Crew work station architecture and module control station evolution study: Multimedia documentation file system, final report
L.J.M. Joosten, R.M.M. Sijmonsma · 1991
The Document File System (DFS) , delivered under the ESA Crew Work Station Architecture & Module Control Station Evolution study contract, has been developed as a subsystem of the Crew Work Station Test-bed at Estec. The kernel is based on a commercially available full-text multimedia database program Freebase of CAT-Benelux, which has been adapted to be integrated in the test-bed. The information of DFS is stored on a rewriteable optical disc or on a video long play disc. The multimedia information includes text, graphics or photos, and video. The information data is structured in documents, which consist of a number of nodes. The nodes are linked together both in a hierarchical way and with freely chosen referential links, together providing a so-called hypermedia document. Access to the documents is possible by browsing through the nodes using the links, by searching for any word in the text or headers, or by searching for Intentionally added key-words. The retrieval part of the Document File System has been realized by using the de-facto standard X Window System. Interprocess communication has been realized by using Application Communication System (ACS) from CRI, while the user interface has been implemented by using an interactive design tool called Transportable Applications Environment Plus (TAE-I-), developed by NASA. Of the hardware in use the Rewriteable Optical Disc drive is noteworthy.