An XML format for block designs.

[Nam-Ky Nguyen]

My concern about an on-line database of (block) designs is that we will
eventually encourage the experimenters to adopt the old approach of
designing experiments, i.e. experiment for the design (in the
database/design catalogues). In the computer age, we should encourage
experimenters to adopt the new approach of designing experiments, i.e.
design for the experiment (and do not experiment for the design). This
approach is made feasible by the use of DOE software such as Cycdesign
(http://www.ffp.csiro.au/tigr/software/cycdesign/cycdes.htm) or Gendex
(http://www.designcomputing.net/gendex/). Hopefully, one day the
mentioned software will follow the open source model so that the second
approach of designing experiments will be promoted.
 
> 
> Posted for Peter Dobcsanyi <p.dobcsanyi at designtheory.org>
> 
> Subject: An XML format for block designs
> From: Peter Dobcsanyi <p.dobcsanyi at designtheory.org>
> Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 22:57:13 +0100
> X-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new at mailhost.auckland.ac.nz
> 
> 
> A standard format for block designs and their properties
> ========================================================
> (A proposal and an invitation for public debate)
> 
> At DesignTheory.org we are developing a web-based Design Theory Resource
> Server for combinatorial and statistical design theory. These resources
> will include an online database of designs, an Encyclopaedia of Design
> Theory, and software packages for the generation and analysis of
> designs. We hope to address the needs of both researchers and
> practitioners of design theory.
> One critical element is our XML format to represent designs and their
> properties in a standard platform-independent manner. This will allow
> for the straightforward exchange of designs and their properties between
> various computer systems, including databases and web servers, and
> combinatorial, group theoretical and statistical packages. The XML
> format will also be used for outside submissions to our design database
> and to store designs in perpetuity.
> Our initial development is in the area of block designs, and we invite
> you to read and comment on our proposal for the External Representation
> of Block Designs, available online at:
> http://designtheory.org/
> Please send your comments (and follow-ups) exclusively to:
> developers at designtheory.org
> This is a mailing list to which you are welcome, although not required,
> to join. Alternatively, you can follow the discussions through the
> public archives of the list. For further details, please visit:
> http://designtheory.org/mailing.html
> We will finalize the XML format for block designs after sufficient
> public debate, after which we shall release GAP [1], R [2], and Python
> [3] software for block designs. We are committed to the open source
> model and all products of our development will be released to the public
> free of charge.
> We shall also start developing a database of block designs, and look
> forward to your contributions (in the XML format) to this database.
> Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone you think may be
> interested.
> References:
> [1] GAP - Groups, Algorithms and Programming
> http://www.gap-system.org/
> [2] The R Project for Statistical Computing
> http://www.r-project.org/
> [3] The Python programming language http://www.python.org/
> 
> 
> 

Nam-Ky Nguyen, Ph.D. 
Senior Lecturer
School of Mathematics, Statistics and  Computer Science
University of New England,Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Tel: 61 2 6773 2763 
Fax: 61 2 6773 3312  
http://turing.une.edu.au/~nkn/