An Important Activity for Students in Mineralogy (GLG 332) Is the Determination of Mineral Names

1/4/2000

Dear Richard,

This letter concerns information with hopes of the development of a software package prepared by students of the CSC 450 Software Engineering Class. If you remember we discussed this on a few occasions. Hopefully, the information below is adequate to begin the process.

An important activity for students in Mineralogy (GLG 332) is the determination of mineral names. Students determine the physical properties of a mineral and then use special tables (determinative tables) in the textbook to ascertain the name of the mineral. The tables list the physical properties for each mineral and corresponding mineral name. The tables are long and bulky. Many students find the use of these tables tedious or time consuming.

The use of a computer software program to determine the name of minerals could be more desirable and result in a more accurate method than the use of textbook tables. The program would consist of a series of questions and a database. In a single mineral name determination, the program would prompt the student to enter each mineral property. The program would then search the database (mineral properties obtained from the text book) to reveal the name or names of minerals within the parameters of the entered properties. More than one mineral name may appear in some searches since some minerals overlap in properties with others. This result is no different than if the student would use the textbook tables.

The use of the software program by the students will be tested against the use of the textbook tables. This activity will be initiated in the Fall semester, 2000. Hopefully, the program can be written in an attractive style as in Java Script form or equivalent and be accessible on the Web. I prepared a similar program written in Basic Script in 1982. The students found the use of this software much more desirable then using the textbook tables to identify mineral names. Please find included with this letter an incomplete crude copy of the old aforementioned program written in Basic Script. This program was written during the time I took the CSC Basic Language course--so don’t be too critical. It was later rewritten in a more efficient form to include other parameters (red encircled pencil comments on copy). Unfortunately, there is no copy of this program and there may be no printer available to print a copy from the computer using the old 5inch floppy disc.

If the information above is not adequate for the initiation of this project by students enrolled in CSC 450 please inform me. I look forward in meeting with you and/or the student(s) to discuss more detailed information on putting this program together. Thanks again.

Erwin J. Mantei

Professor of Geology-geochemistry

1