ConIstat-on-line Short term statistical time-series data base in web environment

1. ConIstat-on-line Short term statistical time-series data base in web environment http://con.istat.it By Francesco Rizzo (rizzo@istat.it)

2. Project requirements The timely availability of short term economic data is one of the main problems in the field of diffusion of high frequency data. Moreover a quick and easy access to the data is an important requirement by users The development of WEB technology and high-performance and low cost hardware, have led ISTAT to build a short term statistics data base, replacing the one on CD-ROM.

3. What is ConIstat ConIstat is a complex Information System that manages data in time-series format. Time-series are stored in a DBMS and the user can run a web application that accesses data from the DB and present it to the user in an understandable format. ConIstat makes available to users a data base containing more then 9.000 time-series of short term indicators produced by Istat. ConIstat allows to display tables with data organized in time-series, coming from different surveys, referring to many sector of industry and services.

4. Intranet Internet CE PI check loader loader FO .chk .ist .dat Access/ Oracle TU Amerigo VE Oracle GI Manager DataSender CN Email Sollecito FL

5. Department Data Services Central Services Person responsable for data End User Data preparation Email delivering (background) Intranet DB updating Clock Caledar Alert Email Updated Data Checking (off-line) Files DBMS NO Remind Process (background) Table formatted data Process (background) Are all data correct? YES Clock E-mail data File delivering Internet DB updating

6. Data Preparation Services (1/3) ConIstat stores data from different production Departments. Usually Departments have different coding systems and different structure of data files. The person responsible for data in each department runs an application (called Check) that transforms the heterogeneous data source into a compatible ConIstat data format.

7. Data Preparation Services (2/3) Besides this “Check” application updates the DB on the intranet. The person responsible for data can check, through a web access if the DB was updated correctly. Then he can deliveries, via email, the data file to the person who will provide to update the DB on the Internet Usually data source is a data file containing data in time-serie format, from the beginning period to the last period. The application reads the input file. Each peace of data in the input file is identified by a code. The application checks the code. If the code is wrong, the application writes it in a log file. If the code is right, the application queries the DB to check whether that data is already stored within. In this case the application rejects the data, otherwise it writes the data to the output file.

8. For the time being the domains are the following: • Prices • Services (turnover) • Employment wages and other labor indicators • Industry (production, turnover, new orders) • Foreign trade • Labor force quarterly survey • National quarterly accounts • Each domain includes data drown from one or more survey.

10. During planning phase, it was noted that several functions already present in the CD-ROM version have been extensively appreciated by user, so the main goal was to design carefully the user interface to reach the right compromise between what the CD-ROM version offered and what the on-line data base could offer: the user interface has been implemented through a search system (navigation) designed to be logic and intuitive, also allowing beginners to use the system. Users have unlimited and free access to the data base.

11. Main Functions that a user can perform with the web navigator (1/2) • personal authentication by inserting a user ID and a password or registration by filling in an on-line form. In this case, the proper userID and password will be sent immediately to the new user by e-mail; • choose of the right language (italian or english) • data search by the ATECO (Italian version of NACE) code, by Main Economic Industrial Groupings (MIGS), by Esa95 or by Domain; • time-series displaying and comparing from different ATECO, MIGS, ESA95 or different aggregates; • data selection by choosing the time-series and the appropriate time interval (starting period – starting year, ending period – ending year);

12. Main Functions that a user can perform with the web navigator (2/2) • simultaneous management of time-series with different frequencies; • full metadata visibility; • management of both raw and seasonally-adjusted time-series; • time-series download in text (.txt) and csv file format; • put extracted data on a graph. • saving of one or more search paths in a personal “portafolio”, in order to recall them during the following work sessions;

13. Future developments • Data Sender (on testing): the system automatically and periodically send by email or ftp to the user, who subscribes this service, data sets of time-series, in Text or XML format, ready to be loaded in analysis software like SAS or Excel; • Enlarging the domains and sub-domains with other indicators referred to: agriculture, constructions, harmonized consumer price index, hourly contractual wages, working days adjusted industrial production index, etc. • Include new simple computing capabilities on the time-series (e.g. the calculation of percentage changes)