Ian Barrodale President/CEO Barrodale Computing Services

Barrodale Computing Services Ltd. (BCS), a provider of advanced software solutions since 1978, has announced the release of its free Java-based database client DaL (Draw and Load). DaL is a simple and flexible graphic tool that provides the ability to load scientific data files (in a variety of formats) into a database.

“We developed DaL to help scientists and other technical computer users move their large volumes of complex data from flat files to a database management system (DBMS),” said Dr. Ian Barrodale, President of BCS.

A DaL user can control how data is stored by simply drawing lines between graphic nodes representing file contents and database tables. DaL has support for both of BCS’s popular database extensions (DBXten and Grid DataBlades), but it can also be used without them. DaL uses Unidata's NetCDF Java library and hence can read from any one of the many file formats and protocols included in Unidata’s Common Data Model. The current version of DaL works with IBM Informix and PostgreSQL, and BCS plans to extend DaL to operate with other DBMSs.

After using DaL with a series of sequential, near real-time files (ocean surface currents determined via High Frequency Doppler Radar), one beta tester, Dave Foley a contractor at NOAA’s Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory, stated, “This is the first time I have encountered such a product, and I was favorably impressed with both the concept and the implementation of DaL. The benefits of transitioning from the storage and distribution of data from numerous files located in ad hoc directory trees to relational databases, which allow for better general organization and easy queries, can be achieved more easily by using DaL.”

BCS is a British Columbia company that provides R&D consulting services, develops customized computer software, and markets database and technical applications software. BCS has successfully completed over 450 projects since 1978 by employing a well-qualified and experienced core staff, supplemented with the services of several international consultants.