Web-Designer for virtual
museums
TUC 1
Introduction
This e-course is organized through Training Unit able to be Capitalized
(TUC) which can be decomposed into Didactic Unit (U.D.) and Learning
Object (L.O).
In order to understand the main logic behind the organization of this
programme, notice that:
 each T.U.C involves several educational goals, which sum up to
the basic skills of a web-designer for virtual museums;
 each D.U discusses one single educational goal through several
topics;
 each L.O identifies one single topic. All L.O together compose the
whole e-course.
TUC 1
DU 1:
DU 2:
DU 3:
DU 4:
Upload the database
The publication of
data on the Internet
Software used for
modelling 3D images
Photography
• LO 1.0: Databases
and the publication of
data on the Internet
• LO 1.1: General
Information
• LO 1.2: The
relational model
• LO 1.3: Management
systems of the
relational databases
• LO 1.4: Configuration
of databases
• LO 1.5: Physical
implementation of
data (a)
• LO 1.6: Physical
implementation of
data (b)
• LO 2.1HyperText
Markup Language
• LO 2.2 Active
Server Pages (ASP)
• LO 2.3 ActiveX
Data Object (ADO)
• LO 2.4 Structured
Query Language
(SQL)
• LO 2.5 JavaScript
• LO 3.1 3D
Softaware Object
Modeller
• LO 4.1
Projecting the
camera set
• LO 3.2 VR WORX
2.5
• LO 4.2
Lightening
• LO 3.3
PhotoModeler
• LO 4.3
• LO 3.4 PixMaker
PRO
The camera
DU 1
Upload the database
This lecture unit focuses on the main advantages of a “dynamic” web site, by which userfriendly interactive databases are developed. The System of Management for interactive
databases (RDBMS) is crucial in order to create a virtual museum. In this scenario, DU1 is
specifically
aimed
at
web-designers
whose
expertise
is
applied
for
“museum-
communication” purposes.
The objectives of DU1 are:
• To plan and realize a System of Managing Relational Databases;
• To define the structure of the database (organizing data in tables and their
connections);
• To identify the operations that can be executed in interactive modality.
LO 1.0
Abstact
Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
The main advantages of a dynamic web site compared to a static one are, on the one hand,
the easiness of administration (updating the information contained) and, on the other hand,
the permission given to users to create selection interrogations for listing the data searched.
The addition or modification of contents is very simple because this content is stored in a
data base or in text, graphic or multimedia files, in such a way that those who are in charge of
contents do not need to possess HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), CSS (Cascading
Style Sheets), JavaScript knowledge or other technologies specific for “Web design” and
often used in designing presentation pages.
In the development of the European Virtual Museum the use of a RDBMS (Relational
DataBase Management System) is compulsory, due to the complexity of data necessary for
the complete description of objects it contains and also due to the need for the information to
be always updated by specialists of partner museums. The existence of such RDBMS
Databases allows the registration of all general and special information referring to objects
presently suggested by partners (museums, research institutes etc.) or completed step by
step.
LO 1.0
Abstract
Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
Moreover, these databases together with the multimedia files can offer supplementary
packages of special information referring to other archaeological objects; research and
archaeological sites in the area; museums or general or specialized museum collections;
historical monuments and / or special cultural objects; useful data and addresses for
transportation, accommodation, and visiting cultural and tourist objectives; virtual shop
(replicas/copies).
For the publication on the internet of the information contained in the databases, managed
by a RDBMS, the main technologies used are ASP (Active Server Pages) and ASP.NET
(www.aspfree.com; www.asp.net), PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) – www.php.net, JSP
(Java Server Pages) – www.java.sun.com/products/jsp/ .All these technologies have
server-side scripting. In such a case the Web server interprets the file (.asp, .php, .jsp) and
sends an equivalent .htm file to the browser of the client computer. If the file contains
scripts created with VBScript or JavaScript, the scripting engine from the server executes
the respective codes. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a dependant protocol, in such
a way that any modification made by the user in an interactive page, as unimportant as it
may be, must be sent to the server which sends back an updated image of the page. This
process is called circuit through the server.
LO 1.0
Databases and the publication of data on the
Internet
Details
The advantages of using such technologies are:
•
Dynamically edit, change, or add any content of a Web page;
•
Respond to user queries or data submitted from HTML forms;
•
Access any data or databases and return the results to a browser;
•
Customize a Web page to make it more useful for individual users;
•
Provide security and access control to different Web pages;
•
Tailor your output to different types of browsers;
•
Minimize the network traffic.
LO 1.0
Practice
(Forum)
RDBMS advantages
Weight
Explain
dynamic web-editing
on-line query and data management
data access through browsers
customize websites
on-line protection
compatibility with any browser
minimize website traffic
For a better understanding of this topic, associate “weights” to each of the RDBMS advantages
reported below. Use (*), (**) and (***) in order to indicate low, medium and high relevance respectively.
Explains the main rationale behind your choice in the last column. Finally, discuss your choices with
your colleagues.
LO 1.1
Abstract
General Information
The models and techniques of organizing databases have developed in such a way that
they satisfy the needs of users to have a faster and easier access to a larger amount of
information.
Shortly, the concept of a database can be defined as being one or more collections of
interdependent organized data, together with the description of the data and the relation
between them.
Relational databases refer to a collection of data, structured as tables called relations. The
term “relational” comes from the fact that each registration in the database contains
information referring to a single subject. Moreover, the data organized in categories of
information can be manoeuvred by a single entity, based on values of associated data.
LO 1.1
Details
Fundamental objectives of a database
1. Centralization of data in a database solves the following problems:
· suppressing the redundancy of data;
· ensuring the uniqueness of registrations;
· centralized control of data;
2. Interdependence between data and the application programmes: updating of data
from a database must not affect programmes of data modelling.
3. The possibility of connecting data entities, which are indispensable for an efficient
exploitation of the informatics system.
4. The integrity of data provides the reliability and coherence of the database. Thus we
must define integrity restrictions like:
· belonging to a list of values or interval;
· belonging to a certain format;
· rules of coherence with other data.
LO 1.1
Details
Fundamental objectives of a database
5. Security of data: the database must be protected against any logical or physical
destruction (updating anomaly). This is done by saving, from time to time, some copies
of the database.
6. The confidentiality of data is assured by procedures of:
· identification of users by name or code;
· authentication by password;
· authorization of differentiated access by rights of creation, consultation, modification or
erasing for certain segments of data.
7.The division of data allows the connection of transactions simultaneously solicited on
the same registration of the database, by blocking waiting requests and their ulterior
serving
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
COMPASS
(Collections
Multimedia
Public
Access
System)
(http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/)
The database currently includes objects from ancient Egypt and Sudan; central, south and
east Asia and the Museum’s collection of two-dimensional pictorial art. 437,052 objects are
available online
154,330 of these have one or more images
The database has versions for both adults and children.
The website is visited by a large number of people. According to their statistics, the number
of page views to the site are:
•2002 – 8,227,638
•2003 – 12,866,087
•2004 – 18,153,123
The COMPASS website was paid for by a generous donation by the Annenberg Foundation
( http://www.whannenberg.org/ ) which enabled the Museum to restore and re-vamp the
Reading Room at the British Museum. The COMPASS project was part of this. The
Children’s COMPASS site was funded by the Ford Motor Company Fund.
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
The adult section is very well organized and there are several searching facilities
depending on the area of interest of the visitor. Moreover, there are many useful links and
also background information on almost every item. There are online tours on a variety of
subjects and there is also information about current exhibitions. The online tours cover a
wide range of topics, starting from New Tours and The British Museum to collections
referring to Africa, Americas, Europe, Greece, Rome, Egypt and so on. Apart for the fact
that each object featured is illustrated with high quality scalable images for detailed study,
there is also plenty of information about the objects, as well as references and links to
related objects. The database was designed for the general visitor and thus the
information has been written accordingly. Therefore, technical terms are explained in
glossary links and if one is interested in learning more about an item, most of the articles
give references to books written or recommended by the Museum’s curators.
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
Children’s COMPASS was launched in February 2002 and uses a search engine designed
for children. Apart from the children’s tours and the articles written for 7-11 year old pupils,
there are also classroom activities and quizzes, as well as an Ask the Expert facility. The
online tours are specially written to cover topics from the UK National Curriculum,
including Literacy, Numeracy, Science and Art as well as History. There are also
examples of children’s work, online animations, games and puzzles, web links and reading
lists. In addition to the online tours, there is also a Search engine that allows children to
look for information from the following areas: Africa, the Americas, Anglo-Saxon England,
Asia, Ancient Egypt, Europe, Ancient Greece and Roman Britain.
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
Children’s COMPASS was planned so that children with disabilities could use it as well.
The worksheets have a set of teaching suggestions for how they may be adapted, both for
children with learning difficulties, as well as for those who need extension activities. For
those with reading difficulties, there is software available for reading the text on children’s
COMPASS aloud. Children’s COMPASS has been designed from the outset with visually
impaired
users
in
mind
(ttp://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/hixclient.exe?_IXDB_=compass&searchform=graphical/edu/main.html&submit-button=search). Thus a text-only version of most
screens enables screen-readers to browse, while text size and colour can be easily
changed using the browser tools.
The site has been designed and evaluated by the New Media Unit at the British Museum,
in consultation with local primary schools and with the advice and assistance of the
Museum Education Department.
LO 1.1
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
Case studies
According to Tim Jacques from the New Media Unit, the following worked on COMPASS
website:
•Head
of New Media – project manager
•Content
Manager – responsible for the content on the site
•Imaging
Manager – responsible for the images on the site
•Creative
Editor – responsible for all the text
•Design
Manager – responsible for the design of the site
•Access
Officer – responsible for all access issues for the site
•Education
Editor – responsible for the editorial content on the Children’s COMPASS site
•Imaging
Assistant – helping the Imaging Manager and also HTML coding for some pages
•Support
Officer – administration for COMPASS Project
•I.S.
Support – IT support for the project, though not full time on COMPASS alone
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
In addition, there were also Editorial Assistants to help with editing the text, and curators
and freelancers who wrote the object text. Also, there were a number of interns who worked
for fixed periods of time, usually to compliment their studies.
The technology for the site and delivering it to the web was provided by a company called
System Simulation Ltd. Their Index+ (www.ssl.co.uk) software provided the database.
System Simulation Ltd. offers a comprehensive package of support arrangements tailored to
user requirements. Training is provided for application builders, database administrators and
end-users. Tools for importing data from a wide range of third party files and databases to
Index+ applications are also available.
Information management systems frequently require support for a range of specialist
functions as well as the basic storage and retrieval facilities.
LO 1.1
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
Case studies
The application tools provided with Index + are designed so that appropriately tailored
systems are very easy to make, use and maintain. The facilities provided by this software
include:
•Interfaces
•Storage
to newswire systems
management for large text and image archives
•Interfaces
to Point of Sale equipment
•Interfaces
to EDI systems
•Interfaces
to scanning and OCR software
•Script-based
•Loan
multimedia authoring
management
•Exhibition
•Index+
design
has been successfully integrated with RDBMS and other more specialised
applications.
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
System Simulation Ltd. has implemented the British Museum’s new Merlin collections
management system based on MUSIMS. Data have been imported from the previous
system and the data structures and procedures have been upgraded in line with modern
and international museum standards. The Terminology Client includes thesauri developed
by the British Museum and other international standards. The Unicode facility enables the
museum to catalogue and search using historical and non-European scripts. Merlin
provides data and resources for the COMPASS public access system through an
integrated Index+ Content Management System, also supplied by System Simulation Ltd.
System Simulation Ltd. worked closely with the COMPASS team and supplied the software
architecture for the COMPASS project. Thus, the Content Development System was used
for the creation and management of all content including selected data imports from Merlin
(the Museum’s collection management system) and the Publishing Pipelines delivering
content to all versions of COMPASS on the web and to the specially designed touchscreen consoles in the Reading Room.
LO 1.1
Case studies
COMPASS – Database of the British Museum
COMPASS offers a variety of interfaces for exploring the Museum’s collections in new
ways, therefore enabling visitors to get a better understanding of objects and their contexts.
Children’s COMPASS find specially designed features for children, as well as parents,
teachers and schools. The programs presented there are aimed at the specific needs of
both teachers and children, and the subject areas of the UK National Curriculum.
There is also a high-access text-only version provided for visually impaired visitors. For the
outstanding efforts to ensure that the website is accessible to visually impaired people, The
British Museum – COMPASS won the Visionary Design Award 2002 from the National
Library for the Blind.
LOUVRE Data Bases

Four online databases are accessible via the Louvre Web site:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Atlas
The Inventory of the Department of
Prints and Drawings
La Fayette Database of American Art
Joconde
ATLAS

Atlas is a data base allowing the consultation of the works of art exhibited in the Louvre, around
30000 works of art.

The web user, like the visitor will find the information traditionally shown on the labels next to
the works of arts. It is drafted under the responsibility of the museum's curators. Because the
information is written in French, the search has to be in French.

The enrichment of the illustrations in the database is in progress and is periodically updated.

The content is available in French only.
Inventory of the Department
of Prints and Drawings

The online illustrated inventory of the Department of
Prints and Drawings is an exhaustive catalogue of
the museum's 140,000 works on paper, by some
4,500 artists. It provides access to the drawings,
cartoons, pastels, and miniatures listed in the original
handwritten inventories of the Cabinet des Dessins
of the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. It
also includes drawings from the Edmond de
Rothschild Collection, drawings from French private
collections confiscated to Germany during World
War II and assigned to the Office des Biens Privés,
paintings on paper and miniatures on loan from the
Department of Paintings, and autograph drawings
from the Cabinet des Dessins. Works may be
searched by inventory number, artist, school, date,
subject, or technique, or in the context of the history
of the collection. Information about the artists (in
French) is also provided (lives, works, style).
La Fayette

This bilingual online catalogue presents more than 1,700 works produced by United States
artists that entered the national collections of France before 1940.
Joconde

Developed by the Direction des Musées de France, Joconde incorporates 120,000
descriptions of drawings, prints, and paintings from the 7th century to the present day, from the
collections of over sixty French museums. Joconde provides access to commentaries (in
French) and pictures, notably of works in the collections of the Musées des Beaux-Arts in
Bordeaux, Lille, and Rennes. Joconde has been accessible online since spring 1995, and via
the French Minitel system (3614 Joconde) since 1992.
ARCO Data Base

ARCO – Augmented Representation of Cultural Objects

ARCO is a research project, funded by the European Union, aimed at developing
technology for museums to create 3D Virtual Exhibitions on the Web. Virtual exhibitions
are created by digitising museum artefacts, which are then transformed into Virtual
Representations, which can be X3D or VRML models or scenes

ARCO is developing innovative technology for creating virtual representations of museum
artefacts using a stereo photogrammetry system and user friendly software-Object
Modeller

3D modelling tool is being developed to refine the virtual representations-Interactive
Model Refinement and Rendering, Virtual representations are managed and organised
into virtual exhibitions using an XML driven Object Relational Database and Content
Management System.

ARCO also defines a Metadata Schema that describes the ARCO data model, and
multimedia content used in virtual exhibitions, from digitisation to visualisation.
ARCO Data Base

X3D
is the ISO standard XML-based file format for representing 3D computer
graphics, the successor to the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). X3D
features extensions to VRML the ability to encode the scene using an XML syntax as
well as the Open Inventor-like syntax of VRML97, and enhanced application
programmer interfaces (APIs).

VRML
(Virtual Reality Modeling Language, pronounced vermal or by its initials,
originally (before 1995) known as the Virtual Reality Markup Language) is a standard
file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) interactive vector graphics, designed
particularly with the World Wide Web in mind.

XML
The Extensible Markup Language is a general-purpose specification for
creating custom markup languages.] It is classified as an extensible language
because it allows its users to define their own elements. Its primary purpose is to
facilitate the sharing of structured data across different information systems,
particularly via the Internet, and it is used both to encode documents and to serialize
data.
ARCO
EPOCH

EPOCH – European Network of Excellence in Open Cultural Heritage

EPOCH is a network of about a hundred European cultural institutions joining their efforts
to improve the quality and effectiveness of the use of Information and Communication
Technology for Cultural Heritage.

Participants include university departments, research centres, heritage institutions, such
as museums or national heritage agencies, and commercial enterprises, together
endeavouring to overcome the fragmentation of current research in this field.

The overall objective of the network is to provide a clear organisational and disciplinary
framework for increasing the effectiveness of work at the interface between technology
and the cultural heritage of human experience represented in monuments, sites and
museums.
EPOCH - TOOLS

MeshLab

MeshLab is an open source, portable, and extensible system for the processing
and editing of unstructured 3D triangular meshes.
The system is aimed to help the processing of the typical not-so-small unstructured
models arising in 3D scanning, providing a set of tools for editing, cleaning, healing,
inspecting, rendering and converting this kind of meshes.
The system is heavily based on the VCG library developed at the Visual Computing
Lab of ISTI - CNR, for all the core mesh processing tasks and it is available for
Windows, Linux (src) and MacOSX
EPOCH - TOOLS
ARC 3D WebService

ARC 3D is a group of tools, allowing users to upload digital images to ARC 3D
servers where a 3D reconstruction is performed of the scene and report the output
back to the user. ARC 3D also provides a tool for producing and visualising the 3D
scene using the data computed on the servers.
The first simple application is the upload tool. All that is required is that a sequence
of images is uploaded to the server. The order of the images can be set by the
user, and the images can be subsampled before uploading for a faster service. This
is where the service really does its work. ARC computes the reconstruction also
over a distributed network of PCs. Depending on the size, number and quality of
the images that have been uploaded, a typical job may take from 15 minutes to 2 or
3 hours.
Once the reconstruction has been successful, the system notifies the user by email.
They can then use this data to produce a 3D model with the model viewer tool.
EPOCH - TOOLS

The EPOCH Viewer
The Epoch Viewer is a tool for interactive display and exploration of 3D scenes
containing digital 3D artifacts. It is not only a viewer for static, pre-defined scenes, but
it also allows to compose, edit, and save 3D scenes.
It supports 3D object formats that are specifically developed for CH. It has an
integrated scripting language that allows to attach scripted behaviour to each object,
which can even be used to realize 3D user interfaces.

The CityEngine
CityEngine is a system using a procedural approach based on L-systems to model
cities. From various image maps given as input, such as land-water boundaries and
population density, our system generates a system of highways and streets, divides
the land into lots, and creates the appropriate geometry for the buildings on the
respective allotments.
The CityEngine, a 3D modeling software for urban environments, will be commercially
available in May 2008.
EPOCH - TOOLS

AMA - Archive Mapper for Archaeology
AMA is a tool created for mapping existing archaeological datasets, including
excavation databases, museum collections and free text data, to a CIDOC-CRM
compliant format. The AMA web tool allows users to import XML data models of their
existing archaeological archives and to map them to the CIDOC-CRM ontology
schema, creating direct relations with the CIDOC classes. The tool also allows the
definition of simple and complex relations among the already mapped elements to
enrich their semantic meaning.
Virtual reality in Archaeology

http://arheologie.ulbsibiu.ro/virtual.htm

The purpose of this interdisciplinary project is to help the archaeologist to control, present and
use the results of their work with the new information and communication technologies (ICT).

A particular ICT of most relevance to this work is Virtual Reality (VR). A virtual reality world is
an virtual environment (VE) simulated on the computer through which a person can feel
almost as a part of the real world (Allen et alii 2000, p. 1575). It is used in archaeology
because it can offer:

Three-dimensional models that aid interpretation of the architecture.

Visualise information of a high complexity.

It can combine the visual images with the sound in a real time

Access through the Internet using virtual reality can be more easily understood by the large
public without losing the quality and the original impact.

This is the technology that can “bring to life” the past in a revolutionary way, this should take
place at the end of each archaeological study.
Virtual reality in Archaeology

Structure P8 from Parta

The reconstruction of wooden and clay floors, Parţa

The reconstruction of a sustaining wooden structure , Parţa

Neolithic sanctuaries from Romania

Neolithic oven

Parta proposal 1 with actual river position

Parţa - 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes 1 and 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes
2

A 3D reconstruction of the Romanic church from Cisnadioara and its fortification

Proposal of the virtual reconstruction of the Romanic rotunda from Orastie (the first part of
the 12 th century).
Imaginary exhibitions

A Unique Way of Experiencing Art in 3D - Louvre Museum
The imaginary exhibitions are a virtual 3D space which provides an exciting opportunity of
discovering works of art from the Louvre and other museums, exploring monuments, visiting
places of the past...

Louis Lacaze: Reconstruction of the room dedicated to his collection
Discover a 3D modelization of the La Caze room – now the Bronzes room, Sully wing, first
floor, room 32 – as it was in 1913, when it housed 177 paintings by masters such as
Rembrandt, Chardin or Watteau, from the prestigious collection bequeathed by La Caze to
the Louvre.

3D imaginary exhibition: Jean-Honoré Fragonard
This imaginary exhibition is a tribute to Fragonard, one of the greatest French painters of the
18th century, and also one of the first curators of the Musée du Louvre.
Imaginary exhibitions

The south church at Bawit in 3D
This virtual visit to the Bawit monastery takes us back in time to ancient Coptic Egypt in the
first millennium of the Christian era. This imaginary exhibition presents the elements that were
found during the site excavations and features a reconstruction of the church as
archaeologists imagine it was in the 7th century AD.

The Virtools plug-in is required
Imaginary exhibitions
Louis Lacaze: Reconstruction of the room dedicated to his collection
3D modelization of the La Caze room
Imaginary exhibitions
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
3D imaginary exhibition: Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Imaginary exhibitions
The south church at Bawit
The south church at Bawit in 3D
3D Life Player
Version: 4.0.0.96

Browser:Internet Explorer, Firefox,
Mozilla, Netscape

Operating System:Microsoft
Windows (98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP or
Vista)

Download
LO 1.2
Abstract
The relational model
The relational model was defined and published for the first time in 1970 by Dr. Edgar F.
Codd, a researcher at the IBM laboratories from San Jose (California), who published his
works referring to the relational model for databases. This relational model has the
advantage that it allows the designer of the database to study the properties of the
managing system of the database without being forced to implement it. The theoretical
fundament of this kind of a database is represented by the mathematical theory of relations.
One of the main characteristics of the relational model is its simplicity and strictness from a
theoretical point of view, a fact that placed it before other models, being adopted within the
last decade by the majority of researchers and programmers in the field. The data and
relations are explicitly represented, using a logical structure called relation. On the other
hand, the relational model was mathematically defined, providing a modern means of
studying the logical properties of a database system.
LO 1.2
Abstract
The relational model
Unlike the relational model, other models, previously used, the hierarchy model and the
network model did not have such a powerful theoretical background. Another essential
difference between the relational model and the other two models is that while the former is
oriented towards a multitude, the other two are file oriented; this results from the fact that if
for the hierarchy model and the network model the programmer must design procedural
programmes, which should access the database registration by registration using physical
connections for registrations while for the relational model, just one instruction in an nonprocedural language (like SQL – Structured Query Language), usually determines the
modelling of more registrations
LO 1.2
Abstract
The relational model
Another particular property for the relational model is that only the logical properties of the
database can be addressed and not the physical ones, because it is not oriented towards
the calculation system. As a result, the model does not include the rules, structures and
operations referring to the physical implementation of the database system. However, one
of the objectives of the relational model was to introduce a clear distinction between the
physical and logical aspects of a database, an objective called by E. F. Codd “the
independence of data”.
At the beginning of the theoretical foundation of the relational model, there were serious
fears regarding the efficiency of applying the relational model for large databases. The
extraordinary technological development in the field of electronics and informatics within
the past few years is obvious in the rise of the modelling power of computers and has led to
the elimination of these fears through the large use of the relational database systems
including on personal computers.
LO 1.2
The components of the relational model
Details
The components of the relational model are:
1.
The relational structure of data. Within relational databases, the data is organised as
tables, called relations. Associations between relations are explicitly represented
through connection attributes.
2.
The operators of the relational model. They define the operations that can be done
on relations, with the purpose of realising the data modelling functions (visualisation,
insertion, modification, erasing).
3.
Integrity restrictions of the relational model. Also called integrity rules they define the
demands that must be satisfied by the data within the database in order to be
considered as correct and coherent compared to the real world that they reflect.
LO 1.3
Management systems
of the relational databases
Abstract
In order to reach the objectives for which it was created, a database must have an
associated system of data management, which is the software of the database.
Through the system of data management the following activities can be accomplished:
• defining the structure of the database (organizing data in tables and their connection);
• introducing and modifying data;
• fast access to data through different types of interrogations;
• presentation of data as reports (listed on the screen or printed) in which the data
resulted from interrogations are summarized;
• security of data.
LO 1.3
Management systems
of the relational databases
Abstract
A database management system (DBMS) is a mechanism whose fundamental principle lies,
generally speaking, in the so-called abstracting of data stored on the support. There are
three abstracting levels corresponding to the three models of data: physical, conceptual and
logical. (Figure 1)
• The physical model (or internal) regards the data as they are stored on the
• support and represents the zero level of abstracting;
• The conceptual model regards the data through its real significance;
• The logical model (or internal) regards the data through the eyes of the final user. For a
database there may be more logical models, depending on the different possible
categories of final users.
LO 1.3
Planning databases
Details
Projecting database applications implies, from this point of view, two extremely important
initial steps: logical projection and physical implementation of the data model. The data
model forms the basis of the entire application system which will exploit the database. The
logical projection refers to the establishment of the conceptual model of the database,
which is independent compared to the particular DBMS that will be used. The result of this
first step is a document that will contain the detailed definition of the data structures which
will be implemented. The physical implementation consists of the transposition of the
conceptual model produced in the previous step, on the specific DBMS.
The main RDBMS that are the basis of dynamic and interactive Web pages:
•Oracle (www.oracle.com)
•Microsoft SQL Server (www.microsoft.com/sql/)
•Microsoft Access (www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx)
•MySQL (www.mysql.com)
Practice
LO 1.3
R
User 1
User 2
User n
Applications
External
Model
D
Objects (data sources)
+
properties (attributes)
B
M
Conceptual
Model
The Physical Structure of Data
S
Storing
environment
1
Storing
environment
2
Figure 1 Abstracting levels of a RDBMS
Storing
environment
n
Internal
Model
LO 1.4
Abstract
Configuration of databases
According to these objectives, the construction of a database implies the following steps:
• analysis of the system (domain) for which the database is projected;
• projecting the structure of the database;
• introducing the data in the database;
• exploitation and maintenance of the database.
The first step in the configuration of the database is the setting out of the objects that must
be included and their properties. A single object together with its properties forms an entity
of data. Each entity of data must be unique in order to be differentiated from the others. The
properties of the objects included in entities of data are called attributes. The identification of
objects (data sources) together with their properties is called data modelling.
LO 1.4
Abstract
Configuration of databases
The purpose of the data model is to create a logical representation of the data structure,
used for the creation of the database. The models using objects and tables (which will be
created afterwards on the grounds of these objects) are called conceptual data models.
For the configuration of databases we identify two conceptual data methods or models:
• the bottom-up method for the creation of an application database. According to this
method the configuration of the database begins with the image of data listed on the
screen or with a printed report. It is used for the creation of a simple database, which
uses a single type of data object;
• the top-down method, in which the configuration begins with the identification of
objects (data sources) for the creation of subject databases (databases formed by
tables dedicated to a single class of subjects).
A better solution is the configuration of databases with the help of groups of objects which
are connected by subject. This means the use of the top-down method (model).
LO 1.4
Objectives
Details
The main objectives that must be fulfilled after the configuration process of a database
are:
• fulfilling the needs of the user for getting updated information in time and
economically;
• the elimination and minimization of repetition (redundancy) of data from the
database;
• providing fast access to certain information elements from the database, necessary
for different categories of users;
• the possibility of extending the database according to the users’ needs;
• the security of data which consists of stopping the access of unauthorised persons
to the database;
• the easiness in the creation of applications for the introduction, editing, listing and
rediscovering of information.
LO 1.5
Abstract
Physical implementation of data (a)
The Implementation of data consists of the transposition of data entities in tables made up of
columns (fields) and rows (registrations). The attributes of entities together with the
connection attributes (which will be added) will be the columns (fields) of the tables. The
values associated to these fields represent the rows (registrations) from tables.
The implementation of relations between entities can be made through four possibilities:
•one-to-one – the value of the key field from a single registration from the new table must
correspond to a unique value of the associated field from the existing table (the tables
have a one-to-one correspondence of rows – one row in a table cannot have more than
one corresponding row in the other table);
•one-to-many – the field main key from the first table must be unique, but the values from
the key field of the second table may be associated with more entries (one-to-more
relations ties a single row in a table to more rows from another table by means of a
relation between the primary key of the main table and the corresponding key of the
associated table);
LO 1.5
Abstract
Physical implementation of data (a)
•many-to-one – the new table may have more values in the key field which may correspond
to a unique value of the associated field from the existing table (it is the opposite of the
one-to-many relation;
•many-to-many – they have no restrictions, there are no unique relations between the key
fields from the existing table or the new table; both key fields contain duplicate values.
These types of relations cannot be expressed as simple relations between two participating
entities. In order to create a many-to-many relation we must create an intermediary table
which should have many-to-one relations with two main tables.
Observation: we must remember the fact that many-to-one and one-to-many relations are one
and the same thing, depending on the table to which we refer.
LO 1.6
Physical implementation of data (b)
Abstract
The normalization is a standard procedure by means of which the attributes of data are
grouped in tables, and tables are grouped in databases. The purposes of the normalization
are the following:
•
the elimination of doubles in the tables;
•
the permission of carrying out future modifications in the structure of tables;
•
minimizing the impact of structural modifications of the database in the
applications of users who use the data.
LO 1.6
Physical implementation of data (b)
Abstract
The normalization is carried out in five steps (forms of normalization):
• the first normal form indicates that the tables must be plane and must not contain
repetitions of groups;
• in the second normal form the data from the columns without key are completely
depending on the main key;
• for the third normal form, all the columns without a key in a table must respect the
rules of the first and the second normal form;
• for the fourth normal form, independent data entities must not be stored within the
same table when between these entities there are many-to-many relations (it
eliminates the redundancy due to m:n relations).
• for the fifth normal form, the exact reconstruction of the original table from those
tables from which it had been separated, must be possible; it seldom appears in
practice.
DU 2
The publication of data on the Internet
For the creation of the Web site of the European Virtual Museum, we used Microsoft Active
Server Pages technology. Further on we are going to introduce the main elements which
are part of this technology
This lecture unit explains deeply what is meant by (a) HTML, (b) ASP and (c) how entering
the database thought the web. Main features of SQL (structure Query language) and Java
programming are discussed.
The objectives of DU2 are:
• to identify the operations that can be executed in interactive modality;
• to know how to use the main software for realizing the web pages.
LO 2.1
Abstract
HyperText Markup Language
One of the first fundamental elements of the WWW (World Wide Web) is HTML (HyperText
Markup Language), a standard which describes the primary format in which the documents
are being distributed and seen on the WEB. Many of its features, as the independence of
the platform, the structuring of formatting and the hypertext connections, make it a very
good format for documents published on the Internet.
The official HTML standard is given by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which is
affiliated to Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). W3C stated a few versions of the
HTML specification, like HTML 2.0, HTML 3.0, HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0, HTML 4.01 and, most
recently XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language). At the same time the authors of
browsers (navigators) like Netscape (Netscape Navigators) and Microsoft (Internet
Explorer), have often developed their own HTML “extensions” excluding the standard
process and incorporated them in their own browsers.
LO 2.1
HyperText Markup Language
Abstract
Presently, HTML 4.0 is widely utilized and the HTML specifications have already been
published. HTML language offers WEB designers the following possibilities:
• to publish the documents with headers, texts, tables, lists, photographs etc.;
• to find information on-line by means of hyperlinks accessed by a simple mouse
click;
• to project forms for the achievement of transactions with distant servers, for
searching for information or for commerce specific activities;
• to include table calculation sheet, video clips, sounds and other applications directly
in documents.
LO 2.1
Details
The origins of HTLM
HTML was initially developed by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (Centre Européen de
Recherche Nucléaire) in 1989. HTML is a language based on SGML (Standard
Generalized Markup Language) which is an international standard (ISO – 8879) approved
in 1986. HTML was initially seen as a possibility for physicians using different computers to
change information between them by means of the Internet. Thus a few conditions were
necessary: independence of the platform, hypertext possibilities and structuring of
documents.
The independence of the platform means that a document can be listed in a similar way (or
almost identical) by different computers, vital for a numerous and various audience.
Hypertext is translated by the fact that any word, phrase, image or element of the document
seen by the user (client) can refer to another document or even to paragraphs within the
same document, which makes the navigation between components of the same document
or between multiple documents easier. The strict structuring of documents allows their
conversion from one format into another as well as the interrogation of a database
containing these documents.
LO 2.2
Abstract
Active Server Pages (ASP)
Active Server Pages (ASP) is a powerful instrument developed by Microsoft. An ASP file
may contain text, HTML tags (markers) and scripts. The scripts in an ASP file will be
executed by the server through IIS (Internet Information Server) which is part of Windows
2000, Windows NT 4.0 (Option Pack) or PWS (Personal Web Server) in Windows 95-98.
An ASP script, executed by the server, is always limited by <% … %> and may contain
expressions, instructions, procedures, or operators accepted by the language use (for
example JavaScript). ASP pages use ADO objects (ActiveX Data Objects) to achieve the
connection of data after which, through the Structured Query Language (SQL), different
types of queries on the databases can be carried out.
LO 2.3
ActiveX Data Object (ADO)
Abstract
ADO is used to access a database through a WEB page. It was created by Microsoft and it
is automatically installed at the same time with Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Server)
package. By means of the ADO component the following operations in an ASP file may be
fulfilled:
• The creation of an ADO connection with the database;
• Opening the connection with the database;
• The creation of an ADO recordset;
• Opening a recordset;
• Drawing out the necessary data from a recordset;
• Closing a recordset;
• Closing the connection with the database.
LO 2.4
Abstract
Structured Query Language (SQL)
SQL is an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard language used for the
querying of MS Access, MS SQL Server, DB2, Informix, Oracle, Sybase databases etc.
With the help of SQL we can make selection or action queries (adding, deleting and
modifying registrations) upon databases. It consists of:
• SQL Queries – for querying the database;
• SQL Data Manipulation Language (DML) – which allows the introduction, deletion
and updating of data (registrations) by using the instructions:
• INSERT INTO – introducing new data in a table of the database;
• DELETE – deleting registrations;
• UPDATE – updating (modifying) registrations.
LO 2.4
Abstract
Structured Query Language (SQL)
• SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) – allows the creation, modification and
deletion of tables in the database, as well as the creation and deletion of an index
(search key). For this purpose the following instructions are being used:
• CREATE TABLE
• ALTER TABLE
• DROP TABLE
• CREATE INDEX
• DROP INDEX
LO 2.4
Case studies
The State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum Project, as a partnership between IBM Corporate Community
Relations () and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, began in 1997. The website
() presents significant historical information on the Hermitage Museum, its extensive
collections, offerings, events, membership and special exhibitions. The Hermitage Museum
website enables the world to see the Hermitage collections from anywhere in the world
using IBM Digital Library technology, based on IBM RS/6000 computers and IBM Digital
Library software from the IBM Santa Teresa, California Lab. The special application software
was created in IBM's e-business Solution Centre in Naples, Italy and the site design and
user interface of the website were developed by IBM's e-business Services in Atlanta,
Georgia:
http://www.haifa.il.ibm.com/projects/software/hermitage/index.html.
At the core of the project is IBM's Image Creation Studio based on IBM Research's
Pro/3000 Scanner with PC's and special image processing software, which produce high
quality, high resolution digital images from originals or transparencies of works of art from
the Hermitage collections. The images feature IBM's patented digital invisible watermark
technology to protect Hermitage image usage rights. For this project, 2000 images have
been scanned and retouched by the Hermitage Museum staff.
LO 2.4
Case studies
The State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum website provides a searchable database of high resolution images
from 12 distinctive categories of works (painting, prints and drawings; sculpture; machinery
and mechanisms; arms and armour; furniture and carriages; ceramics and porcelain; applied
arts; jewellery; textiles; numismatics and glyptics; costume; archaeological artefacts),
HotMedia images of selected rooms and items, Query By Image Content Search (QBIC
Search) and the "Zoom View" Java-based technology developed expressly for this project. It
allows the user to zoom in on a particular part of an illustration for detailed analysis and to
study descriptive material (http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/index.html).
Query By Image Content search technology allows users locate works using visual tools, by
selecting colours from a palette or by sketching shapes on a canvas. With advanced search
visitors can find a particular item by selecting a specific category of artworks, the type of item,
the style, trend or tendency, country of origin, theme, genre, the personage represented and
the data range. In the section Zoom View Gallery users can scrutinize the slightest details of
an artwork using an innovative technology. High-resolution images are provided by IBM's
specialized Image Creation Studio using patented IBM technology developed at Watson
Research labs to digitize art objects and protect images. The network used to host the website
includes multiple „farms” of IBM RS/6000 and support millions of „hits” each day.
LO 2.5
JavaScript
Abstract
JavaScript is a programming language for WEB pages. It is used in many sites for
improving their design, for the validation of some forms etc. It has been developed by
Netscape and it is the most popular script language for the Internet. It is recognized by all
popular browsers (navigators) from version 3.0 and more. The main characteristics and
uses of the JavaScript language:
• it has been created for developing the interactivity of WEB pages;
• it is a “line of command” language;
• it is written directly in HTML document;
• it does not need a preliminary compiler;
• anyone can use JavaScript without a licence;
• it is tolerated by all important navigators, like Internet Explorer or Netscape.
The complete description of the Active Server Pages technology, and not only, can be
found at www.asp.net.
LO 2.5
Practice
1.
The language offers WEB designers the following possibilities:
•
to publish the documents with headers, texts, tables, lists, photographs etc.;
•
to find information on-line by means of hyperlinks accessed by a simple mouse click;
•
to project forms for the achievement of transactions with distant servers, for
searching for information or for commerce specific activities;
•
to include table calculation sheet, video clips, sounds and other applications directly
in documents.
True or False?
2. With the help of SQL we can’t make selection or action queries (adding, deleting and
modifying registrations) upon databases.
True or False?
3. JavaScript is a powerful 3D software product that calculates measurements and
constructs 3D models from your photographs simply and easily.
True or False?
DU 3
Software used for modelling 3D images
Images and graphics are a fundamental source of communication. 2D and especially 3D
graphics are quickly becoming an integral part of dynamic, interactive web sites.
Following is a description of some 3D graphics software currently available.
The objectives of DU 3 consist in:
• to know how to use the main software for realizing the images in 3D;
• to know how to converse profitable with the professional figures of the expert of the
contents and with the project leader.
LO 3.1
Software 3D Object Modeller
Abstract
3DSOM from Creative Dimension Software Ltd. is a fast, cost-effective software tool for
generating photo-realistic 3D models from images of real objects, based on technology
originally developed by Canon. With the 3DSOM Viewer Java applet, interactive plug infree 3D content can easily be created for compelling e-commerce sites, eye-catching
internet advertising, online museum exhibitions, and more. A fully customised 3D
modelling service is also available delivering high quality multimedia content for CD
marketing campaigns, exhibitions, education, digital product brochures and streaming over
the internet:
http://www.3dsom.com/features/process.html
ttp://www.3dsom.com/proexamples/index.html.
LO 3.1
Specifications
Details
a) Input Images
•
Mat printing function to create calibration mats on an ordinary black and white printer.
•
Accepts up to 256 input images per project from digital cameras or scanners as JPEG, BMP or
PNG files.
•
Fully automatic, robust camera calibration to identify arbitrary camera location and orientation.
•
Automatic background separation (masking) tool with compensation for shadows on the
backdrop.
•
Manual mask editing tools at multiple image zooms.
•
Mask save and load via PNG for editing in an external editor (Adobe Photoshop, JASC Paint
Shop Pro and others).
b) Wire frame Generation
•
Fast and accurate, patented geometry calculation algorithm based on silhouettes without any
voxelisation errors.
•
Handles objects with holes and those composed of multiple separate parts generating one or
more closed triangle meshes.
•
Interactive mesh decimation to reduce polygon count to required level.
•
Optional clip plane to remove any remaining stand geometry.
•
Editable synthetic silhouettes allow geometry to be refined from angles where images were not
originally taken.
LO 3.1
Specifications
Details
c) Texture Generation
•
Fully automatic texture tiling function to create a single texture map around the whole object.
•
User chosen texture map resolution up to 2048 pixels square.
•
Patented texture blending algorithms to reduce registration errors and produce crisp textures.
•
Tone correction option to compensate for exposure differences between images.
•
Manual alignment option for including underneath shots to texture all faces of the object.
•
Powerful, easy-to-use, seamless texture editing using your usual external image editor by painting on
any view of the object.
LO 3.1
Specifications
Details
d) Save and Export
•
Export final model to 3DSOM Viewer for immediate inclusion on web pages without need for browser
plugins. We can also remove our branding on a per-model basis.
•
3DSOM Viewer can display a background image behind the model as well as adding lighting, shadows
and hotspots in a small redistributable Java applet.
•
Export to Shockwave for use in Macromedia Director 8.5 for creating interactive web content, and also
as ready-to-use web page for use with popular Shockwave Player plugin.
•
Export to VRML for interchange with many 3D packages and also for viewing with VRML-enabled
browsers.
•
Export to 3DS object for loading into 3D Studio Max and other 3D editing/animation packages.
•
All project information saved in one project file
•
Original images are not altered (can be read only) and left outside file to minimise project file size.
LO 3.1
Specifications
Details
e) System Requirements
3DSOM runs under Windows XP (Home or Professional Editions) or
Windows 2000. Although it is possible to run under a Windows emulator
on a Macintosh, this is not recommended as intensive processing is
required.
Recommended specs for a PC:
•CPU x86 compatible, PC/AT compliant
•Pentium 3 or 4 is preferable
•32-bit graphics card with OpenGL support
•Monitor resolution 1024x768 minimum (small system fonts)
•Physical RAM: 128MB minimum, 256MB recommended
•Mouse and Keyboard
LO 3.2
Abstract
VR WORX 2.6
QuickTime Virtual Reality is an extension of the QuickTime technology developed by Apple
Computer, Inc. that allows viewers to interactively explore and examine photo realistic,
three-dimensional, virtual world. Unlike many other virtual reality systems, QuickTime VR
does not require the viewer to wear goggles, a helmet or gloves. Instead, the viewer
navigates in a virtual world using conventional computer input devices (such as the mouse,
trackball, track pad or keyboard) to change the displayed image via the QuickTime VR
movie controller.
QuickTime VR is quickly becoming one of the most important assets you can have, bringing
a new level of interactivity and motion to web design and multimedia productions. The user
can create interactive QuickTime VR movies quickly, simply and professionally, with any
kind of camera: film, digital, video or created on the computer using a three-dimensional
(3D) graphics package.
LO 3.2
Abstract
VR Worx 2.6
A QuickTime VR movie contains all the date for a QuickTime VR virtual world. The movie
contains a single scene, which is an aggression of one or more nodes. A node is a location
in a virtual world which an object or panorama can be viewed. For panoramic nodes, the
node's position is the centre point from which the panorama is viewed. Any number of
nodes, objects, panoramas, linear movies or stills, can comprise a QuickTime VR Scene.
The VR Worx™ is the award-winning suite of VR authoring tools for QuickTime™. The latest
version, The VR Worx 2.6 is taking advantage of today’s revolutionary operating systems.
LO 3.2
Abstract
VR Worx 2.6
Engineered for Mac OS X and Windows XP, with a new streamlined and simplified user
interface, The VR Worx 2.6 delivers powerful technology along with fresh advancements to
its famous feature/function set. The VR Worx 2.6 creates cylindrical panoramic movies,
object movies and multi-node scenes (a.k.a. virtual tours), all in the QuickTime format.
Version 2.6 has the ability to create an object movie, which has a panoramic movie as a
moving background. And v2.6 has the capacity for transitions within a multi-node scene, like
standard wipes, dissolves, explodes, and others, as well as actual linear video as a
transition. The VR Worx 2.6 can construct multinode environments with cylindrical
panoramas, cubic VRs, multi-row objects, absolute objects, objects with sound, still images
and linear QuickTime movies (http://www.vrtoolbox.com/gallery.html).
LO 3.2
VR WORX 2.6
Details
a) New Features & Functions Include:
• Streamlined and simplified User Interface for Macintosh & Windows
• Live Scrolling, Live Window Resizing and Dialog Sheets
• Application-wide Image Drag & Drop, including Document Proxy Icons
• Integrated On-line Help
• Intelligent Auto-configuration of Panoramas & Objects
• Choice of Cylindrical or Linear input acquisition mode for Panoramas
• Integrated Bridge to external image editors, like Photoshop™
• Zoom capability for images in Stitch & Blend panels
• Drag & Nudge capability for positioning images in Stitch panel
• User defined presets for quick composition of QuickTime movies
• Specify alternate target sizes with estimated download times
• Optimize media order for fast-start downloading
• Auto-generate low res preview track from movie or external image file
•
Embed HTML tags and generate HTML "Starter Page" containing movie
• Recompose existing Object, Panorama and Linear QuickTime movies
• AppleScript & Windows Visual Basic Scripting enabled throughout
• Improved handling of large images for Composition and Import/Export
• Greatest feature parity between Mac & Windows of any previous version
• Create Object Movie with Panoramic Background
• Sound Support in Object Mode
LO 3.2
VR WORX 2.5
Details
• Chroma-Key Background Mask
• Frame Based Animation
• Centering, Cropping, and De-Wobbling Effects
• Integrated On-line Help
• Application-wide Image Drag & Drop
• Auto-configuration of Panoramas & Objects
• Cylindrical or Linear input acquisition for Panoramas
• Bridge to external image editors, like Photoshop™
• Improved handling of large images for Movie Composition and Import/Export, exceeding 16,000
pixels wide for source images and 30,000 pixels wide for imported or rendered panoramas
• Transparent View mode for precise stitching
• Over 250 Hot Spots per node
• Recompose existing Objects, Panos and Linear QuickTime movies
• Embed HTML tags & generate HTML Starter Page containing your movie
• AppleScript & Visual Basic Scripting for Windows enabled throughout
• Multinode Transitions, including linear video transitions
• Scene Module accepts Panoramas, Cubic VRs, Objects, Still Images and Linear Movies as Nodes
• Edit and Preview Multi-Node Scenes without rendering finished movie
LO 3.2
VR WORX 2.6
Details
The VR Worx is our award-winning suite of VR authoring tools for QuickTime...and The
R Worx 2.6 is taking advantage of today’s revolutionary operating systems. Now
optimized for dual processor machines. The VR Worx 2.6 delivers powerful technology
along with fresh advancements to its famous feature/function set. Bring a higher level
of interactivity and maximum motion to your web design and multimedia productions.
Now is the time, The VR Worx 2.6 is the software and QuickTime is the enabling
architecture.

Requires:
Mac OS X 10.4 / Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, QuickTime 6.4 or
later
VR Worx 2.6 is NOT currently compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista or Mac OS X
Leopard.

Download:http://www.vrtoolbox.com/OrderOnline.html
LO 3.3
PhotoModeler
Abstract
PhotoModeler is a powerful 3D software product that calculates measurements and
constructs
3D
models
from
your
photographs
simply
and
easily
(http://www.photomodeler.com/app03.html).
PhotoModeler is used by professionals around the world to:
• Create "as-built" drawings and measurements for process and plant engineers
• Measure accident and crime scenes for forensic analysts
• Create "as-found" and "as-built" drawings for architects and historic preservationists
• Model sets, objects, people and vehicles for animators and film/video producers
• Measure and create drawings of buildings, excavations & artefacts for archaeologists
• Measure and model anatomical morphology for anthropologists and medical
practitioners
• Reverse-engineer mechanical parts and assemblies for manufacturing engineers
• Survey complex 3D shapes, structures and volumes for civil engineers and surveyors
• Model objects for 3D databases for virtual reality builders
LO 3.3
How to use
Details 1
• Take pictures using digital, film, or video cameras, and load them into PhotoModeler.
Shoot two or more overlapping photos from different angles and then import them
into the program.
• Next, mark features on the photographs using PhotoModeler's Point, Line and Edge
tools. Using the referencing functions, instruct PhotoModeler by matching up points
across the photos.
• Now PhotoModeler is ready to process your camera and referencing data. Using the
"Process" menu, PhotoModeler adjusts your input data and creates 3D point data to
produce an accurate 3D model.
• You can view, zoom, rotate, or measure your 3D model in PhotoModeler's 3D Viewer.
The Point Table allows you to view and manipulate XYZ point coordinates. Continue
your project by adding more photos, points, lines, and edges. Use PhotoModeler's
advanced marking tools to add NURBS curves, cylinders, and surfaces. Finally,
export your model to your CAD, animation, or rendering program.
LO 3.3
Main features
Details 2
PhotoModeler is loaded with powerful and useful features to help you measure and model
productively.
• Easy to Use and Learn: Includes an advanced Windows user interface, Wizards for
easy project set-up, extensive multimedia tutorials (over 4 hours playing time!), full
printed manual, and extensive on-line help.
• Modeling Tools: Create models using PhotoModeler's Point, Line, Curve, Edge, and
Cylinder marking tools.
• Surface Tools: Add surfaces to features defined by Points, Lines, Curves, and
Edges. Create NURBS Surfaces from Lines, Edges, and Curves.
• Photo-textures: Add photo-textures and colors to surfaces. Export textures with
3DS, OBJ, VRML, and 3DM.
• 3D Viewer: View, measure, select objects, and interactively rotate the created 3D
models with full photo-textures.
• Measurement Tools: Perform point, distance, length and area measurements right
within PhotoModeler.
• Photograph Handling: Work with any number of photographs, add new photographs
at any time, and import many different image formats.
LO 3.3
Details 2
Main features
• Image Control: Use extensive Zoom Tools for accurate sub-pixel marking, Photo
Rotate for easier viewing, and Image Enhancement for increased visibility.
• Photo-Projections: Check project quality by projecting 3D data onto your photos.
Camera Support: Use images from digital, film, or video cameras. Automatic Camera
Orientation determines the position of the camera when the image was taken. Use
different cameras in the same project.
• Scale/Rotate/Translate: This feature provides you the ability to apply proper scale to
your project and set your model in the proper coordinate system for exporting. Export
Capabilities: Export your model to Autodesk DXF (2D and 3D), 3D Studio 3DS,
Wavefront OBJ, VRML (1&2), IGES, OpenNURBS/Rhino, StereoLithography STL,
RAW, Maya Script, Max Script, FBX, and Google Earth’s KML and KMZ.
• Camera Calibrator: Accurately measure your camera's focal length, principal point,
digitizing aspect ratio and lens distortion.
• Customizable Interface: Control the layout and appearance of your PhotoModeler
screen. Customizable items include toolbars, short cut keys (in patch 5.08), and
colors for items such as 3D objects, Projections, and the 3D Viewer.
LO 3.3
How to use
Details 2
• System Requirements for the lattes version
Minimum recommended system
• Windows 2000, XP or Vista
• 512 MB of memory
• 500 MB of hard disk space
• 1024 X 768 display with 24 bit color
• Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device
• CD-ROM drive
• Speakers or headphones for tutorial videos
• A means of importing digital photographs (a digital
camera, a film scanner, or video capture board)
• Online access during installation and upgrading
LO 3.4
Abstract
PixMaker PRO
Following the simple 3 steps of Snap, Stitch, Publish!™ in PixMaker 1.0, PixMaker Pro
enables you to create 360° interactive PixAround content complete with Hotspots efficiently
with customization options for Hotspot, Postcard and Web pages via its proven friendly,
intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface.
PixAround Scenes can be published online as Web pages, offline as Postcards, Screen
Savers, PowerPoint® presentations; and onto mobile devices based on both Palm OS®and
Windows® CE. You can create as many PixAround Scenes, Web pages, Postcards and
Presentations as you wish at no additional cost. No additional software or browser plugins
are not required for viewing the PixAround content.
(http://www.pixaround.com/showcase/scenarios/loe-van-gallery/web/gallery.asp)
(http://www.pixaround.com/showcase/scenarios/merlion/index.asp)
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
a) Snap
•
Capture your shots with ANY still camera.
•
Capture panoramic video with ANY USB/FireWire based digital video camera.
•
Input formats:
 JPEG (.jpg)
 Bitmap (.bmp)
 Photo CD (.pcd)
 Tagged Image File (.tif)
 Portable Network Graphics (.png)
 AVI (.avi)
 MPEG-1 (.mpg)
•
Thumbnail preview and manipulation.
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
b) Stitch
•
Wide stitching options:
 Cylindrical
 Flat
 Object View
 Tilt Angle
•
Montage
•
Automatic estimation of lens setting.
•
Fast, automatic stitching.
•
Option for manual alignment with image enhancement.
•
Option for creation of customized lens setting with distortion correction.
•
Support for semi-fisheye lens.
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
•
Enhanced blending, de-ghosting and color correction as compared to PixMaker 1.0.
•
Option for resizing of images before stitching
•
Color correction option for individual pair of images.
•
Automatic estimation of Field of View(FOV).
•
Post-stitching image enhancement.
•
Image resolution is limited only by hardware used.
•
Allows saving of stitch type and lens in project file.
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
c)
•
Publish
Enhance your image with interactivity using customizable Hotspot links to
PixAround Scenes, Web pages, 2D/3D audio files, video files, email or label.
•
Output formats:
 Scene (.jpg, .bmp, .tif, .png, .pij)
 Webpage (.asp)
 Postcard with option for customization (.exe)
 PDA - PalmOS (.pdb), Windows CE (.jpg)
 ActiveX (.ppt)
 Print - on single or multiple pages
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
•
Selection of templates to publish your PixAround Webpage, with Preview feature.
•
No additional software or browser plug-ins are required for viewing the PixAround
content.
•
Support for 2D and 3D viewing.
•
Easy customization of PixAround Webpage.
•
Built-in story panel for effective Scene description.
•
Easy-to-use navigation bar.
•
Allows saving of Hotspot settings in project file.
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
d)
Supported Formats
•
Image files - JPEG (.jpg), Bitmap (.bmp), Photo CD (.pcd), Tagged Image file (.tif),
•
Portable
•
Network Graphics (.png)
•
URL files - HTML (.htm, .html), Server side (.shtm, .shtml, .stm)
•
Video* files - MPEG (.mpeg, .mpg, .m1v, .mp2), AVI (.avi, .wmv), QuickTime (.mov,
.qt), Flash(.swf), RealMedia (.ra, .ram, .rm, .rmj)
•
Audio* files - Audio (.wav, .snd, .au, .aif, .aifc, .wma), MIDI (.mid, .rmi, .midi), MP3
(.mp3), RealMedia (.ra, .ram, .rm, .rmj)
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
e) Minimum system requirements
•
Windows® 98 Second Edition, 2000, Millennium Edition, XP
•
333 MHz Intel/AMD Processor
•
128 MB RAM
•
50 MB available hard drive space
•
Video display capable of 800 x 600 pixels or higher with 65,535 colors
LO 3.4
Specifications
Details
f)
Optimum system requirements
•
Windows® 98 Second Edition, 2000, Millennium Edition, XP
•
650 MHz Intel/AMD Processor or higher
•
256 MB RAM or more
•
50 MB available hard drive space
•
Video display capable of 1024 x 768 pixels or higher with 16 million colors
LO 3.4
Practice
Details
•
PhotoModeler is a powerful 3D software product that calculates measurements and
constructs 3D models from photographs simply and easily.
True or False ?
•
PixAround Scenes can’t be published online as Web pages.
True or False ?
•
The VR Worx 2.5 creates cylindrical panoramic movies, object movies and multi-node
scenes (a.k.a. virtual tours).
True or False ?
DU 4
3D Photography
by Damiano Rosa
Pictures published on this website have been developed through an innovative
photographic technique by which objects are observable all around. This
technique, which has been already experienced for nature photography (VR –
Virtual Reality), involves two basic steps: a) taking photographs and b) digital
elaboration of the sequence of pictures through the Apple software “Quick Time
VR”.
LO 4.1
Abstract
Projecting the camera set
Because of the large number of objects to be photographed in the seven museums, a
mobile camera set has been privileged in order to avoid duplications of the operations, so
time wasting. By virtue of the mobile set, every photographic session – about ten objects
per time – took two days by 7-8 working hours each.The crucial requirement for VR
photographing consists of the possibility to turn the reference object around one of the axes
passing through the central-point. With this purpose in mind, we use a rotating base with a
diameter of about 40 cm which should a) be able to sustain the heaviest objects and,
mostly, b) allow for fluent and stable movements.
In order to be rigorous, metric measures on the circumference might be required in such a
way to control the angle gap in the sequence of pictures. An additional preliminary choice
consists of identifying the number of pictures to be taken in order to capture appropriately
the object along its rotation. For this last purpose, some tests might be opportune in
advance.
LO 4.1
Projecting the camera set
Abstract
In the picture below, for instance, we found that, at least, 24 pictures are required in order to
allow for an adequate description of the object in the 3D framework. At the end we opted for
36 pictures.
Picture 1: Camera set
LO 4.1
Abstract
Projecting the camera set
Once rotation issues have been tackled, the background should be managed in such a way
to make it neutral and homogeneous starting from the rotating base to the backstage of the
object eliminating any sort of discontinuity. With this purpose in mind, a black cardboard has
been applied from the wall to the rotating base. The base has been covered by the same
black cardboard in such a way to hide totally the latter, although maintaining the same
magnitude of the fix background. In this way the base is able to rotate without generating
any sort of discontinuity.
Picture 2: Details of the reflecting panels, the mirror and the rotating base
together with the black cardboard
LO 4.1
Abstract
Projecting the camera set
Picture 3: The camera set with the “shading flag” on the right.
LO 4.2
Abstract
Lightening
In order to lighten the objects, one single lamp has been placed on the flank of the camera.
The shadowed part of the object has been cleared up through some small reflecting panels
and a mirror, where the latter allows to concentrate the light on single parts of the objects
with adequate precision and, in addition, it is not problematic to transport from one set to
another.
The main light can be softened through white umbrellas or soft boxes. However, in some
cases, stronger light might be preferred in order to highlight some relevant details of the
objects like incisions.
Finally, the light has been flagged in order to shade the part of the fixed background
combining the rotating base and the cardboard.
LO 4.3
Abstract
The camera
All the pictures have been taken by a digital reflex Nikon D 70. The use of a professional
reflex has been very important for the success of this job. In addition, the camera should be
fixed to a robust tripod. Two optics have been mostly used: the Micro Nikkor 60 mm f 2,8
AF-D and the Micro Nikkor 105 mm f 2,8 Ai. These two optics allowed us to photograph all
of the objects with low effort and high quality results.
The focus of the camera should be manually regulated and held still during the rotation,
taking care in advance about the maximum width of the object. Sufficiently closed
diaphragms have been used in order to give the maximum depth to the object.
The exposition as well, has to be manually regulated and held fixed with remaining white
balancing and the set up of ASA: it should be clear that all of the 36 pictures should have
the same length and colour parameters in order to avoid chromatic variations and
alterations during the rotation.
LO 4.3
Detail
The camera
Digital elaboration
The 36 pictures have been taken in RAW format; next the pictures have been elaborated by
the less heavy Jpg format, settled up at the minimum compression. Since the retouch of all
pictures would have been too much effort-demanding, we have tried to achieve a good
quality of pictures since the beginning, using, when opportune, non invasive supports in
harmony with the rest of the object. The final assemblage of the sequence of pictures has
been realized with the software “Quick Time VR” which allows for a sufficient number of userfriendly regulating options. Unfortunately, this software exists uniquely for Mac PCs, but the
final products can be used with Windows OS as well.
LO 4.3
Detail
The camera
Conclusions
The photographic technique discussed up to here allows a view of the object which cannot
be achieved through any other tool. Especially in the case of artistic objects, ie. when small
details should be highlighted, the VR software exalts all the surface. In the case of decorated
vases, the same picture captures the whole decoration. One may suggest that video files
allow for the same result, but this only partially truth since the movie does not allow for left or
right rotating of the object as well as zooming. In addition, the single picture of a movie
usually does not reach the same standard of quality like the sequence of pictures obtained
through VR animation.
Practice
1.
What does the abbreviation RDBMS mean?

Related DataBase Management System

Relational DataBase Management System

Relational DataBase Measurement System
2.
The creation of a database implies the following steps:

analysis of the system (domain) for which the database is projected;

projecting the structure of the database;

introducing the data in the database;

exploitation and maintenance of the database.

True

False
Practice
1.
Many-to-one and one-to-many relations are one and the same thing,
depending on the table to which we refer.

True

False
2.
What does the abbreviation ASP mean?

A Server Pages

Active Standard Pages

Active Server Pages
3.
ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) is used to interrogate a relational database.

True

False