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MOVING FROM A PHP FLAT-FILE ELECTRONIC RESOURCES MANAGER TO DRUPAL 6 VIEWSJunior TidalNew York City College of Technology, CUNYcode4lib NE, Yale UniversityOctober 26, 2012
THE CHALLENGE OF ELECTRONIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (ERM)
E-resources can be a hassle to manage
Lack of back-end accessibility to the library website
Lack of a collaborative environment
Software and security challenges: lack of MySQL, shell access, and file permissions.
HOW DID WE WORK AROUND THESE CHALLENGES?
Solution required an easier way to manage ERM.
The solution also required compatibility for the server’s configuration.
FTP access for files (through Dreamweaver)
PHP 3 compatible
Solution could compensate for security lockdown
WHAT IS A FLAT-FILE DATABASE?
A flat-file database is a tabular database that uses plain text file as storage.
The flat-file consists of a single entry with keys and attributes on each new line within the file, separated by a delimiter.
There are no built-in relationships between records.
EXAMPLE OF A FLAT-FILE ENTRY
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)|http://citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=a9h|http://library.citytech.cuny.edu/research/annotations/index.php#ASP|The largest scholarly, multidisciplinary, full-text database.|09-03-2009
PHP IMPLEMENTATION
The server script consisted for a PHP file that would retrieve results from the flat-file.
The flat-file contents would be rendered in HTML and displayed to the end user.
The flat-file was accessible to a number of librarian.
PHP SCRIPT FOR FLAT-FILE DATABASE LOADING
http://snipt.org/vghfe9#expand
MIGRATING TO DRUPAL 6
Library was able to get their own server.
This opened up many possibilities including a new OS (Linux), software, statistics recording and experimentation.
We were now able to utilize the Drupal 6 content management system
DRUPAL VIEWS
After migrating the website content to Drupal, we still needed a way for ERM.
Using work based on Leo Klein, we were able to use Drupal to manage our eResources
We used the built-in Taxonomy moduleand the following custom modules:
Content Construction Kit (CCK) Views
DRUPAL VIEWS AND ERESOURCES
eResources are stored as a custom content type in Drupal
The Taxonomy module is used to assign type and subject to each eResource
Editable attributes of eResources such as the name, URL, and description, are pulled based on selecting a subject
These resources are displayed to the user
ADVANTAGES OF USING VIEWS Smoother workflow, less work Collaborative environment Single versions of the database Subject specific eResources are stored in a
single database Content is stored in a MySQL database which
is easier for migration and backups Maintenance is done through Drupal
DISADVANTAGES OF VIEWS
Learning curve of Views
Lack of date control through Views
eResources are dependent on Views and subsequent updates and maintenance
FFDB doesn’t require as much as Views
FFDB can be more flexible than Views
CONCLUSION
Challenge of ERM management
Flat-file databases can be used to overcome restrictive server environments
They offer few advantages in comparison to Drupal Views
Views provides a more collaborative and smoother workflow
Questions?