GEDCOM |
GEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication, is a pages.
= GEDCOM File Structure =
A GEDCOM file consists of a header (information technology) section, records, and a trailer section.
Records represent People (INDI record), family (FAM records), sources of Information (SOUR records), and other miscellaneous records falling into the OTHR category, most notably notes.
Every line of a GEDCOM file begins with a level number, and all top level records (the header, trailer, and each INDI, FAM, SOUR, EVEN, or OTHR) begin with a line with level 0. All other level numbers are positive integers. Although it is theoretically possible to write a GEDCOM file by hand, the format was designed to be used with Software and thus is not especially human-friendly.
= Versions =
The current version of the specification is GEDCOM 5.5 which was released in January, 1996. On December 6, 2002 a BETA version of GEDCOM 6.0 was released for developers to study and begin to implement in their software. GEDCOM 6.0 will be the first version to store data in XML format.
= Software limitations =
The file structure handles basic relationship information very well. However, some genealogists feel that keeping track of records and events is just as important as keeping track of relationships. GEDCOM stores these as details under the individual and family records. This makes them more difficult to organize and add further details. Another dilemma is it is not clear which record should own an event. For example, the record for adoption details could be associated with the child, the adopted parents, the birth parents, or the family the child becomes part of.
Another percieved weakness of the GEDCOM specification is that it has not been adopted by any formal standards body and thus is still developed and controlled by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some believe this fact has contributed to infrequent releases (the latest official version was released in 1996) and slow evolution of GEDCOM. Although a draft of the next version was released in 2002, further development has appeared to have stagnated.
As a result of the limitations of the GEDCOM format, some genealogy software incorporates the use of proprietary extensions to the GEDCOM format which are not always recognized by other genealogy programs.
= External links =
*[http://www.familysearch.org/ FamilySearch.org] - Genealogy site operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that contains information related to GEDCOM including the draft of GEDCOM XML 6.0 *[http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pmcbride/gedcom/55gctoc.htm GEDCOM 5.5 specification] (Paul McBride s HTML version)|
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