IWMW 1998: Publishing and devolving the maintenance of a prospectus prospectus
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The document discusses the maintenance and evolution of a university prospectus, emphasizing the transition to an online version as the authoritative source and the separation of design from content. It outlines the process of updating course information through web-based tools and introduces FileMaker Pro as a solution for database management. Additionally, it addresses challenges such as legacy data and the need for flexibility in adapting the prospectus content.
![A CDML Primer
• Claris Dynamic Markup Language
• Four sorts of tags
– standard HTML input types (e.g. Text, Select,
Submit)
– Action (e.g. -Find, -New, -Edit)
– Variable (e.g. -DB, -Format, -Error)
– Replacement (e.g. [FMP-Field], [FMP-If],
[FMP-Include])](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/iwmw-1998-publishinganddevolvingthemaintenanceofaprospectusprospectus-160306140333/85/IWMW-1998-Publishing-and-devolving-the-maintenance-of-a-prospectus-prospectus-8-320.jpg)
IWMW 1998: Publishing and devolving the maintenance of a prospectus prospectus
- 1. Publishing and Devolving the Maintenance of a Prospectus Paul Browning University of Bristol ([email protected])
- 2. Motivation • Expedite the process and re-use information • Separate the design from the content • On-line prospectus should become the authoritative version • Printed version should be derivative - a snapshot of the on-line version • Maintenance of the information should be devolved (improve transparency)
- 3. Before …. • Collation/updating of the course information from departments and services • Preparation of the combined text using word-processing/desk-top publishing tools • Dispatch of the text for printing • Reverse engineering text into a Web- deliverable version
- 4. After…. • Updating via Web-forms of course information held in databases BY departments and services • Web-deliverable version produced instantly and automatically • Monolithic file produced from databases - imported by desk-top publishing tools • Dispatch of the text for printing
- 5. One solution • FileMaker Pro V4 (http://www.filemaker.com/) • Inexpensive, multi-platform, runs over TCP/IP • Works out of the box - no learning cliff • Web companion plug-in - first database published inside 5 minutes • CGI-type stuff and CDML if you want to get your hands dirty
- 6. Starting point • Paper prospectus • Spot the pattern - design the databases • Used Perl filters on marked up Word documents to generated tab-separated files for import into databases
- 7. Designing the pages • Based on existing on-line version • By separating design from content reduced pages from ~400 to ~10 • Two sets of pages – for the reader (pretty) – for the editor (forms-based, not pretty)
- 8. A CDML Primer • Claris Dynamic Markup Language • Four sorts of tags – standard HTML input types (e.g. Text, Select, Submit) – Action (e.g. -Find, -New, -Edit) – Variable (e.g. -DB, -Format, -Error) – Replacement (e.g. [FMP-Field], [FMP-If], [FMP-Include])
- 9. Problems • Heterogeneous legacy data • Loss of flexibility • Text-only
- 10. Issues • Non-standard? • Performance? • Will it scale? • Cacheing?
- 11. Where next? • Protocol/mechanism for updating • Incorporating images • Undergraduate prospectus • Integrating other data sources (e.g. personnel, unit catalogue)