Add date field to text critical apparatus search

[fmcfee]

I just finished the webinar with Dr.J on GNT Textual Criticism...he did a great job..

although, I am beginner, I have all the apparatus...

 

It would nice to be able to search apparatus for the dates (or range for example 2nd century) to see what the earliest witness have.....

 

the information is available in instant details but for only one witness at a time...

Thanks for your consideration!

 

Frank

Edited July 29, 2014 by fmcfee

[Timothy Jenney]

Frank specifically mentioned he could see an advantage in adding the field to the CNTTS apparatus.

[fmcfee]

Frank specifically mentioned he could see an advantage in adding the field to the CNTTS apparatus.

Dr. J,

 

Thanks for the clarification..

Frank

[Matthew Burgess]

This would be welcome as long as the tentative nature of paleographical dating is emphasized... the dates listed in apparatuses such as CNTTS and NA27-28 should be viewed as guidelines rather than absolutes. Also, the search parameters would have to account for the fact that most manuscripts are assigned to a particular century, but others are not (for example, P46 and P66 are assigned to "ca. 200").

[Michael J. Bolesta]

1+ for this feature

[Rick Bennett]

In theory it sounds like a good idea, but it isn't possible in Accordance. Adding a field presupposes there is content to search for. These dates are in a table in CNTTS, and so yes, are searchable. But there is nothing to link those dates with manuscripts except the hyperlinks we create. We can't search inside a hyperlink; it merely points to a location elsewhere in the resource. Theoretically we would need to tag each manuscript with some sort of hidden date metadata that could be searched though it is not actual content - and this defies the entire paradigm of searching tools in Accordance since everything you search for is actually indexed and displayed in the module itself.

 

Even then, as Matthew pointed out, the dates are often ranges or approximations, so searching them becomes potentially convoluted.

 

The best workaround I can think of (and others are free to chime in as well) is to create some sort of saved list that you then paste into the search bar in a parenthesized list.

 

The other one is old school; use and study TC more and you will begin to recognize which manuscripts are earlier, later, mostly fragmentary, etc.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps to think through the process and let you see that we do read requests and think through them as well! (at least when it relates to a research focus of mine )

[Michael J. Bolesta]

Thanks Rick! Makes sense.

[Anon]

Theoretically we would need to tag each manuscript with some sort of hidden date metadata that could be searched though it is not actual content - and this defies the entire paradigm of searching tools in Accordance since everything you search for is actually indexed and displayed in the module itself.

 

XML

[fmcfee]

In theory it sounds like a good idea, but it isn't possible in Accordance. Adding a field presupposes there is content to search for. These dates are in a table in CNTTS, and so yes, are searchable. But there is nothing to link those dates with manuscripts except the hyperlinks we create. We can't search inside a hyperlink; it merely points to a location elsewhere in the resource. Theoretically we would need to tag each manuscript with some sort of hidden date metadata that could be searched though it is not actual content - and this defies the entire paradigm of searching tools in Accordance since everything you search for is actually indexed and displayed in the module itself.

 

Even then, as Matthew pointed out, the dates are often ranges or approximations, so searching them becomes potentially convoluted.

 

The best workaround I can think of (and others are free to chime in as well) is to create some sort of saved list that you then paste into the search bar in a parenthesized list.

 

The other one is old school; use and study TC more and you will begin to recognize which manuscripts are earlier, later, mostly fragmentary, etc.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps to think through the process and let you see that we do read requests and think through them as well! (at least when it relates to a research focus of mine )

Rick,

 

Thanks for your reply....my thoughts were that you would have a database and you would just have to add a new item to make it searchable (obviously I don't have a clue about Accordance programming) ....The DSS index has a date field and I have used it....I realize nothing would be perfect....but it would be better than looking at things manually....I do have some resources that list that (like Aland and Aland) but I thought it would be nice to search CNTTS for 2nd century witness, etc and see which books, chapters, etc are supported

 

Frank

Edited July 30, 2014 by fmcfee

[Rick Bennett]

Rick,

 

Thanks for your reply....my thoughts were that you would have a database and you would just have to add a new item to make it searchable (obviously I don't have a clue about Accordance programming) ....The DSS index has a date field and I have used it....I realize nothing would be perfect....but it would be better than looking at things manually....I do have some resources that list that (like Aland and Aland) but I thought it would be nice to search CNTTS for 2nd century witness, etc and see which books, chapters, etc are supported

 

Frank

 

The DSS Index is a much different resource. The dates are listed under the description of each fragment, but you still cannot search for every instance of a 1st century fragment across the entire module. And in that case it uses date ranges. If you search the date field for a date that falls between that range you won't find a hit for it unless it happens to be one of the limits used in another range.

Edited July 30, 2014 by Rick Bennett