ILI2005 - Tuesday 11th - Using Open Source and Open Standards to Extend Proprietary Systems

Disclaimer: I work at CISTI.

  Glen Newton 
  Originally uploaded by mstephens7.

A good picture of Glen giving his presentation, taken by Michael Stephens.

Using Open Source and Open Standards to Extend Proprietary Systems

Glen Newton, CISTI
Michael Fortin, Concordia University (co-op student)

Initial solution
- PHP
- Z39.50
- could be embedded into CMS
- due to Z39.50 problems, used Yaz Proxy
http://www.indexdata.dk/yazproxy/
- implemented using Linux, Apache, PHP 5

[slide of interface for initial solution]

results interface is simpler than the direct catalogue interface

Extensions
* moved to Ajax
* search other Z39.50 databases
* search PubMed using HTTP REST
* search Amazon using Web Services
* use Web Services to get cover art from Amazon []
* search our own metadata database (MySQL)

[slide of interface for extended solution]

basically the interface presents the search with different tabs for each service,
so you get e.g. a search for "cell" on CISTI catalogue, PubMed, Amazon

Conclusion

turned into almost a federated search

* Success due to integration of open standards and open source
* Could have been done using non open source, at greater cost
* Would prefer to have used Innovative XML Server instead of Z39.50

See CISTI Lab.

Q from Brian Kelly: Ajax is making an application inside of a web browser, what are the CLF issues.
A: Amazon.ca may offer both English and French.  Within the browser Ajax is still building HTML / XHTML
so you can still comply...
Q from Brian: but Ajax depends on JavaScript, which ? violates CLF ?