Database Consulting

Examples of Environmental Informatics database projects incorporating the following features are displayed in the Database section of Information Technology.

Innovative Design Features

• Efficient handling of images stored as files instead of within a Microsoft Access database (.mdb file). This allow easy use of the images by other applications and avoids the risk if the embedded format is not supported over archival time frames.
• User-friendly database configuration options for data entry validation such as setting trigger levels for range limits based upon specific values or historical ranges with specific warnings or error messages for the users.
• Export of data from Access (or other database) as KML files for use in Google Earth/Maps with user specified fields represented by selectable attributes (color, shape, size).
• Export of data from Access in Weka data mining software original input format
• Export of data in calendar format (.ics) for Google Calendar and other applications
• Integration of English-Metric and other conversion factors for Microsoft Access
• Easy generation of graphs for user-specified date ranges
• Custom GIS display of data within Microsoft Access
• Automatic correction of missing/broken links between Microsoft Access databases. This is particularly useful when users choose the folder for the database.
• Automated export of data from Access to MySQL by generating suitable SQL to define the tables and add the data
• Developed a program to display information about the tables and "queries" ("metadata") in a Microsoft Access .mdb file without changing the time stamp on the .mdb file. This helps to maintain version control since every time Access opens a .mdb file, the date and time of the .mdb file is updated even if no changes are made.