Platypus (was: collection DB design question)

[Nieukerken, E.J. van]

Andrew Whittington wrote:

"How about "Platypus - A database package for Taxonomists"  Operating
system Windows 3.1, 3.11, NT or 95.  On CD-ROM or DISC.  Produced by
CSIRO Australia, available from:  "sales at publish.csiro.au"  or refer to
demo on:  http://www.ento.csiro.au/platypus/platypus.html.

Looks good!  Does anybody have working experience of it - we're
contemplating purchase for the Entomology Section, National Museums of
Scotland."

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, such as:
- only alphabetical listing of species within (sub)genus
- hostdata have to be typed in full (no picklist)
- editing can be time-consuming
- import of part of the data only possible (just names and authors)
and some others, but the programmers are still working on it.

If you just want a catalogue of the family you are working on this is a
useful program. In several aspects it is similar to 'ALICE'.

There are several collection registrating programs, but also we are
still looking for a complete system here. One of the promising is ZOE,
the windows successor of MUSE (still in development), see for info:
http://www.keil.ukans.edu/~neodat/


yours sincerely


Erik J. van Nieukerken

Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum
dep. of Entomology/ EIS-NL
PO Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden
Netherlands

phone: +31-71-5162682
fax:      +31-71-5133344
e-mail:  nieukerken at nnm.nl

[old e-mail address still valid until 31-12-96]