Published in Probe Volume 2(2): Summer 1992
Douglas Bigwood, Database Manager
Plant Genome Data and Information Center
National Agricultural Library, USDA
Beltsville, MD
One of the difficulties in making use of data from a database is in interpreting the format of the data. A common approach in the past has been to release data in a so-called flat file format. However, this format fails to preserve the inherent relationships in a more complex data model--for example, a relational database management system such as the Sybase software used for the Plant Genome Database.
A better approach is to make the data available according to a specification defined in a data description language. Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN.1) is one type of data description language. Data from the Plant Genome Database is to be made available in the ASN.1 format in addition to its primary means of access, which will be on-line. Also, data exchange between NAL and our collaborators will most likely occur using ASN.1. The article by Jim Ostell of the National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information describes ASN.1 and some advantages in its use.