Where can I find information on PAF? Specifically how it works and what data model it used?
Good day. My name is Selouna Visser. I am a postgraduate student at the North-West University in South Africa. My research investigates the applicability of storing genealogical data according to some of the newer data models used in databases. Part of my literature study is to give a background on the effect that technology had over the years on how we store genealogical data and how the different data models that were used changed over time. Is there anyone that can provide me with more details on how the personal ancestral file worked and what type of data model it used?
Answers
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Hello Selouna
The above link will take you to an article with information about the PAF programme, as well as some links to further details.
We hope that this will help you in your research and studies.
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Hi Selouna,
You may want to start your investigations around GEDCOM (in general), GEDCOM X, and GEDCOM 7. GEDCOM has been the standard for genealogical data exchange for decades.
I worked on many versions of PAF back in the day, though not as an engineer. I'll forward your inquiry to a few people who might have the historical context you're looking for.
For storage, are you more interested in how users stored their own personal data or how big collections of data were stored? FS was a pioneer in using compact discs to distribute large data collections in the early 90s.
Users followed the consumer technologies commonly available--floppy disks, hard disks, thumb drives, etc.
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It might be very helpful if you could give us more background as to what you are really trying to accomplish.
PAF is not even used any more - but maybe it isn't so much PAF you need to know about - but more generally how genealogical data is stored and organized in a database.
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Hi @Family Bible . Unfortunately, it is information specifically about PAF that I am looking for. I'm doing my master's studies in computer science and my application field is genealogy. Part of my dissertation is that I should do a literature study on the main topics in my research namely genealogy and databases. My 2nd chapter of the literature study is about how technology (specifically computers) influenced the collection, storing and visual representation of genealogical data. The 3rd chapter is about databases more specifically data models. Unfortunately, I cannot just name this software, I need to investigate them, see how they worked and what type of data models they used in order to show the progress and changes that took place over time. So far I've created a timeline of all the significant changes that happened in genealogical software since when software was first used to capture genealogical data until now. For e.g. GEDCOM currently uses an extended relational data model to prescribe how the data should be stored. This also determines how the database in which the data are stored is designed. The first version of PAF was released before the entity relational data model/database was well established so from what I can deduce is that it should've used a hierarchical or network data model but I cannot find any information that can confirm this for me. I hope this makes a bit more sense. @vanwagenenl , does this also answer your question with regard to the storage? Thank you for everyone's help. I appreciate it.
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Interesting project you've gotten into. Just to clarify, it sounds like you:
1) Are not looking at storage media. That has very little to do with database structure.
2) Are not looking at GEDCOM. That has never been and is still not a genealogy database structure. It is just a method or genealogy programs to translate their proprietary database structure into a simple text file that any other genealogy program can then take and translate into its proprietary database structure.
But what you actually need is the database structure of PAF 1.0. Since the original PAF was basically Ancestral Quest at the time, your best bet is probably to contact Ancestral Quest directly at https://www.ancquest.com/index.htm and ask if they can provide that information for you. I would hope that they have improved the program so much from when it was first produced that the original database structure is so obsolete that it is not any kind of company secret.
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Ancestral Quest wasn't involved way back in the PAF 1.0 days. It came into the picture much later on.
Your clarifications help. It's going to take some time to find and gather what info exists.
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What a fantastic research project. I am looking for a spec that we had for converting paf files, but it may only apply to the later versions of PAF.
I would also recommend that you contact the following individuals:
Gaylon Findlay - he is the founder and developer of AncestralQuest, which later versions of PAF were based upon. He may have knowledge of the earlier database structures because his product supported file conversions from old formats.
Bill Harten - he is one of the original authors of the GEDCOM specification. Though you are not specifically looking for GEDCOM information, he was involved in the development of early database structures used by FamilySearch.
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