VAX LIMS

The remainder of this paper will discuss the Varian/Digital VAX LIMS and the way laboratory requirements are fulfilled using a database management system. 

VAX LIMS DMDB. The key to good database design is the definition of records and the set relationships between them. The VAX DMDB schema (Bachman diagram) is shown in Figure 4. The diagram shows the major records (boxes) in the database and the relationship (arrows) between the records (sets). The records and their fields are determined by the nature of the data encountered in an analytical laboratory... 

Archive and Retrieve Records. The VAX LIMS/DM provides utilities for archiving and retrieving old data. To archive, the user selects the sample I.D. s to be archived. The LIMS/DM ARCHIVE extracts the selected Analysis, Run and Result Records and stores them on tape or disk, optionally deleting them from the database. The tape or disks can then be stored off-site or in a vault. To retrieve data from the archive, the user invokes the LIMS/DM RETRIEVE utility which reloads the data in the database. The user selects the sample I.D. s to be retrieved and writes these to the LIMS/DMDB. The user can now access and use these records in the normal manner. 

The VAX LIMS is considered to be a basic system which can be modified and extended to meet specific requirements. The changes can be made at various user levels corresponding to the view of the database. 

Commercial LIMS appeared on the market in the early 1980s. These operated on then state-of-the-art minicomputers such as the 16-bit Hewlett-Packard 1000 and 32-bit Digital VAX system. By the late 1980s, several DOS-based PC LIMS operating on the primitive PC network were available. By the early 1990s, most LIMS started using commercial relational database technology and client/server systems, which operated on UNIX or the new Windows NT platform. The most advanced LIMS utilize server-based architecture to ensure system security and control. 

Information Retrieval and Reporting. Ad hoc retrieval and reporting of data using Datatrieve and other VAX languages is an important feature of LIMS as it is impossible to foresee all the future requirements for reports. The Database Query Language utility (DBQ) is used to retrieve, update and report data from compiled BASIC, PASCAL or other VAX languages. Data Manipulation Language (DML) is used by FORTRAN to access the data. 

Although more complicated, the schema may be edited to add new records, or fields, or create a new set relationships within the LIMS database. This function is usually done by the database administrator, a systems programmer or system manager in the role of database administrator. VAX DBMS... 

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