Abstract: This article explores the design of a conceptual model for publishing digital editions of texts and inscriptions in Sanskrit and other South Asian languages. Using a section from the Śivadharmottara, the rules of conduct for the communities of devotees of the god Śiva, as a case study, this research focuses on identifying the appropriate data structure for representing complex textual phenomena that are challenging to manage formally, such as non-linear overlapping hierarchies. First, we analyse the structural complexity of Sanskrit editions with examples from the Scholarly Edition of the first chapter of the Śivadharmottara edited by Florinda De Simini. Second, we describe the advantages of a graph representation over a tree representation of a text. Third, we discuss the choice of the graph database Neo4j to store the textual annotations in a stand-off graph structure to formalise the data and their relationships produced in the Śivadharma Database environment. The outcome of this research is a CRUD web application consisting of user-friendly tools to create, publish, catalogue, visualise, and browse the Śivadharma Scholarly Digital Editions online. Moreover, this web application aims to be adaptable to the needs of Scholarly Digital Editors outside the South Asian realm. The web application described in this article is based on a version from 2023.
Keywords: Scholarly Digital Editions, Sanskrit, Śivadharma Project, Data modelling, Graph database
Contenuto in: The Universe of Knowledge. Celebrating Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972)
Curatori: Fausto Freschi e Andrea Cuna
Editore: Forum
Luogo di pubblicazione: Udine
Anno di pubblicazione: 2024
Collana: Tracce. Itinerari di ricerca/Area umanistica e della formazione
ISBN: 978-88-3283-428-4
ISBN: 978-88-3283-486-4 (versione digitale/pdf)
Pagine: 193-204
DOI: 10.4424/978-88-3283-486-4-07
Licenza:
Per citare:
Martina Dello Buono e Chiara Livio,
«Designing the Complexity of Scholarly Digital Editions. The Śivadharma Project Case Study», in
Fausto Freschi e Andrea Cuna (a cura di),
The Universe of Knowledge. Celebrating Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972), Udine, Forum, 2024,
pp.
193-204