to large national audiovisual archives.
partners (CNRS-LIMSI, IRST, University
of Twente, and University of Mannheim).
ECHO System Functionality
The emergence of the networked
information system environment allows
us to envision digital library systems that
transcend the limits of individual
collections to embrace collections and
services that are independent of both
location and format. In such an
environment, it is important to support
the interoperability of distributed,
heterogeneous digital collections and
services. Achieving interoperability
among digital libraries is facilitated by
44 ERCIM News No. 43, October 2000