Web Based Knowledge Management System for the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo

Abstract

This is a Web-Based Knowledge Management system that enables researchers of the Department of Zoology to easily upload information from the field or the laboratory, for the benefit of teachers, students, laymen as well as fellow researchers. The general public can also log on and view pages with general information.

It is a database oriented Web-based client-server system with features to insert and view information, and contains features such as a two step login using text files, as well as a database, a file upload facility, a chatting system and a digital library. The system is developed using the PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) Sever-side Scripting language, with MySQL as the database. It runs on an Apache web server. Apache, PHP and MySQL are all open source software. This means that the system is easily installed and run with very little additional. Unlike proprietary software, these can be downloaded free from the internet and installed on the computer.

The categorization of users ensures that confidential data and documents can be stored in the same system where non-confidential data has been stored. The use of sessions and other special programming functions ensures that one cannot load a page without logging to the system, just by typing the page name on the address bar.

The chat system can be used by researchers. There is also an anonymous chat system where users can login and chat using an alias name. This is especially important for laymen, students and junior staff members who would like to contribute information without revealing their identities.

It contains facilities where the classification details of bats can be view inserted and edited. It also contains facilities for inserting, editing and viewing the general information of bats. Here the images of bats as well as maps of their distribution can be uploaded to the system. This can be a great source of information for schoolchildren who do projects on bats. In addition, there is a digital library. There is a facility where documents can be uploaded to the library. This also contains a search facility. The search facility allows documents to be searched and displayed based on three criteria – the Name, Title and Subject of the documents.