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[EP-tech] Re: Automatic Fields training video

Hi Adam,

Given recent developments (the divisions-and-subject bug), soon I'll need to upgrade my repository (or just patch it, but I prefer upgrading). The current EPrints documentation (http://wiki.eprints.org/w/Upgrading_EPrints_3_versions) is clearly not adequate for an upgrade to anyone having customised even the slightest bit of EPrints. What I would do in order to upgrade would be to backup my ~eprints directory, upgrade my EPrints package using debian's apt-get, upgrade my EPrints installation using ~eprints/bin/epadmin upgrade (hoping that this would not change anything in live my repository, but I'm relatively optimistic that it won't), create a new repository with the latest version, and follow my extensive guidelines from my redmine issues to bring the new repository to the same state as my previous one.

This method may work for me, but I don't think that this is what an EPrints newcomer would expect to do when upgrading their's. So -and based on my current experience with EPrints- I think that two -or more videos- (or any other means of documentation) need to be available for EPrints maintenance:

- a few videos explaining how to *CORRECTLY* customise an EPrints repository, by adding new configuration files or whatever is needed to be changed, without touching anything that an upgrade would break (like custom workflows, custom plugins, branding (xhtml pages and css), custom fields, custom searches, and practically *EVERYTHING* that usually people wish to change -and are afraid doing- after installing EPrints). What I've understood so far from my small experience with EPrints, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that the "cleanest" way of customising anything in EPrints would be to not change any vanilla files, create new files that "override" EPrints' default "behaviour" and finally (maybe optionally, but not sure) create a bazaar package (for portability/installation-independence/decoupling/maintenance). I am not sure, though (architecturally speaking), if every customisation can be achieved without tainting the initial installation, and If so, the package step is then mandatory.

- a smaller video showing how to upgrade EPrints from one version to another, that also shows how customisations haven't been affected, or how they have been addressed using the previously generated packages.

I know that you've made two great videos regarding bazaar packages (I've only watched one of them, and will watch the second after I finish my customisations and start creating packages for each feature I had to add), but I'm sure that novices (like me) would like to know many more details wrt to packages in regard to each type of EPrints customisation (branding, workflows, custom fields/searches, etc).

Unfortunately, current EPrints documentation is very distributed, sometimes deprecated and worst of all: *not upgrade friendly at all*. If I follow the steps I've read in EPrints documentation for my customisations, there would be no way my repository would function after following the documentation's upgrade procedure. And clean upgrade procedures is a *MUST* in any software product.

Thanks again Adam, and all of you, for all the help, and once I finish with my repo I'll update EPrints wiki (since I'm more of a  reading type rather than a watching one :)) with all my notes, because at the moment, a newcomer would not be able to do things "right" just by following it and not asking this list.

On 20/07/2015 05:05 πμ, Adam Field wrote:
I've added some of your suggestions to my list of video idea.  Browse View configuration and the EPrints workflow are already already on my list, but I've added search configuration and user roles, too.

Is there anything you're working on at the moment that a video would help with?

--
Adam Field
Business Relationship Manager and Community Lead
EPrints Services

I am currently not working in the UK.  Due to timezone differences (GMT -9) email responses may take longer.

On 16 Jul 2015, at 14:51, mamalos@eng.auth.gr wrote:

Maybe a small video explaining custom browse-by alternatives and adding them to the menu? Or how to add newly created fields in searches maybe (since you have lots of videos that add new fields)? Or how to configure workflows (user, eprints, etc) and maybe how to create a package with the new workflows. Ah, or how about adding new user groups and explain how roles, etc work?

 

Ok, now I stop, I think that's enough suggestions from one person:-) :-) .

 

------ Αρχικό μήνυμα------
Από: Adam Field
Ημερομηνία: Τετ, 15 Ιουλ 2015 11:22
Θέμα:[EP-tech] Automatic Fields training video

 

With today's publication of the Automatic Fields training video at https://youtu.be/17OuthpCxck (and http://wiki.eprints.org/w/Training_Video:Automatic_Fields ), I've completed my trilogy covering the configuration of default, virtual and automatic fields.

If anyone watches it and finds it useful, I'd be grateful if they would supply me with an index to include on the youtube page, in the form of:

0:00 Introduction
0:30 Topic 1
1:43 Topic 2
4:37 Topic 3
...etc

Also, does anyone have any requests for the next video?  I'll give preference to less technical topics as the last few videos have been perl-heavy.

--
Adam Field
Business Relationship Manager and Community Lead
EPrints Services

I am currently not working in the UK.  Due to timezone differences (GMT -9) email responses may take longer.




-- 
George Mamalakis

IT and Security Officer, 
Electrical and Computer Engineer (Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki),
PhD (Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki),
MSc (Imperial College of London)

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
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