Category: Technology

Learning PHP LIBR 559P @ SLAIS

So this term, I decided to take the 1-credit Introductory PHP course, LIBR 599P.

Topics Covered

  • What is PHP?
  • PHP language basics – print, comments
  • Variables (pre-defined, defining, manipulating) and arrays – create, print
  • Passing Data – POST & GET
  • If/else and For Loop
  • Functions – basic building, using
  • PHP & HTML

Short Reflection

It’s so hard to digest such complex information in two full day classes though the first day especially was done well. I really do think it’d be nice to have instead a more advanced HTML/CSS plus introduction to JavaScript, PHP/MySQL or something similar. Full day classes just don’t work with programming of any sort. It takes a lot of time to digest especially when the topic is new and you may have not so tech-savvy students taking the class. I’m really thankful that I have enough of a background to easily grasp what she taught plus everything that Mike also taught in addition when I posed questions on the methodology used in completing my assignments.

Assignments

I admit right up front that I could have put more effort into the content and making it look pretty, but I had so many other assignments due around the same time that I focused more on writing good code while following assignment and instructor specifications.

  • Assignment 1: Show your knowledge of working with variables.
  • Assignment 2: Create a feedback form, e-mailing the results to a specific recipient. (Note: This form will always fail because SLAIS servers do not have the mail function enabled.)
  • Assignment 3: Create a mini-quiz and feedback form for a first year library workshop, e-mailing the results to the student and librarian.
    • One specific improvement I made in this one is a full error listing instead of listing only the first error encountered as we were taught in class. Also, in the real world, I would naturally never make people use the back button at all!

Please note that the e-mail function is blocked on the SLAIS servers, but I did test it on an e-mail enabled PHP server and both work.

Role of Vendors in Open Software Ecosystem @ Access 2011

Marty Tarle from Bibliocommons came to talk about a vendor’s perspective on the open source environment. From the chatter going on, not everyone agreed with everything he talked about, but that would almost be expected with a crowd that seems to have many very big open source supporters. Here are the major points that I jotted down.

Typical Library Software Ecosystem

  • lots of components
  • some open source software
  • lots of proprietary software
  • all needs to work together

Perception of Proprietary Software Vendors

  • perceived as closed and inflexible
  • lack of APIs, difficult to integrate with
  • long development cycles

If this is true for you, then you’re not working with the right vendors. Vendors should be committed to what the users need.

Focus is Often on the Wrong Things

  • open sourcing – think that any changes can be made, but inefficient and costly without vendor buy-in
  • standards support – but standards out of date and limited
  • direct access to data – think can do whatever want with data, but tremendous duplication of algorithms, infrastucture, operations

Focus Should be on Vendor Cooperation

  • interoperabililty is a two-way street
  • vendors need to
    • proactively enable integrations
    • proactively integrate other solutions into theirs

Vendor Development & Delivery Models

  • development
    • agility is critical
    • scrum and lean are now the norm
    • long development cycles are unacceptable
  • delivery
    • rapid deployment of new functionality
      • a lot of it is underlying architecture and a lot of testings
      • being open and flexible
    • rapid scaling of hardware
    • industry trend is towards “continuous deployment”: narrowing the gap between conception and production plus building the analytics to see whether it’s working

Vendor Culture

  • openness = part of company DNA i.e. being invested in client success
  • integration = core organizational capability
  • openness = proactive, continuous effort

What to Ask Your Vendors

  • pace of innovation
    • how many releases
    • how many notes
    • development model
    • delivery model
  • API
    • public
    • scalable
    • flexible
  • ask about attitude towards open source, whether used any, etc.

Best of Both Worlds

Best to use combinations from both worlds e.g. Evergreen + Bibliocommons

Partnership

Vendors and open source communities can work together. What makes a partnership successful?

  • communication
  • transparency
  • accountability on deliverables
  • shared success

Big Data (in Libraries) @ Access 2011

MJ Suhonos and Peter Van Garderen from Artefactual Systems did a talk on big data in libraries. In particular, I was interested in some of the points MJ talked about on big data. Here are my notes:

  • relative: 1980: 2.5GB = big data
  • definition: datasets that grow so large, become difficult to work with
  • big data is… big, and complicated
  • maybe we’ve simply been putting a square big in a round hole
  • don’t believe the cloud hype
  • big data is less about size, and more about freedom
  • open source tools + distributed design = new opportunities

Augmented Library – Access 2011 Hackfest

So today at Access 2011, it’s hackfest, with ~60-70 people, quite big!

I decided to work on the augmented library topic with 5 others. We discussed two different software products out there at the moment and possible implimentations.

Layar

Layar allows for mobile app development using GPS/Geolocation to provide more information and image recognition to make things/the environment more interactive. Layar is available on the Apple app store and Android.

Advantages: Drupal module, centralized database to search for all layars

Disadvantage: not available on iPod Touch (presumably not on iPad either).

Argon

Developed by Georgia Tech, Argon allows mobile app development using KML for more information based on GPS/Geolocation.

Advantages

  • open source
  • works on iPod Touch

Disadvantages

  • in development (can be buggy)
  • non-centralized (need exact link)
  • only available on iOS products (Android in development, but no timeline)

Possible Implementations

  • shelf/branch location of item
  • scan book covers to bring up book info, reviews/ratings, etc. – would work better in public library setting
  • polls
  • locate subject area, maps displaying subject areas
  • reference/info desk locator
  • interactive pop up e.g. what user wants to do, scan room number for booking system

Demos

Some Thoughts

I think the ideal would really be to create a mobile app that helps the user do just about everything. Wayfinding, searching, find general information (such as hours), find item information (including reviews/ratings), find availability to computers, etc.

What was interesting about the discussions we had was talking about how best might it be implemented with the technology that we have today. Apparently, the University of Illinois developed an app that tells users where to find an item on the shelf using signal strength positioning, but we could imagine it going very wrong especially around a lot of metal shelving. Would it be better to not have it at all than to direct a user to the wrong place? I imagine many would say yes.

Obviously, there are pros and cons to every method, but I think I concluded that if you were to develop a mobile app with the technology we currently have without spending an enormous amount of time on it, the app would work better with image recognition (something a la layar vision or QR codes) combined with input from the user.

For example, if a user wanted to find books on a particular subject, an app would ask what subject the user would like to find, then use GPS to direct them to the branch (for multi-branch campuses) if applicable, then once in the branch, it would pop up a mini-map for the user directing them to that particular subject on the shelf. If at any time they get lost, they just need to scan the appropriate image and the app could come up with a new mini-map providing a path from their current position to the shelf with the subject they’re looking for.

The advantages of a dynamic path map versus real-time positioning is that positioning technology is still not very accurate, and most users will not give apps more than one or two chances before deciding whether it’s useful or not.

Hopefully we can get the layar one public and then rather than simply showing a short video, we can have people try the app themselves.

Link: Googledoc Notes, screenshots, and code