Hi Neil, There are clearly different user groups who need different tools and I'll be glad to address as many needs as possible. The principle of light-weight publishing should be re-interpreted for each case.
Longwell 2 has already eased database setup and configuration hassles: you just run it pointing to a directory of RDF files and you can right away get faceted browsing, albeit in a generic way. Longwell's other rough edges hide away this novelty, unfortunately. Longwell-CSI makes it possible to integrate that generic faceted browsing UI into any web app framework that you have by positioning the point of integration on the client side in HTML and Javascript. We started to allow for configuring Longwell-CSI's UI in Javascript, but that hasn't gotten far. Backstage was aimed to resolve 2 unknowns 1. how to spawn and set up database-backed web apps on the fly (which is not what you desire the most since you want to have your own database already set up) 2. how to bring the Exhibit style of configuration (HTML-based) back into a database-backed web app (which you want) The demo showed #1 and just a little bit of #2. The rest of #2 involves supporting lens templates and richer views like maps and timelines. So, Exhibit alone offers the small-scale, zero-setup option. Exhibit + public Backstage service offer the medium-scale, zero-setup option. And Exhibit + private Backstage installation offer the large-scale, some-setup option. If you count David Karger's suggestion to build Backstage into a Firefox extension, that's another option, particularly for boosting performance of medium-scale exhibits whose authors do not use the public Backstage service. For example, if you have a medium-sized local data file that cannot leave your computer, then that extension will be an easier solution than running Backstage separately. In a sense, that's coming back a full circle to Piggy Bank [1], our earliest attempt to bring data browsing technologies to casual users. We've learned some lessons along the way :-) David [1] http://simile.mit.edu/wiki/Piggy_Bank Neil Ireson wrote: > Hi David, > > Wow, that sounds fantastic. > > Regarding your mentioning of... > Regarding using Backstage on licensed/private data, it is possible to > install Backstage on your own server and tell Exhibit to use that > instance rather than a public Backstage service. The experiment right > now does not include that option, but there is no technical challenge > there. You actually might even want to run Backstage yourself and > connect it directly to a local Sesame store if your data is too large to > transfer as a JSON file. > > I would be very interested in this functionality (the linking to a > local Sesame Store), I know in some ways this goes against your > principles of "light-weight" publishing. However I would have thought > that it is only natural that as the user demands more "advanced" > functionality and customisation then they might reasonable expect to > have to do more than alter some parameters, or even overload a function. > > Though I fear I would be little or no help in terms of development, I > would gladly help in and way my time and ability allow (e.g. user > testing). > > N > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Think you know your TV, music and film? Try Search Charades! > <https://www.searchcharades.com> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://simile.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/general > _______________________________________________ General mailing list [email protected] http://simile.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/general
