A statistical database component of a data analysis and modelling system: lessons from eight years of user experience

When development of the Consistent System, a large-scale data analysis and modellmg system for the social, policy, and behavioral sciences, began, it was determined that database management facilities would be necessary to handle the variety of complex data that were anticipated, The primary data base management component of that system, called Janus, has been in use, in two prototypes and then in production form, at several sites and by a variety of users, since about 1975. This paper reviews some of the original design considerations about Janus (including its relationship to the rest of the Consistent System) and reflects on them in the light of user experiences and commenrs in the subsequent years.