Platypus (was: collection DB design question)

[Geoff Read]

Erik J. van Nieukerken wrote:

> No, Platypus is not a museum collection program. It builds zoological
> (in future also botanical) catalogues, with information on names, types,
> rough distribution and ecology; it als has a bibliography.
> It is nice for this purpose, but still has its limitations ...

Yes those limitations need work. A freeware alternative which does more
could be a neat program designed for entomologists from Piotr Naskrecki
called 'Orthoptera DB: The Taxonomy and Collection Manager.' It requires
FileMakerPro (Mac or Windows, and is certainly not free, and perhaps not
the best relational database in the world). You can however test run
'Orthoptera DB' by also downloading a free demo of FileMakerPro. I have
not the background to know if it is a successful program in its field.
Its menu system looks good anyway and the author is to be congratulated
for making it available. If he had instead built it with MS Access or
could make it a stand-alone program I would be happy to buy a generic
version.

More info at:
        http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/interkey/database.html

--
  Geoff Read <g.read at niwa.cri.nz>
  URL:http://www.keil.ukans.edu/~worms/g-read.html