19th International CODATA Conference
Category: Poster

Thermodynamic Data Compilations Using Tentative Standard Electronic Files (SELF) and
Digital Object Identifiers (DOI)

Henry V. Kehiaian (kehiaian@paris7.jussieu.fr)
ITODYS (University of Paris 7) and ELDATA (Paris), France


The concept of SELF (Standard ELectronic File) has been developed in 1998-2002 by the Task Group on Standard Physico-Chemical Data Formats (IUCOSPED) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) in cooperation with the International Council of Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI). A data portal, called DataExplorer (Fachinformationszentrum, Karlsruhe, Germany), implemented SELFs for a variety of physico-chemical properties. As an application of this concept, ELDATA has compiled a comprehensive database (hard copy, CD, and soon Internet) on Heats of Mixing and Solution, the first volume of which was published in 2004 by Springer-Verlag in the famous Landolt-Boernstein collection. Other databases are now underway.

Each SELF file is characterized by several Digital Object Identifiers (DOI), the objects being the publisher, the publication, the property type, the chemical system (mixture
components), and the full reference to the original source of data.

The presentation consists of a computer demonstration of this database and of other ELDATA products which include tentative SELFs and DOIs. The objective is to show the importance of internationally accepted SELF formats and DOIs (replacing the present tentative ones) in developing scientific databases.