Thanks for passing along this important information. I periodically update my genealogical program. Th information in this newsletter will help me make a decision about my next update purchase. I will make sure it will create GEDCOM files in the new file format. Nelda G. Spires marnel@ellijay.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Cassandra Davis <c.davis1@juno.com> To: <ALCLARKE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 4:41 PM Subject: - LDS Family History Department Adopts XML Standard > - LDS Family History Department Adopts XML Standard > > At a technical session of the GENTECH2001 conference last week, > Randy Bryson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints > (the Mormons) announced that the Church is now standardizing on the > XML programming language for all future software products. This > announcement will have an immediate impact on producers of > genealogy software and eventually will benefit all genealogists. > > Mr. Bryson is the Director of the FamilySearch Internet Genealogy > Service for the LDS Family History Department and also is the > Information Technology Manager over the Ancestral File, Resource > Files, Research Guidance and Extraction applications. As such, he > is responsible for compatibility among these products. The de facto > data exchange standard for many years has been GEDCOM, a file > format that is well-known for its imperfections. GEDCOM, an > abbreviation for Genealogy Data COMmunications, was created by the > LDS Church in the mid-1980s as a method of exchanging genealogy > data between different programs. The specifications for GEDCCOM > file format have been updated a few times since then, and GEDCOM > files have become the most common method of exchanging data between > distant relatives. GEDCOM files also are used to contribute an > individual's data to the large, centralized databases of the LDS > Church and other organizations. > > In its first iteration, GEDCOM files consisted of ASCII text. > Unlike binary files used by most other programs, you can open a > GEDCOM file with a simple text editor and read the data contained > therein. Later versions of GEDCOM were expanded to include ANSEL > and Unicode, in addition to ASCII. Because of these updates, GEDCOM > files can now handle umlauts and accents and other marks common in > European alphabets. However, you can still read this data with a > text editor, such as Windows Notepad. > > GEDCOM has always suffered from numerous shortcomings, one > limitation being the use of text. Other limitations have included > difficulties with handling non-European names, handling imprecise > data, and also the method of handling contradictory data such as we > all find in genealogy research. > > In the 1990s, two separate and exhaustive studies of exchanging > data between genealogy programs were made. The two were conducted > more or less simultaneously: > > 1. One study was the GEDCOM Testbook Project, funded by GENTECH. > The results of that project are called "GEDCOM Interchange Study > Summary" and are available at: > http://www.gentech.org/testbook/summary.htm. The GENTECH effort > later spun off a second, larger study, called the GENTECH > Genealogical Data Model. While not dealing directly with the GEDCOM > standard, it does address many issues that GEDCOM programmers need > to be familiar with. > > 2. The other study was conducted by the Family History Department > of the LDS Church. It resulted in the GEDCOM Future Directions > document, published by the Family History Department, available at: > ftp://gedcom.org/pub/genealogy/gedcom > > The two studies were different in scope and purpose. The > conclusions and recommendations of the two were also somewhat > different although similar in some ways. It is interesting to note > that the XML standard was mostly unknown at the time these studies > began but came into prominence before the conclusion of these > studies. While XML was not cited as a specific recommendation in > either study, I have since heard the authors of both studies make > reference to XML as a possible solution to some of the shortcomings > of today's methodologies. > > XML is an abbreviation for "Extensible Markup Language," a > programming language that has become very popular for applications > that function on the World Wide Web. If you have made airline > reservations online or purchased other goods from an online > merchant, you have probably used an XML-based application without > realizing it. A discussion of XML is beyond the scope of this > article. For reference, I would suggest you start at > http://www.xml.com or with any of the many good books on the topic > available at your local bookstore. > > I also should mention another alternative to GEDCOM's shortcomings: > Wholly Genes Software created GenBridge, a different method of > directly transferring data between different databases that does > not use GEDCOM at all. While Wholly Genes has had great success > with GenBridge, other software producers have not yet adopted it. > > Randy Bryson's announcement of the adoption of XML illustrates the > LDS Church's concerns and plans. Obviously, the programmers at the > Family History Department have read these two studies and are > proceeding with some of the recommendations. The introduction of > XML will increase accuracy as well as allow for the use of non- > European characters. A future release of the GEDCOM standard will > be XML-based. The LDS databases will also accept XML data, > databases such as the Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File, > International Genealogical Index and others. > > My guess is that the commercial Internet genealogy databases > (Ancestry.com, genealogy.com, OneGreatFamily.com, etc.) will also > convert to XML input, perhaps even before the LDS Church completes > their conversion. Obviously, all the genealogy programs used by > individuals will also need to produce XML-formatted GEDCOM files in > compliance with the new specification. I am sure we will see future > versions of The Master Genealogist, Personal Ancestral File, Family > Tree Maker, Family Origins, Legacy and other genealogy programs > that will produce XML files, once the new GEDCOM replacement format > has been defined. > > None of this exists today. Randy Bryson's announcement simply > indicates a future course. I suspect it will be two years or even > longer before the new XML format is in place and in use. However, > the benefits will justify the wait. > ========================================================== > > DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is being written and sent via e-mail at > no charge. I expect to write one new issue on a more or less weekly > basis. However, life sometimes interferes, and the need to earn a > living may create an occasional delay. > > ========================================================== > > COPYRIGHTS: The contents of this newsletter are copyright by > Richard W. Eastman with the following exception: > > Many of the articles published in these newsletters contain quotes > or references from others, especially from other Web sites, > software users manuals, press releases and other public > announcements. Any words in this newsletter attributed to another > person or organization remain the copyrighted materials of the > original author(s). > > You are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re- > distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided: > > 1. You do so strictly for non-commercial purposes > > 2. Your re-distribution is limited to one or two articles per > newsletter; do not re-distribute the newsletter in its entirety > > 3. You may not republish any articles containing words attributed > to another person or organization until you obtain permission from > that person or organization. While you do have permission to > republish words written by Richard W. Eastman, you do not have > automatic authority to republish words written by others, even if > their words appear in this newsletter. > > Also, please include the following statement with any articles you > re-distribute: > > The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter > and is copyright 2001 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published > here with the permission of the author. > > Thank you for your cooperation. > > ========================================================== > > Subscription information: There are two different methods to > subscribe to this free newsletter: > > Method #1: to subscribe, to cancel an existing subscription, modify > an existing subscription in any way or to read back issues, go to: > http://www.rootsforum.com/newsletter.htm > > Method #2: Send an e-mail to rootscomputing-subscribe@listbot.com > > Please feel free to copy this subscription information and pass it > on to anyone else who you think might be interested in obtaining a > free subscription. > > ========================================================== > > About the author: Dick Eastman is the forum manager of the three > Genealogy Forums on CompuServe. He also is the author of "YOUR > ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer" published by > Ziff-Davis Press. He can be reached at: richard@eastman.net > _____________________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, write to rootscomputing-unsubscribe@listbot.com > > ________________________________________________________________ > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. >