4. INFORMATION AND DATABASE STRUCTURE 
The current database configuration has been implemented in 
Microsoft Access Database Application, although it can be 
converted to any other platform such as FoxPro and Oracle. 
The designed tables contain all the appropriate fields that can 
embed the large amount of information needed to identify 
several features of the castles. A generalization of this 
information was necessary to categorize the data, which is 
common to all castles. In cases where such a categorization was 
not adequate, further miscellaneous fields were included in the 
database design. Using primary key fields and linking between 
these tables a complicated network of information (not visible 
to the simple user) has been created. Figure 3 illustrates the 
relationships between the tables and their fields. 
Information such as location, admittance, facilities, main 
historic events, architectural and construction characteristics, 
previous restoration processes, bibliography and many other, 
composes the knowledge base that is imported for each castle in 
the database file. 
The data type of tables' fields is not just text or numeric values 
but also hyperlinks, images, videos and other OLE objects. All 
these different kind of files have been used to describe all kinds 
of information. 
    
  
S. MAINTENANCE & UPDATING 
OF INFORMATION 
The data insertion was feasible through user-friendly forms, 
that can be loaded using the Microsoft Access Database 
Application, but they were also exported as HTML files so that 
data entry and browsing is also available using Internet/Intranet 
configuration. An advanced intranet user can load, update and 
modify any record of the database tables through these forms 
(fig 4). 
6. RETRIEVAL & DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION 
The simple users of the Information System are separated from 
the advanced users, whose responsibility is to insert and update 
the information in the database tables. A simple user can 
browse the data using the HTML files of the Access Microsoft 
Database file, and obtain any information that is necessary for 
his research. Data retrieval is also available using queries on a 
specific type of information stored in the separate tables of the 
database. These queries are executed using simple CGI forms. 
Links to the multimedia files (images, video sequences, etc) are 
also stored in separate HTML files that all together constitute 
the official site of the Venetian Castles of Peloponnisos, 
sponsored by the 5" Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities. 
          
    
  
  
   
   
  
     
  
  
  
    
  
         
  
  
  
   
   
     
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
    
    
        
  
  
   
  
  
  
  
     
  
  
  
  
   
    
             
   
     
     
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
       
       
     
  
      
  
  
  
  
  
  
kwdikos UT kwdikos 
description d apofash 
idryths_katas apofash Ext 
period zwnh 
kwdikos ^ cent zl foreas 
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| |idiokthths i pe 
idiotik ektasei | ln r 
eme OE ] kvedikns — Ik em | TS le 
DY a pal_tekmhriwe / xwra | vu {kont_uesh D eishthrio 
X syntakths / perifereia jtax prosbash perifrajh : 
\ \ hmeromhnia. : (per _prosbashs Fylajh 
4 \ elegxos zi aa e WC zl 
X \ / n 
À |genikos_xartt [ xarakthrismos ^  jteixh exwterikh 1 apouhkes 
topikos xarth arch perigrafl p _ katastash tei: esvterikh : apouhkes cor 
sxedia pvr oplwn «ej enisx skc katastash_ex apo_kat 
aerofwtografi v] name zi Don katastash stc 7 | — katastash es Y] urhsk, kthria zl 
vx] mme 
QU T LT C 
eponymia kwidikos | kwdikos af bm ludikos 
antikeimeno theme +" theme theme 
kwdikos Ss Martyries type type 
ar, kthmatologiou X (period meso meso 
* [cent zl [^7 date | date 
SS em 
bo = DD eo I oo 
kwdikos Rm ki kwdi | vow kwdikos 
onomasia "^. jonomasia onomasia onomasia 
katastash > katastash Ikatastash katastash 
{description description m description description 
te Jistorika > . oikodom fase ¥ | loikodom fase v] oikodom fase v 
* 7 | X CUN = + 
  
Fig. 3 Relationships of the Database tables 
—300— 
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