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== The mx wiki ==
 
  
<p>  Welcome to the home of the mx ('m'atri'x', yes we're considering other names ) project. </p>
 
  
<p>mx is a collaborative on-line (completely web-based) content management system for evolutionary systematists, particularly those working on descriptive taxonomy.</p>
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<div style="padding:1em;border:1px solid red;margin:1em;">
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<p> The codebase of Mx will being rolled into a new initiative from the Species File Group, [http://taxonworks.org TaxonWorks]. Contact --[[User:Matt|matt]] ([[User talk:Matt|talk]]) 10:06, 25 March 2013 (CDT) if you have questions, or would like to join this effort.  Details and resources to follow in May, 2013. </p>
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</div>
  
<p>mx handles a wide range of data. Researchers are presently using it to manage morphological matrices, specimen and sequence data, taxonomic descriptions, images, collecting events, taxonomic hierarchies and more.</p>
 
  
<p> Thanks to Johan Lijleblad there is a now a basic '''[[Guide|Guide]]''' available that helps users start using the matrix-related functions of mx.  That guide was originally written for a specific project, but we've translated it to a more generally applicable set of help that is now available on this wiki.  The alpha version, including all of Johan's figures or replica's there of is now completely loaded to the wiki.</p>
 
  
<p> We've recently tied in-application help to this wiki. That '''[[App| help will ultimately indexed here]]'''. Until then you can access the help pages directly through though <span class="hll">wiki-help</span> links in the mx application. If you don't find help after clicking the <span class="hll">wiki-help</span> link try the old <span class="hll">help</span> link the application. If there is help text there feel free to copy it over to the wiki, its permanent home! We are planning that the old <span class="hll">help</span> link will will ultimately be revamped for project-specific help for those who want to customize comments to project members. </p>
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<div style="padding:1em;border:1px solid orange;margin:1em;"> <p> The content here is becoming dated, but is largely accurate for the (very-stable) SVN-archived version of mx on Sourceforge (edge branch) that uses Rails version 2.3.18. </p>
  
<br/>
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<p> Ongoing development and updates are now on [http://github.com/mx3 GitHub].  Please also join the new [https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/mx-developers developers list]. </p> </div>
  
== What's it being used for? ==
 
  
<p> The mx database currently has both private and public front ends, each of which are web based.  Search forms or other public accessible components can be wrapped is different layouts relatively easily:</p>
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== Welcome to the homepage for mx ==
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<p> mx (preferred reference all lowercase) is a Ruby-based platform that consists of a Ruby on Rails (RoR) application and various supporting gems/libraries. Initially conceived and developed as a collaborative web-based content management system for biosystematists mx now has a wide range of functionality much of which can broadly categorized under the umbrella of biodiversity informatics.</p>
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<p> mx is a relatively flexible codebase as highlighted by some of its more utilized functionality: </p>
  
=== Projects accessible to public ===
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* Ontologies - A wide range of functionality for creating and develop ontologies (e.g. anatomical) that are exportable to OBO formats
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* Phylogenetic matrices - A wide range of support for matrix development, including much utility coding very large matrices (e.g. 1000x1000)
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* Specimen metadata - Museum level specimen curation ''very simple IPT integration coming Spring 2011''
 +
* DNA workbench - Audit trails from specimen to sequence including generation of PCR worksheets and FASTA import
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* Taxonomic catalogs - Data managed, updated, then presentable to then exportable to various formats (e.g. ITIS)
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* Taxon pages/treatments - Customize templates then add dynamic (e.g. matrix based descriptions) or text content and figures
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* Biological associations - For example- cataloging host-parasite records
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* Multiple-entry and bifurcating keys
  
* [http://evaniid.tamu.edu  Catalogous Evaniidorum]
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<p> Features are additionally highlighted in [[Features | this summary]]. </p>
* [http://hymglossary.tamu.edu  Hymenoptera Glossary] and see [http://ceb.scs.fsu.edu/ronquistlab/ontology/wiki/index.php/Main_Page the wiki for that project]
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<p> Highlights of some things that makes mx special: </p>
* [http://www.amentinst.org The American Entomological Institute]
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<br/>
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* Multi-user, multi-project support in one installation
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* A universal tagging system for workflow management or annotations
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* Implementation of an OTU ('O'perational 'T'axonomic 'U'nit) as a core data object- this cleanly separates content from nomenclature
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* A completely open-source based approach, code updates are not squirreled away until research is published
  
=== Screenshots ===
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== How do I use it? ==
  
<p> Researchers use a private set of forms to enter and manage their data, see these [[Screen_Shots | screen shots]].</p>
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There are two general paths:
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# Find someone who is hosting a installation of mx and ask them to create a project for you.
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# Install your own instance and create your own projects.  See [[Installation]] and the FAQ for more on this option.
  
== How do I get it? ==
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== The hack-mx workshop ==
  
=== Source ===
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In October, 2011 a hack-mx workshop was held for people with a wide range of programming experience (from none, to expert).  Download the tutorials/exercises that were used [http://www.phenomix.org/phenomix/hack-mx_tutorials/hack-mx_tutorials.zip here] (.zip, remote site).
  
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/mx-database Source, bug tracking etc. at Sourceforge. ]
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<div style="font-size: larger; padding: 1em; text-align: center; width: 80%; margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto; border-top: 1px dotted silver;">
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[[Public projects| projects with public data]] | [[Publications| publications etc.]] | [[Roadmap | roadmap]] | [[Credit | credit]] | [[Funding | funding/support]] </div>
  
=== Installation notes ===
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__NOTOC__
 
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There are some [[Installation | installation notes here]].
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<br/>
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== Credits ==
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mx is coded by Matt Yoder and Krishna Dole with help from Andy Deans.  Johan Lijleblad and Katja Seltmann have provided documentation and much useful feedback. Many others, in particular the Wharton (TAMU), Cognato (MSU), and Heraty (UCR) labs have provided feedback.<br/>
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Various previous projects influenced the development of mx, in particular:
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* The table structure for specimens and collecting event related data is loosely based on the TAMUIC insect collection's database programmed by Yoder and Oswald.  That database was in turn loosely based on a very early draft (pre 1998) of the [http://www.specifysoftware.org Specify] table structure. 
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* Some of the tables containing matrix related data are based on Yoder's early MS Access database mtrx, which was greatly simplified from Gregor Hagedorn's software Delta Access (apparently no longer available on-line, but see [http://freedelta.sourceforge.net/ here]).
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* We presently have some tables that have not been developed (i.e. we have no working front end) that are very loosely based on the [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15545259&dopt=Abstract Metacanthomorpha database.]
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== Help on using this wiki ==
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* [[MediaWiki:Common.css | Available customizations to the css particular to the mx wiki]]
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* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list]
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* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ]
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* [http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce MediaWiki release mailing list]
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Latest revision as of 11:41, 3 April 2014


The codebase of Mx will being rolled into a new initiative from the Species File Group, TaxonWorks. Contact --matt (talk) 10:06, 25 March 2013 (CDT) if you have questions, or would like to join this effort. Details and resources to follow in May, 2013.


The content here is becoming dated, but is largely accurate for the (very-stable) SVN-archived version of mx on Sourceforge (edge branch) that uses Rails version 2.3.18.

Ongoing development and updates are now on GitHub. Please also join the new developers list.


[edit] Welcome to the homepage for mx

mx (preferred reference all lowercase) is a Ruby-based platform that consists of a Ruby on Rails (RoR) application and various supporting gems/libraries. Initially conceived and developed as a collaborative web-based content management system for biosystematists mx now has a wide range of functionality much of which can broadly categorized under the umbrella of biodiversity informatics.

mx is a relatively flexible codebase as highlighted by some of its more utilized functionality:

  • Ontologies - A wide range of functionality for creating and develop ontologies (e.g. anatomical) that are exportable to OBO formats
  • Phylogenetic matrices - A wide range of support for matrix development, including much utility coding very large matrices (e.g. 1000x1000)
  • Specimen metadata - Museum level specimen curation very simple IPT integration coming Spring 2011
  • DNA workbench - Audit trails from specimen to sequence including generation of PCR worksheets and FASTA import
  • Taxonomic catalogs - Data managed, updated, then presentable to then exportable to various formats (e.g. ITIS)
  • Taxon pages/treatments - Customize templates then add dynamic (e.g. matrix based descriptions) or text content and figures
  • Biological associations - For example- cataloging host-parasite records
  • Multiple-entry and bifurcating keys

Features are additionally highlighted in this summary.

Highlights of some things that makes mx special:

  • Multi-user, multi-project support in one installation
  • A universal tagging system for workflow management or annotations
  • Implementation of an OTU ('O'perational 'T'axonomic 'U'nit) as a core data object- this cleanly separates content from nomenclature
  • A completely open-source based approach, code updates are not squirreled away until research is published

[edit] How do I use it?

There are two general paths:

  1. Find someone who is hosting a installation of mx and ask them to create a project for you.
  2. Install your own instance and create your own projects. See Installation and the FAQ for more on this option.

[edit] The hack-mx workshop

In October, 2011 a hack-mx workshop was held for people with a wide range of programming experience (from none, to expert). Download the tutorials/exercises that were used here (.zip, remote site).


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