It's been a while, but I have been very busy migrating websites to the wonderful Joomla! 1.5.x (almost complete), GSoC, and life raising a 1 year old. It's rare to find a moment to sit and blog. I am also not an avid blogger. Actually, I am not too fond of blogging, but I digress. Luis and I meet once week via skype to discuss the design, structure, function, and status of his JResearch application. As his mentor I find the weekly status updates, keep us both on our toes and brings an energy to the project which is promoting excellent progress. The fact that Luis is a fine programmer, stickler for detail, and perfectionist (takes one to know one), does not escape me as being the key to completing his application.

Since my last blog entry Luis has completed the design of the database schema for JResearch as well the skeleton of the applications MVC design. Some of the main focuses in the design of this application is the utilization of J! 1.5.x framework. The MVC or Model View Controller design method allows for a clear and concise application structure, which can be modified and massaged easily by any code developer or hobbyist.

Problem:

The Joomla! CMS unlike Drupal and Plone currently does not have a research publication extension for version 1.5. Beyond this Joomla! is a CMS that is widely used in Universities internationally without this key component.

Solution:

JResearch! JResearch will provide Universities and Researchers with a platform to manage, share, and publish research publications. With options for commenting and support for multiple citation styles including custom.

Two Note Worthy Features and One Fact:

There are couple of features that Luis is implementing within his application which deserve special mention.

1. The utilization of citation style classes to allow for a diverse selection citation styles including custom. Luis plans to implement the factory class method to allow for the instantaneous format of the selected style.{CitationStyleName}{Reference type}CitationStyle
2. Support for various data import and export formats including: MODS, BIBtex, RIS, RDF, and RSS (with the later being export formats only). Bibutils 3.x will be integrated into the application to support a portion of this process.
3. Luis has a part-time job with the Artifical Intelligence Research department at his university. This experience will provide a profound understanding of research and the needs of his application, as well as provides a community of researchers on-hand to assist with the testing JResearch.

My Preliminary Review:

The JResearch Data Design documentation along with db schema, citation styles, import/export diagram, and solid mvc skeletal structure are indicative of a well written and designed application. Being one of the parties who will test the application upon it's development, I look forward to installing JResearch and testing these features first hand.

To Follow:

The next phase is the design of the TinyMCE plugin to implement citation styles upon publication submission. With the development of the plugin and application immediately to follow.

For a complete view of the design documentation see:

http://joomlacode.org/svn/gsoc2008 (Login is required)