The computing world's Webster

Richard Doyle knew what he was talking about when he was invited to speak at the British Computer Society Database Conference last month. It was a subject close to home - data dictionaries.

Richard, project leader in development control, was responsible for setting up the dictionary currently in use at Hemel Hempstead. “It’s sort of like a Webster’s of the computer world,” he says.

The data dictionary is used to store the definitions of all the company’s data, including how and where it’s used within our computer systems.

Richard spent a great deal of time working out in advance how the dictionary was going to be used. “It took eighteen months,” he says, “and it was important to get it right in the early stages because to go back and make changes would have been costly.”

The main benefit of this system is that it can help people fully understand the meaning and use of all the data that is processed.

"We're something of a pioneer in this market,” says Richard, “so I felt quite pleased when I was invited to discuss our experiences and uses of the dictionary at the conference.”

Richard also works as a consultant to other BP and outside companies, occasionally selling our data dictionary and interface programmes and earning the company money.

Taken from BP Oil News - May 1983