XID Authoring System, for Windows

The ULTIMATE Relational Database for Identification!

The XID System allows authors to create "smart key" or random access expert system for the identification of any group of species, individuals, or objects, e.g., plants, animals, cars, criminals, etc. This has been called the “ultimate relational database”, since the relationships among the data for any group of species can be observed. The system consists of multilayered menus in which any attribute can be prioritized and described. The elegant simplicity of the XID System makes it extremely user friendly. It is as useful for the junior high school teacher as for the professional scientist.

The XID System provides an excellent vehicle by which to teach classification, taxonomy, logic, and problem solving skills. The authoring system allows students to be involved in the entire process, including selection of subject matter, determination of characters and character states (i.e., color {red, blue, green}), gathering and compiling the data, data entry, error checking, and data correction. Their efforts are strongly reinforced by the final use of the program for the identification of the selected subject matter.

XID keys can be as simple or sophisticated as the author wishes, making this program as useful to junior high school teachers as it is to scientific specialists. Such programs offer many advantages over traditional dichotomous keys. While originally produced to increase speed and ease of use, they also provide the ability to easily update the data and images, and are much cheaper to produce and more compact than hard copy guides. In general, much more data is included on each item/species than is necessary to identify it. With this abundance of data, the user can identify any of the items/species using the characteristics most obvious and easy to describe. With each characteristic entered by the user, the program eliminates all species that do not have the combination of features entered.

The XID System utilizes state-of-the-art technology. This allows for user friendliness for both the program developer and end user, as well as maximizing the speed and efficiency of data storage and manipulation. Characteristic terminology and database items may be graphically represented using line drawings or color photos. Requirements: Windows 95 or higher, Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, 700 megs of hard drive space for the Weeds of North America database (can also run from the CD drive without installation).