GEDCOM and the Elements of Genealogy
Apr 29, 2022 19:35:05 GMT -8
Post by Uncle Buddy on Apr 29, 2022 19:35:05 GMT -8
Unlike what you'll see on some blogs from genealogists, GEDCOM is not a standard. It is a file sharing utility. In order to find commonality among an unpredictable variety of data storage structures used by different genieware providers, by it very nature, GEDCOM is a lowest-common-denominator, it is built on generalities. Because it is not a standard, and not a database, don't structure your genieware database to match GEDCOM. Instead, structure your database to match the real world and write a parser to extract real world data from a GEDCOM and then insert real world data to your real world database.
As for improving or replacing GEDCOM, the key to that is to identify the real elements of genealogy and structure GEDCOM's replacement in those terms. The real elements of genealogy needed for a file sharing utility are the generalities which are the most useful to the greatest variety of genealogy applications. By "useful" I don't mean the principals of any moral or religious tradition. By not structuring a file sharing utility according to the stictures of any current culture, fashion, or dogma, we can create a file sharing utility which will still be a file sharing utility in the future when the world is otherwise unrecognizable to us old farts who will still be trying to do genealogy as long as there are any old records available to remember our ancestors by.
Is the family a real element of genealogy? Just because "family history" is a synonym for genealogy doesn't mean that the family unit is an element of genealogy. Is it wrong to use the family as a unit of genealogy? Does it make it harder to create a GEDCOM that is universally applicable? Take water and hydrogen peroxide for example. That's H2O vs H2O2. One atom of difference and that's a world of difference. Thank goodness our bodies and earth are not 3/4 hydrogen peroxide. So, the question is: since H2O reads like or sounds like an element of H2O2, does that mean water is an element of hydrogen peroxide? Of course not. The elements of H2O and H2O2 are exactly the same: hydrogen and oxygen. So I'm questioning whether the family is actually an element of family history.
And if the family is not literally an element, a basic irreducible element of genealogy, then GEDCOM is not a file sharing utility at all, it's a file smearing utility, and that's why it's so universally disgruntling to try and use it. Is it possible that GEDCOM should be replaced by something that uses the actual elements of genealogy as its basis, like reality? Instead of the Christian church's idea of what reality should be. GEDCOM still suffers under the illusion that a family is comprised of a wife, a husband, and their children. This is subject to interpretation. It's really just a social agreement. We need a file sharing utility that will be as close as possible to unimprovable. Otherwise the process of importing and exporting files will always be a big hassle.
I could be wrong about the family not being an element of family history at it core essence. But if I'm right, then GEDCOM is wrong. If GEDCOM is wrong, it needs to be replaced quickly, not gradually. Even if it means people have a lot of work to do over. I for one look forward to re-inputing all my data when Treebard is ready to accept daily work. Because I enjoy my hobby. Many will disagree. I don't have jillions of people in my trees, I have jillions of small trees. So my perspective is skewed in that way. It would be fun for me to start over. Not for everyone though. I know it's a big problem, but like any problem, the longer it isn't addressed, the harder it will be to correct when the situation finally comes to a head.
As for improving or replacing GEDCOM, the key to that is to identify the real elements of genealogy and structure GEDCOM's replacement in those terms. The real elements of genealogy needed for a file sharing utility are the generalities which are the most useful to the greatest variety of genealogy applications. By "useful" I don't mean the principals of any moral or religious tradition. By not structuring a file sharing utility according to the stictures of any current culture, fashion, or dogma, we can create a file sharing utility which will still be a file sharing utility in the future when the world is otherwise unrecognizable to us old farts who will still be trying to do genealogy as long as there are any old records available to remember our ancestors by.
Is the family a real element of genealogy? Just because "family history" is a synonym for genealogy doesn't mean that the family unit is an element of genealogy. Is it wrong to use the family as a unit of genealogy? Does it make it harder to create a GEDCOM that is universally applicable? Take water and hydrogen peroxide for example. That's H2O vs H2O2. One atom of difference and that's a world of difference. Thank goodness our bodies and earth are not 3/4 hydrogen peroxide. So, the question is: since H2O reads like or sounds like an element of H2O2, does that mean water is an element of hydrogen peroxide? Of course not. The elements of H2O and H2O2 are exactly the same: hydrogen and oxygen. So I'm questioning whether the family is actually an element of family history.
And if the family is not literally an element, a basic irreducible element of genealogy, then GEDCOM is not a file sharing utility at all, it's a file smearing utility, and that's why it's so universally disgruntling to try and use it. Is it possible that GEDCOM should be replaced by something that uses the actual elements of genealogy as its basis, like reality? Instead of the Christian church's idea of what reality should be. GEDCOM still suffers under the illusion that a family is comprised of a wife, a husband, and their children. This is subject to interpretation. It's really just a social agreement. We need a file sharing utility that will be as close as possible to unimprovable. Otherwise the process of importing and exporting files will always be a big hassle.
I could be wrong about the family not being an element of family history at it core essence. But if I'm right, then GEDCOM is wrong. If GEDCOM is wrong, it needs to be replaced quickly, not gradually. Even if it means people have a lot of work to do over. I for one look forward to re-inputing all my data when Treebard is ready to accept daily work. Because I enjoy my hobby. Many will disagree. I don't have jillions of people in my trees, I have jillions of small trees. So my perspective is skewed in that way. It would be fun for me to start over. Not for everyone though. I know it's a big problem, but like any problem, the longer it isn't addressed, the harder it will be to correct when the situation finally comes to a head.