pros and cons for creating a web page as a collection of marine species
NB : this program applies to all collections of marine species (not just seashell) as long as these species are recognized by the "WoRMS" (World Register of Marine Species) site.
pros :
- automatic search for the author and the date of classification (possibly the subfamily):
"Luria lurida (Linnaeus, 1758) (Subfamily Luriinae)" - automatic insertion of a logo * on the shell scale (⇒ quick overview of the dimension)
- display of shell size (mm) and the number of specimens of each species
- we can add comments on a shell by modifying the name of the image in the collection "Luria lurida : juvenile, beach. Six-Fours (France).png" (note the ":" to separate the name from the comment).
(*) To display the logo, the tool calculates the size in pixels of the shell (if there are several views, it retains the largest size).
NB the views must be proportional to each other otherwise the display of a logo makes no sense. So, logically, the size of the front and back views should be almost identical. Some views such as the whorls of Conidae seen from above are logically smaller (diameter of the main coil) than the profile view (length of the cone). With shells of the Architectonicidae type (short columella and broad base), it is the reverse. Finally, between these two extremes, the Tegulidae-type shells fit into a cone whose base diameter is close to the height. In all cases, the size of a shell is considered to be its maximum dimension.
for each collection, calculation and automatic display of the total number of families, species and specimens in the collection.
for each families
- automatic display of the total number of species and genuses as well as the number of species of the main genuses
- automatic insertion of a header which displays the characteristics of the family (main common names, general appearance of the shells, type of food and type of marine environment)
- automatic insertion of the hierarchical classification of a family
cons :
- strict naming of species photos: official scientific name ("Pustularia cicercula tricornis.jpg").
- careful naming of family folders: (Cypraeidae, Charoniidae, etc.)
- You have to manually fill in the characteristics of a family (vernacular name, aspect, diet, environment) (This is not mandatory, by default the header remains empty)
- You must enter 3 attributes per species: number of specimens, sizes (mm) and position of the logo in the image (this is not mandatory, otherwise it is advisable to create a spreadsheet to record those data).
The program assumes that a "collection" is in a directory containing family subdirectories. Family files contain images of their species (any subdirectories in these family files are ignored).
(*) When creating a collection, the program creates a "Description" file in all family folders. It contains one line per field (name, appearance, ...). These fields must be filled in without line breaks (this is a temporary constraint before integrating an input form).