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Table 1 Glossary of terms employed in GEOMAGIA50

From: GEOMAGIA50.v3: 1. general structure and modifications to the archeological and volcanic database

Term

Description

Entry

A row of information within a results or metadata table. In database terminology this is often called a record; however, within sediment studies, the use of record denotes a complete data set.An entry shows data at the site level.

Field

A column of information within a result or metadata table.

Identification number (ID)

A number within a results table that links to an identical number (the primary key) within a metadata table, allowing the return of a description of the ID.

Location

A geographical area with similar characteristics, smaller than a country/region, which can contain a number of sites, e.g., an archeological excavation or a volcano.

Metadata table

A two dimensional relational table containing a primary key field and descriptive fields.

Primary key

A number that links an entry or parts of an entry between relational tables.

Relational table

A table that can be related to another by associations between tables and which can be joined using the SQL language. They negate repetition of fields between tables by employing primary keys, which allow values within one field to link to complete entries or parts of entries between tables.

 

Results and metadata tables are relational tables.

Results table

A large two dimensional relational table with multiple fields and unlimited entries containing results and IDs.

Sample

A portion of material obtained from a site, which can be subdivided into specimens, e.g., a fragment of a pot from which smaller parts were taken or a drill core from a lava.

Specimen

The smallest division of a material used to determine a measurement, e.g., a piece of a pot fragment or a standard cylinder from a lava drill core.

Site

A material/medium/stratum/geological unit which can be assigned a unique age, e.g., a pot, a layer at an archeological excavation or a lava flow.