Comments for Unit 9 Readings

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Comments for Unit 8 Reading Notes

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Unit 9 Notes

"An Introduction to the Extensible Markup Language (XML)"

I tried to focus on what XML is and is not - in hope to distinguish it from other things that we are learning about dealing with computer language...

• XML is a subset of the SGML which is designed to maker it easier to interchange structured documents over the Internet
• Unlike SGML, XML does not require the presence of a DTD which means that XML system can assign a default definition for undeclared components of a markup
• XML was not designed to be a standardized way of coding text - instead, it is a formal language that can be used to pass info of component parts of a doc to other computer systems.
• XML differs from other markup languages because it sets out to clearly identify the boundaries of every part of a doc
• XML-coded files are ideal for storing in databases because they are object-orientated and hierarchical in nature - meaning that they can adopt to any type of database = ensure transferability to a many types of hardware and software environments
  

"Extending Your Markup: An XML Tutorial"

For some reason I did not find this article as helpful as the above article, and actually... it made me more confused about XML after reading this, than I was after reading the previous article...

• XML = semantic language that lets you meaningfully annotate text
• XML syntax starts with a prolog and contains one element
• Elements can be either nonterminal or terminal
• Elements have 0 or more attributes and attributes can have different data types
• There are XML extensions which include namespaces which allow more powerful addressing and linking abilities
• DDML, DCD, SOX, and DCD, address several disadvantages with XML documents
• Developments to watch = RDF (resource description framework) and DOM (document object model)

"Survey of XML Standards: Part 1"

I found this article very confusing - because XML was suppose to be something simple... but with all these "technologies" which seem so alike... I'm not convinced that this is so.

• XML - vast and growing with a huge variety of standards and technologies that interact in complex ways
• Outlines the most important XML technologies - all are standard
• XML 1.0 to XML 1.1 which is the first revision of XML that changes the definition of a well-formed XML document (doc or docs)
  
• XML 1.1 also revises the treatment of characters and adds to the list of line-end

• XML Namespaces (also brought up in "Extending your Markup") which is a mechanism for universal naming of elements and attributes in XML docs
• XML Base - means of associating XML elements with URIs in order to specify how relative URIs are resolved in relevant XML processing actions
• XInclude (XML Inclusion) provides a system for merging XML docs
• XML InfoSet (Information Set) defines an abstract way of describing an XML doc as information sets, with specialized properties
• Canonical XML - generates a physical representation of an XML doc that accounts for the variations allowed in XML syntax without changing the meaning
• XPath (XML Path Language) is a syntax and a data model for addressing parts of an XML doc and is also the most successful XML technology (beside the XML 1.0)
• XPointer (X Pointer Framework) defines a language that can be used to refer to fragments of an XML doc
• XLink (XML Linking Language) provides a generic framework for expressing links in XML docs and allows much richer linking than one-way HTML
• Relax NG - an XML schema langage that can be used to define a limit XML vocabularies
• W3C XML Schema defines (yet another) schema language for XML. One part allows to constrain the structure of the document and the second part allows to constrain the contents of a simple element and attributes
• Schematron - Schema language that uses a different approach than DTD, Relax NG, or WXS. You register a collection of rules against which the XML doc is to be checked, rather than mapping out the entire tree structure of the XML format you are trying to express from root node to the leaves.

"XML Schema Tutorial"

Again, probably the most helpful article out of them all again. I really like the way this website approaches tutoring those who have no idea what they are doing with languages. It says all the basic stuff that the first two articles said, but also gives better explanations and just seems to display better what they are talking about.

Muddiest Point: How can XML system assign a default definition for undeclared components of the markup but SGML cannot (wouldn't they just create a fix for that in SGML?)

Assignment 5: Collection Building in Koha ILS

My library collection is called "Public Libraries" and the URL is:

http://pitt4.kohawc.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/bookshelves/shelves.pl

Week/Unit 8 Readings

HTML Tutorial and CSS Tutorial

I found both of these websites extremely helpful, although at first, after reading the HTML one, I was a little bit confused by the CSS Tutorial. The more I read about CSS, the more I understood how it can help HTML (at first I thought it was a whole new thing). I think CSS is a good compliment to HTML use, especially when you want to add more character or personality to your webpage. Overall, I was glad to finally learn how to do the simple things of making a webpage that I have always wondered about.

HTML Cheatsheet
I found the HTML tutorial more helpful since it gave examples and went more in depth about how to start a web page. This would be a good sheet to use once you have read the HTML tutorial and need a quick reference back to what you read when you are building a web page.

Beyond HTML

I never heard of CMS - I am sure I have probably used it before without knowing it, but it seemed to have made common sense for GSU to switch over to CMS. The problem with GSU library websites was that it was not standardized - librarians were publishing their own work, with their own standards, and it seemed to have confused a lot of people (plus wasted a lot of time doing their own formatting). The quality and consistency of the library guides was not as professional as GSU wished it to be. To switch over to CMS solved many of these problems.

What makes CMS so useful to librarians is that "content is disconnected from the layout and design element of the page... instead of devoting time with HTML or FrontPage to create the structural or presentational display... the librarians can focus instead on identifying, creating, annotating, and selecting the content itself." So CMS does all of the formatting which gives it a standard look, and a standard for quality and consistency. Another helpful tool of CMS is that it provides just enough control - it allows creators to have more direct editorial access to their assigned components as well as acting as a "limited gatekeeper." Another interesting aspect of CMS is that once a material is used, say a book, it is available for all other assigned user to use that material. So if you already put it in once, it doesn't have to be put in again because it can be re purposed or repackaged. Finally, as the GSU library had problems with pages accidentally being deleted, CMS did not have this problem.

The library did a study on the switchover from HTML and FrontPage to CMS - and overall it was a successful switchover with most people agreeing that CMS helped unify the library's online content while also allowing user to experience ease of use.

Muddiest Point: What does the Pitt library use? And has the Pitt library experienced a switchover in the past? If so, what were their results?

Week 7 Comments

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Jing Assignment

Assignment Number 4: Working with Jing


Part I, Screencast URL: http://www.screencast.com/t/PqMD9N0pk

URLs for Image Capture Part II, in Flickr:

Stage 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30417127@N04/2907796012/in/set-72157607672078187/

Stage 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30417127@N04/2907796188/in/set-72157607672078187/

Stage 3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30417127@N04/2906952009/in/set-72157607672078187/

Stage 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30417127@N04/2907796450/in/set-72157607672078187/

Stage 5: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30417127@N04/2906952431/in/set-72157607672078187/

Discussion on RFID

I posted a short response to the use of RFID in libraries on the Discussion Board in Courseweb.

Week 7 Readings

Google Video
The first map they showed was pretty cool, I saw it somewhere else, but I completely forgot about it. It was really neat to see where the activity was coming from and also where Google hoped to get more activity from (such as Africa). Another neat thing I learned from this video was the Google Foundation - and how they want to make the world a better place, whether it is through health, education, or even protecting animals.

Google seems like such a "small" company in their approach at the office and towards their coworkers. I found it so interesting how they adopted the 20% rule in which they allow their workers to do something that is important to them - such as project Orkut. It was also neat to hear more about what they do for their employees and how they are trying to make work a more relaxing environment (such as the dog).

Finally, when he mentioned about the greatest things about Google: that they make their money from advertising which means that everyone, even poor people, around the world can use Google for free rather than just a wealthy nation having the tool, it really made Google seem like it cares about people and spreading information (rather than hoarding).

Overall, I found this video extremely interesting to see more of a personal side about Google rather than just the non-humanlike search bar and results.

"How Internet Infrastructure Works"

I found this article somewhat interesting - there were many things that I learned, although a few things confused me.

• ISP - when you connect to your ISP, you become part of the network in which the ISP then connects to a larger network = Internet is a network of networks
• POP - place for local users to access the company's network - no overall controlling network, but high level connection networks through NAPs
• Importance of backbones and routers: routers, make sure that info goes where it is suppose to go and that information makes the intended destination; backbones are fiber optic trunk lines
  
• So neat - that the info can travel halfway across the world through several different networks in a fraction of a second
• Every machine using the Internet has an IP address = language that computers use to communicate over the Internet (a pre-defined way)
• URL - contains the domain name which = DNS servers translate the human-readable domain name into the machine readable IP address
  
• Redundancy - one key to making the DNS and IP work
• Internet servers make the Internet possible - because all machines are either servers or clients and a server machines makes it service available to a user (client)
  

"Dismantling Integrated Library Systems"
Some interesting points, and things I learned from this article:

• The web creates opportunities, challenges, and expectations that are changing ILS
• Old systems tend to be inflexible and nonextensible
  
• New expectation - that new modules will communicate with old ones, and that vendors, libraries, and ILS can all work together by the new models - BUT interoperability is not happening, more a myth than a reality
• Creating new ILS is unrealistic and besides, it doesn't fit libraries needs since they desire one-stop search and retrieval rather than a myriad of information silos
• Libraries didn't pay enough for their ILS - but now that is changing since there are new standalone models to be purchased, maintenance costs, and supporting this technology
• Some of the best ideas in online library services come from librarians themselves - because they can experiment, develop, and offer what works best for them, rather than having a non-librarian try to build something for librarians to use
• Open source - very important to ILS - value of open standards and protocols - this is what librarians now believe they can create interoperability with vendors
• Future = integration
  
• "Library systems are changing because library assets are changing"

Muddiest Point: Why isn't there a common ILS used between vendors and librarians to begin with? As soon as 1 good/reliable ILS was developed, why wasn't that adopted as a standard method? Wouldn't this make it easier for both of them, rather than fighting against the tide of one another?