Supported Database Platforms
SDMS data acquisition system supports ORACLE 9, 10, 11, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008.
Supported Methods of Connection
SDMS supports the following methods of connection:
| 1) | File Upload - The recognition server provides a secure Website that can accept user files. The upload can be done either manually by the user or automatically by the Document Grabbers. For more information, refer to the chapter Loading Files into SDMS. For information about the File Grabber, refer to the section SDMS Grabber. |
NOTE HTTP upload provides a stable platform for uploading large quantities of data without much overhead.
| 2) | Web-based - Web services are used for various actions that the document grabbers require, such as connection to external systems such as a LIMS. |
| 3) | Add-inns - Users can connect directly from Microsoft Office applications such as Outlook, Word, and Excel using the SDMS Add-ins feature. For more information, see the chapter Using MS Office Add-Ins and Composite Documents. |
Supported File Types
The system's server includes various dedicated parsers for the most common document types such as PDF, Word (.Doc, Docx), plain text (.Txt), Power Point, XPS, FCS, CSV, XLS and XLSX (such as Microsoft Excel). As a design platform, it allows easy addition of new file parsers and other data entry methods.
Data parser support is handled in the following ways:
| • | Microsoft Office - SDMS supports the Microsoft Office 2007 formats natively. Other versions are supported transparently using a Microsoft conversion tool. Microsoft Office is not required on the client side, or on the server side. Only the Microsoft migration tool is needed and installed during SDMS installation process. |
| • | PDF - SDMS supports reading PDF binary files. |
NOTE The output of the various formats is IDRF (Intermediate Document Representation Format). Depending on the parser, the IDRF is properly marked for processing stages. IDRF provides SDMS with the ability to translate document contents into a readable form. IDRF also includes word population statistics and sentence structures, which allows various data mining algorithms to be applied. Extraction of metadata based on weighted data (word repetition counts, font/style difference, dictionaries, and so on) results in high accuracy of automatic tag extraction.
Supported Methods of Information Output
The method used for information output is Unified XML, which is an open XML schema that both the data acquisition system and external software such as STARLIMS can read. XML templates are prepared for various documents and the data acquisition server can fill these templates from the incoming documents. It is possible to run batches of documents that are formatted in the same manner, which allows multiple file XML extraction.
Supported Instruments Connectivity
The system comes with predefined connectivity drivers for HL7 and ASTM protocols. Using a dedicated drivers designer, new protocols can be easily defined to support connectivity to a wide range of instruments, starting from simple balancers to advanced and complex analyzers.