[EP-tech] Re: Automatic Fields training video

[George Mamalakis]

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 at eng.auth.gr 
> <mailto:mamalos at 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
>> *Προς: *eprints-tech at ecs.soton.ac.uk 
>> <mailto:eprints-tech at ecs.soton.ac.uk>;
>> *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
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

phone number : +30 (2310) 994379


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