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Digital Initiatives: Reports

UVa Digital Initiatives Terminology

Definitions and local usage overviews for standards, formats, protocols, and services (and their acronyms) that we use or support in the Library's digital initiatives and daily operations.

Departments, Committees, and Affiliated Centers

  • DAS: Digital Access Services. Includes the Digital Library Repository and electronic journal and database access.
  • DCRT: Digital Content Review Team. Integrating selection of digital content into the selection process.
  • DLPS: Digital Library Production Services. Core digital collection production.
  • DLR&D: Digital Library Research and Development. Research and programming for new digital initiatives.
  • DML: Digital Media Lab (part of the Robertson Media Center). Faculty and student digital production consulting and facilities for working with images, audio, and video. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clemons/RMC/dml.html
  • Etext: Electronic Text Center. Faculty and student consulting and facilities for the creation of electronic texts. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/
  • Geostat: Geospatial & Statistical Data Center. Access to the map and data collections, and consulting for faculty and students on the use and production of data resources. http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/
  • IATH: Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. A Center that is part of Arts and Sciences and housed in the Library, which provides faculty fellows with consulting, technical support, and applications programming for the creation of research projects in digital form. http://www.iath.virginia.edu/
  • MSG. Metadata Steering Group. The Library working group that makes decisions about metadata mapping and usage. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/digital/metadata/msg.html
  • RMC: Robertson Media Center, Clemons Library. Access to the video and audio collections, and consulting for faculty and students on the use and production of digital media resources through the Digital Media Lab. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clemons/RMC/
  • RMDS: Rare Materials Digital Services. Digitization of items from Special Collections. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/services/digitalservices.html
  • SEDI: Original name for the Brown Science & Engineering Library Research Computing Lab. Faculty and student digital production consulting and facilities for working with digital resources. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/science/rescomp/
  • VCDH: Virginia Center for Digital History. A Center that is part of Arts and Sciences and housed in the Library, which is charged with creating new forms of digital American historical scholarship and public service and outreach through faculty fellowships. http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/

Applet

  • What it is: A small Java program that is sent as a separate file along with a Web page. Java applets, usually intended for running on a client, can result in such services as performing a calculation for a user or positioning an image based on user interaction.
  • Local use: One example is the "ImageViewer" applet used by the Repository used in the delivery of the image collections, which allows users to zoom into an image and move it around on screen to see details.

Authentication

  • What it is: A process that verifies that an individual, computer, or information object is who or what it purports to be, in order to provide access to material that is restricted by license.
  • Local use: All electronic journals, databases, and licensed image sets have access restrictions built into our subscriptions, requiring that we authenticate our users. Most often, this is by IP Address, which identifies that their computers are located within the UVa Domain. In some cases, access is restricted to groups (such as electronic reserves for courses) or individuals, so authentication is handled by individual logons. The Repository is being designed to handle authentication for individual users and files. UVa has two processes in place - UVa Proxy Server and UVa Anywhere.

CGI

  • What it is: Common Gateway Interface. An interface that Web servers use to invoke server scripts, or programs.
  • Interface specified by: National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois. http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu/cgi/
  • Local use: All Library Web servers run CGI scripts.

Collection Master

  • What it is: A term used to describe digital files that have not been transformed or modified, after their original capture by scanning.
  • Local use: The Library keeps collection masters as part of its digital preservation strategy.

Content Model

  • What it is: A Fedora concept used for object management. Content models represent classes of data objects, which can be single units of content, complex data objects, or even aggregations of data objects.
  • Local use: The Digital Library Repository is structured using a number of local content models that fit out collection needs, and will continue to add content models as new formats are added to the collections.

CrossRef

  • What it is: CrossRef is a citation linking backbone -- a collaborative reference linking service that allows the user to click on a citation and be taken directly to the target content. CrossRef is built upon a system of DOIs in a knowledgebase that tracks the location of the objects that they represent.
  • Standard specified by: The Publishers International Linking Association (PILA). http://www.crossref.org/
  • Local use: Many of the Library's licensed resources have OpenURLs that take advantage of DOIs managed through CrossRef. The Library is a member of CrossRef.

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Crosswalk

  • What it is: A chart or table that represents the semantic mapping of fields or data elements in one data standard to fields or data elements in another standard that have a similar function or meaning. Crosswalks enable dissimilar databases to be searched simultaneously and to effectively convert data from one metadata standard to another.
  • Local use: The Library associates a number of different metadata standards to one another through crosswalks, including Dublin Core, EAD, GDMS, MARC, METS, TEI, and the VRA Core.

CSS

  • What it is: Cascading Style Sheets. A mechanism for adding a custom style to Web documents. The CSS file specifies how text enclosed in a particular tag should look, including font, color, and spacing.
  • Standard specified by: World Wide Web (W3) Consortium. http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/
  • Local use: The Library has developed a series of CSS styles for use by departments and Libraries to ensure consistent styles in the content of their Web pages. CSS files are also used in combination with XSLT files in delivering XML content on the web.

DDI

  • What it is: Data Documentation Initiative. A developing standard for the content, presentation, transport, and preservation of metadata about datasets in the social and behavioral sciences, using a XML DTD. The term "codebook" is used to describe these files.
  • Standard specified by: The Data Documentation Initiative, at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/DDI/.
  • Local use: A set of prototype DDI files were created in 2001 for social science data resources in the Geostat collection; DDI is under review for local production use.

Delivery

  • What it is: The process by which digital content is presented to the user. Delivery of content can be managed by XSLT or CSS stylesheets or another interface mechanism for display on the web or via other means.
  • Local use: All publicly-used Library digital content has at least one delivery method.

Delivery Master

  • What it is: A term used to describe data, usually images, that has been modified for presentation purposes. This clean up might include removing dust and scratches, improving general appearance, and increasing the contrast of the image so that it displays better on screen. Delivery masters do not usually display well in a web browser or are too resource intensive for daily use.
  • Local use: Delivery Masters are one step removed from Collection Masters, and are themselves used as the source for creating Derivatives.

Derivative

  • What it is: A term used to describe web deliverable files, generally images, which are created from a Delivery Master. Derivatives can includes multiple sizes and formats as required by the delivery applications.
  • Local use: Derivatives delivered by the Library vary by collection, but fall into three general categories: Preview (a small, thumbnail JPEG); Screen (a screen-sized JPEG image); and Max (a larger, higher resolution file that supports zooming; either a JPEG or a MrSid.

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Digital Library Repository (aka Central Digital Repository)

  • What it is: A digital library system that provides a means of uniquely identifying each piece of digital content (and groups of related content or collections), managing the content and the associated access rights, support discovery of those collections, and delivery to users. The UVa Digital Repository (or just Repository or "The Repo" or "Cenrepo") uses the Fedora system as its underlying infrastructure.
  • Software developed and supported by: UVa Library.
  • Local use: The first two phases of the Repository, providing cross-collection access to a number of digital image collections, as well as to some text collections, were tested in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 academic years. The production services and tools will launch in fall 2006.

Disseminator

  • What it is: A Fedora concept used for object management and delivery. The objects contain linkages between datastreams (internally managed or external media files), metadata (inline or external), system metadata (including a PID a persistent identifier that is unique to the Repository), and disseminators that bind the data objects to behavior objects managed by Fedora that provide software processes (behaviors) that can be used with the datastreams.  Behaviors encode the varying functionality that an end-user or another system would require or encounter in its use of an object in a Fedora repository.  The disseminators include the varying programmatic mechanisms needed to execute those behaviors for the varying types of objects. 
  • Local use: The Digital Library Repository is structured using a number of local disseminators linked to local content models that fit out collection needs, and will continue to add disseminators and content models as new functionality is needed and formats are added to the collections.

Documentary Image

  • What it is: A term used to described any image that is not a page image; an image documenting a work of art, a building, or a place, an ethnographic documentary images, etc.
  • Local use: The Art and Architecture image collections, ethnographic images, etc.

DOI

  • What it is: Digital Object Identifier. DOIs are names (characters and/or digits) assigned to objects of intellectual property (physical, digital or abstract) such as electronic journal articles, images, learning objects, ebooks, images, any kind of content. They are used to provide current information, including where they (or information about them) can be found on the Internet. Information about a digital object may change over time, including where to find it, but its DOI will not change. A DOI is a Persistent Identifier.
  • Format specified by: The International DOI Foundation. http://www.doi.org/
  • Local use: DOIs are not currently in use at the UVa Library, but many of our licensed resources have DOIs assigned to them. The UVa Library has signed on to CrossRef, an reference linking service, which allows us to assign DOIs when and if it becomes part of our operations.

Domain

  • What it is: The address that identifies an Internet or other network site. On the Internet, domain names act as mnemonic aliases for IP addresses, a hierarchical numeric addressing system that enables Internet hosts to be uniquely identified. Domain names consist of at least two parts; the top-level domain, which specifies host addresses at a national or broad sector level (e.g. ".com" for businesses and ".edu" for educational institutions), and the sub-domain that is registered to a specific organization or individual within that domain (e.g. "virginia" for UVa). Domain names are hierarchical, and UVa has the authority to issue sub-domain names, such as "www.lib.virginia.edu" or "infocomm.lib.virginia.edu" within "lib." A domain additionally reflects the range of IP addresses contained in it.
  • Local use: Due to licensing restrictions, the Library often limits access to resources such as electronic journals and databases "by domain," limiting availability to computers whose addresses are within UVa's range of addresses.

DTD

  • What is it: Document Type Definition. A DTD is a formal description of a particular type of document. It sets out what names are to be used for the different types of element, where they may occur, how they can be used, and how they all fit together. DTD were originally used with SGML; and are now used with XML. Elements (categories of information) and tags (the markup that identifies chunks of content as a particular element) are set in the DTD. Usage is also specified, such as vocabulary used to elaborate on element types, whether elements are required, whether elements can contain other elements, and whether they can repeat. A Schema is a newer type of DTD.
  • Format specified by: The grammar or the construction of a DTD for XML is set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml. Individual DTDs are defined by many organizations in the community.
  • Local Use: Extensively used at the Library for many years. DTDs that are used for the creation of resources include the EAD, TEI, and METS. DDI and the VRA Core are planned for use.

Dublin Core

  • What it is: The Dublin Core metadata element set is a standard for cross-domain information resource description. It can be used in Web pages to describe their content, or as a minimal metadata standard for cataloging digital files.
  • Standard developed by: The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. http://dublincore.org/
  • Local Use: The Dublin Core plays an important role in relating elements from many metadata standards to each other. The standards that we use in cataloging collections are mapped (identified as essentially equivalent) to elements in the Dublin Core, so that the Dublin Core can serve as the center of a crosswalk between the various standards.

EAD

  • What it is: Encoded Archival Description. A markup format for describing archival finding aids.
  • Standard specified by: The Library of Congress and the Society of American Archivists. http://lcweb.loc.gov/ead/
  • Local use: Special Collections prepares their finding aides using EAD. The Library delivers those files, along with finding aids for a number of other archives through the Virginia Heritage site at http://www.lib.virginia.edu/vhp/.

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Element

  • What it is: An element in HTML, SGML, or XML is a fundamental component of the structure of a document. In HTML, elements are used to provide formatting structure (paragraph breaks, bold face, indentation, etc.) In SGML or XML, elements can be used to add metadata about a work (such as the author, title, and date of an electronic text), denote structure (such as a paragraph or a page break as well as formatting), or categorize part of the content (proper name, geographic location, etc.) Elements can contain plain text, other elements, or both. To denote or mark up the various elements in a document, you use tags.
  • Standard defined by: Defined within HTML and the various DTD standards for SGML and XML.
  • Local Use: In all HTML, SGML, and XML documents.

Fedora™

  • What it is: Flexible and Extensible Digital Object and Repository Architecture. A digital library management system infrastructure that contains tracking information about digital collections and their relationships with each other. Objects are associated with disseminators (methods of accessing, delivering, and displaying the content) that can provide access to the collections via Web browsers as well as for use in software applications.
  • Software developed by: Originally proposed at Cornell University and jointly developed by Cornell and the UVa Library. http://www.fedora.info/
  • Local use: Fedora is the underlying infrastructure for the Library's Central Digital Repository.

FGDC Standards Reference Model

  • What it is: Federal Geographic Data Committee. A related group of metadata standards providing a common set of terminology and definitions for the documentation of digital geospatial data. The standard establishes the names of data elements and compound elements (groups of data elements) to be used for these purposes, the definitions of these compound elements and data elements, and information about the values that are to be provided for the data elements.
  • Standard specified by: The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/standards.html
  • Local use: The Geostat Center uses the FGDC standard to describe its GIS collections.

FileMaker

  • What it is: A desktop database program known for its ease of use that supports relationships between tables, fine-grained user privileges, basic scripting, and the live publishing of its databases online with no additional programs. FileMaker Pro v.6 automatically generates HTML and can import and export XML data with an XSL transformation. A SQL database. Supports ODBC.
  • Software developed by: FileMaker, Inc. http://www.filemaker.com/
  • Local use: Rare Materials Digital Services has developed in-house digital access tracking databases and public databases such as the Holsinger Database; the Digital Media Lab manages and delivers some course image collections online for faculty using FileMaker; the Fine Arts Library is using a custom FileMaker database developed at Brown University called IRIS for its image collection management and cataloging.

Finding Aid

  • What it is: An archival descriptive tool such as an inventory or register, or sometimes called a calendar. Finding aids typically take the form of hierarchical, narrative descriptions of collections of manuscript materials or archival records.
  • Local use: Finding aids were once typed up or created using a word processor and printed out for patron use. UVa Special Collections creates electronic finding aides using the EAD standard, and makes them available for searching on the web.

Flash

  • What it is: A proprietary software format for interactive applications on the web, ranging from simple animations to large-scale applications that provide access to data.
  • Format specified by: Macromedia supplies the authoring tool (Flash MX) and the plugin (Flash Player) required for viewing Flash animation and applications in Web browsers. http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/ and http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashplayer/
  • Local use: Used by the Digital Media Lab and IATH to develop interactive and animated interfaces to research databases on the web.

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FRBR

  • What it is: Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (pronounced "fur-burr"). An entity-relationship cataloging model that is intended to be independent of any cataloging code or implementation. The primary concepts are Work, Expression, Manifestation, and Item. A Work is a distinct intellectual or artistic creation, realized through an Expression, the intellectual or artistic realization of a work in the form of alphanumeric notation, musical notation, choreographic notation, sound, image, object, movement, etc., or any combination. A Manifestation describes and represents physical entities, that is all the items that have the same content and carrier. The Item is an individual copy of a Manifestation.
  • Standard developed by: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/frbr/frbr.htm
  • Local use: Not currently in local use at UVa.

FTP

  • What it is: File Transfer Protocol. A method of transferring files between computers on the Internet. The process for uploading (moving files to) and downloading (copying files from) a server.
  • Protocol specified by: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc959/Overview.html
  • Local use: Files are moved between desktop machines and the servers via a secure FTP application.

GDMS

  • What it is: General Descriptive Modeling Scheme, developed by the UVa Library as the element set for descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata.
  • Standard specified by: UVa Library.
  • Software using GDMS: GDMS Tool, a locally developed Java application, for marking up GDMS XML files.
  • Local use: The GDMS documentation is available at: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/dlbackstage/resndev/metadata.html

GIF

  • What it is: Generalized Image Format. A format for representing still and simple animated images, used widely in Web pages and supported by all Web browsers.
  • Format specified by: CompuServe, last updated in 1990. CompuServe does not maintain a site describing GIF, but the specification can be found several in places, including as a text file on the W3C site.
  • Software using GIF formats: Virtually all graphical Web browsers and graphical editing programs.
  • Local use: GIF and JPEG formats are both used for Web page graphics on the Library's web sites.
  • Notes on use: GIFs support frame-by-frame animation, and transparent areas. However, no more than 256 colors can appear in a single GIF, making the format unsuitable for color photographs or other images that require fine color gradations.

GIS

  • What it is: Geographic Information Systems. GIS is used for storage, retrieval, mapping, and analysis of geographic data. Spatial "features" (locations) are stored in a coordinate system (latitude/longitude, etc.), which references a particular place on the earth. Descriptive attributes in tabular form are associated with spatial features. Spatial data and associated attributes in the same coordinate system can then be layered together for mapping and analysis. Not the same as GPS (Global Positioning System): GPS identifies real locations; GIS organizes data about them.
  • Standard specified by: The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) developed the National Spatial Data Infrastructure standard for the formatting of GIS data, as well as the metadata standard. http://www.fgdc.gov/
  • Local use: The Geostat Center and the Science and Engineering Library collect and develop GIS-based resources, and support the use of GIS at UVa.

Handle

  • What it is: A comprehensive system for assigning, managing, and resolving persistent identifiers, known as "handles," for digital objects and other resources on the Internet. The protocols enable a distributed computer system to store handles of digital resources and resolve those handles into the information necessary to locate and access the resources. Handles can be used as Uniform Resource Names (URNs)
  • Standard specified by: The Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). http://www.handle.net/
  • Local use: Handles are not in use at the UVa Library.
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Header

  • What it is: The header is the first section of a file, which includes metadata embedded by the creator of a digital information resource for description and management purposes. While this is often used to index a file for discovery and retrieval, it is not necessarily displayed as part of the content.
  • Local use: This can include Dublin Core elements included in the top of a Web page, the TEI header within an electronic text file, or the technical metadata in the header of a TIFF image file.

HTML

  • What it is: Hypertext Markup Language. The standard format for Web documents. There are a number of successive versions of this standard (tags and syntax change over time), some of which are better supported by some browsers than others. Of particular note is XHTML, HTML that follows the same strict "well-formedness" requirements as XML.
  • Format specified by: The World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/
  • Software for use with HTML: Dreamweaver, Note Tab, or any ASCII text edit can be used to create HTML files. All Web browsers of course read and display HTML.
  • Local use: Used throughout the Library's web environment for static pages, for content delivered dynamically from databases, and web-delivered XML content. We apply local custom styles to HTML using cascading stylesheets. We are moving to XHTML as we can.
  • Notes on use: We strongly suggest NOT using Microsoft Word to create documents and then save them as HTML. If you must re-purpose a Word File, save the file as HTML and then open the file in Dreamweaver and use its tool (under the Commands menu) to "Clean up Word HTML."

HTTP

  • What it is: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The standard protocol for requesting documents or operations via a Web browser.
  • Protocol specified by: The World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/Protocols/
  • Software using this protocol: All Web servers and browsers.
  • Notes on use: Because Web browsers and servers are ubiquitous, HTTP has become the de-facto standard protocol used to request operations remotely using a Web browser. The exact details of HTTP are invisible to most users of the Web, and authors of Web documents.

Ingestion

  • What it is: The term used to describe the process through which objects are added into the Digital Library Repository.
  • Local use: The term is generically used to describe the loading of digital content into any sort of management system. At the UVa Library the term is used to describe the process where scripts are run to prepare metadata files and add digital objects into the Repository for management and delivery.

IP Address

  • What it is: Unique numerical identifier given to each computer on the network and server on the Internet. The IP address is the address through which you find resources and how data finds its way from a web site back to your computer. A domain of IP addresses is the range of IP addresses assigned to the institution reflected by that domain. A URL is a mnemonic alias for a server's IP address and the location of files in its directory structure.
  • Local use: AT UVa, all IP addresses are assigned dynamically within the proper range each time we start our machines. Users off Grounds can use UVa Proxy Server to assign their machine a UVa IP Address if needed for authentication purposes.

Java

  • What it is: An object-oriented programming language designed to be secure, and portable across different operating systems.
  • Language specified by: Sun Microsystems, with additional tools provided by various third parties. http://java.sun.com/
  • Software using this language: Web browsers will run Java programs, unless users have turned off Java features. Java programs can also be run as programs on any machine that can support the appropriate Java environment.
  • Local use: Some digital library software is implemented in Java, including Fedora, the GDMS Tool, and the image re-sizer applet used in delivering images from the Repository.

JavaScript

  • What it is: A scripting language designed for use on Web pages or servers.
  • Language specified by: Netscape. Microsoft has a competing product called JScript that includes features that may not work on non-Microsoft browsers. http://developer.netscape.com/tech/javascript/index.html
  • Software using this language: Most Web browsers will run JavaScript programs to varying degrees, unless users have turned off JavaScript features.
  • Local use: Almost all Library Web pages and services delivered through the repository use JavaScript for menus.
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JPEG

  • What it is: The image format controlled by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Technically, the image files are actually called JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format), and use a gracefully stepped-down compression scheme. Common usage describes these file as JPEG images.
  • Format specified by: The Joint Photographic Experts Group. http://www.jpeg.org/
  • Software using JPEG format: Most full-featured graphics editors, and most graphical Web browsers, support JPEG's basic image format, JFIF. Support is more limited for other JPEG formats.
  • Local use: JPEG format images are used for Web page graphics on UVa Library web sites, as well as for the delivery of documentary images and page images from the collections.
  • Notes on use: JPEG is particularly useful for displaying photographs and other images on the Web that do not use a limited color palette or sharply defined boundaries. It uses a compression algorithm that can be optimized for either image quality or compactness. JPEG (the group) is working on new standards (JPEG2000) that support lossless compression and wavelet compression (a compression technique also used by MrSID).

JPEG 2000

  • What it is: The wavelet-compressed image format controlled by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Also referred to as J2.
  • Format specified by: The Joint Photographic Experts Group. http://www.jpeg.org/jpeg2000/
  • Software using JPEG format: Most recent full-featured graphics editors. Web browsers require a plug-in to handle JPEG 2000 files.
  • Local use: The Library will introduce JPEG 2000 production to in part replace MrSid files in 2005.

MARC Format

  • What it is: Machine Readable Cataloging, now called the MARC21 standard in its current incarnation. The standard format for library catalog records. Related standards include MARCXML (XML tags for the full MARC field set) and MODS ("Metadata Object Description Schema" -- XML tags for a minimal MARC field set).
  • Format specified by: The Library of Congress. http://lcweb.loc.gov/marc/
  • Software using this format: Sirsi Unicorn (used to create records describing our collections) and Sirsi WebCat, the software that runs Virgo.
  • Local use: Used for all descriptions of the Library's collections by the Cataloging department. Local documentation is available at http://www.lib.virginia.edu/cataloging/manual/.

Metadata

  • What it is: Literally, "data about data," metadata includes data associated with either an information system or an information object for purposes of description, administration, legal requirements, technical functionality, use and usage, and preservation. In other words, metadata is cataloging, with the primary difference that metadata can either be external to the item being described, such as is a MARC record, or be contained within the item being described, such as Dublin Core elements included in the top of a Web page or the TEI header within an electronic text file.
  • Format specified by: There are literally hundreds of metadata standards specified by national and international organizations.
  • Local use: Some days it feels like we use them all. Our primary metadata standards in use at the Library are: DDI, Dublin Core, EAD, FGDC, GDMS, MARC, METS, TEI, and the VRA Core.

Metasearch (aka Federated Search)

  • What it is: A collection of distributed databases are searched in such as way (a query is "federated" across all the selected databases) that users see the search and the results as if they were searching a single database; made possible by metadata crosswalks and protocols such as Z39.50 and OpenURL.
  • Local Use: A metasearch tool is planned that can send search Virgo, the Repository, and licensed resources simultaneously.

METS

  • What it is: Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard. A standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using XML. Can be extended to use elements from other descriptive standards as necessary.
  • Format specified by: The Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets/
  • Software using this standard: The Fedora system maintains controls of digital library objects using METS encoded records.
  • Local use: We have used METS to store information about our objects managed in the Repository.

MODS

  • What it is: Metadata Object Description Schema. A standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using XML. MODS is particularly aimed at encoding MARC data, but many profiles exist that map MODS to many additional metadata formats.
  • Format specified by: The Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/
  • Software using this standard: MODS is becoming the common format for data sharing using the OAI protocol.
  • Local use: We will add MODS records to our OAI operations in 2006.
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MPEG

  • What it is: Moving Picture Experts Group, pronounced m-peg, is a family of digital video compression standards and file formats developed by the group. MPEG generally produces better-quality video through a high compression rate by storing only the changes from one frame to another, instead of each entire frame. MPEG files can be decoded by special hardware or by software. There are five major MPEG standards. The MPEG-1 standard provide a video resolution of 352-by-240 at 30 frames per second (fps). This produces video quality slightly below the quality of conventional VCR videos. MPEG-2 offers resolutions of 720x480 and 1280x720 at 60 fps, with full CD-quality audio. This is sufficient for all the major TV standards. MPEG-4 is a graphics and video compression algorithm standard that is based on MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 and Apple QuickTime technology. Wavelet-based MPEG-4 files are smaller than JPEG or QuickTime files, so they are designed to transmit video and images over a narrower bandwidth and can mix video with text, graphics and 2-D and 3-D animation layers. MPEG-7 is a standard for describing the multimedia content data that supports some degree of interpretation of the information’s meaning, which can be passed onto, or accessed by, a device or a computer code. MPEG-7 is not aimed at any one application in particular; rather, the elements that MPEG-7 standardizes support as broad a range of applications as possible. MPEG-21 is a standard framework for networked digital multimedia that includes an REL and a Rights Data Dictionary. Unlike other MPEG standards that describe compression coding methods, MPEG-21 describes a standard that defines the description of content and also processes for accessing, searching, storing and protecting the copyrights of content.
  • Format specified by: The ISO MPEG. http://www.iso.org/iso/en/prods-services/popstds/mpeg.htm.
  • Local use: The Digital Media Lab produces and delivers local and licensed MPEG video files.

MrSID

  • What it is: Multi-Resolution Seamless Image Database. A proprietary format for representing highly compressed images (using wavelet compression), and a set of tools to display and manipulate them.
  • Format specified by: LizardTech. Originally developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U. S. Geological Survey. http://www.lizardtech.com/support/faq/general_mrsid.php
  • Software using this format: A number of disseminator applications for the Repository translate MrSid files for viewing in Web browsers.
  • Local use: We create high quality MrSid files for the digital image collection (this is especially useful for images of maps where supporting many zoom-in steps is key), and render deliverable images for Web browsers through our Repository. In 2006 we will switch some or all of our production to JPEG 2000.

MySQL

  • What it is: An extremely powerful, high-performance database system. MySQL is possibly the world's most popular open source (noncommercial and freely available) database. A relational SQL database that is ODBC-compliant.
  • Software developed by: MySQL AB. http://www.mysql.com/
  • Local use: Used for all web-based delivery of database content, (including the Central Digital Repository and Virgo.

OAI

  • What it is: Open Archives Initiative. Standards for the encoding, harvesting (capture from remote sites), and the construction of repositories of metadata records describing local or remote collections. OAI provides standards and best practice guidelines for the creation of OAI tools by other organizations and institutions.
  • Standard and Protocol developed and maintained by: Open Archives Initiative Steering Committee. http://www.openarchives.org/
  • Local use: Fedora has the ability to "expose" metadata as an OAI data service provider. The UVa Library has harvested metadata from other repositories in the general area of American Studies as a part of the Mellon-funded American Studies grant, and developed prototype scripts to analyze the relevance of the harvested metadata records. Metadata records for remote objects may be loaded into the Digital Library Repository.

Object-oriented

  • What it is: Having to do with or making use of objects; an object in this sense is a component containing both data and instructions for the operations to be performed on that data, as well as relationships between objects. In object-oriented programming, these reusable components are linked together in various ways to create applications. One of the principal advantages of object-oriented programming techniques is that they enable programmers to create modules that do not need to be changed when a new type of object is added, making object-oriented programs easier to modify. To create object-oriented programs, one needs an object-oriented programming language. Java is an object-oriented language.
  • Local Use: The Fedora Repository is developed using an object structure with Java to store data as objects.

ODBC

  • What it is: Open Database Connectivity. The ODBC protocol makes it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database is handling the data. ODBC manages this by inserting a middle layer, called a database driver, between an application and the database. This layer translates the application's data queries into commands that the database understands. For this to work, both the application and the database must be "ODBC-compliant" -- that is, the application must be capable of issuing ODBC commands and the database must be capable of responding to them. Queries are formatted using SQL.
  • Protocol specified by: Microsoft Corporation. http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vccore98/HTML/_core_odbc.asp
  • Local Use: All interactive Library Web pages that provide access to databases use the ODBC protocol behind the scenes.
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Open Source

  • What it is: A concept through which programming code is made available through a license that supports the users making changes to the code. Any changes are submitted to a group managing the open source product for possible incorporation into the official version. Development and support is handled cooperatively by a group of distributed programmers, usually on a volunteer basis.
  • Local Use: The Library takes advantage of open source products such as MySQL and PHP, as well as releasing Fedora as an open source product.

Open Text

  • What it is: Open Text is a SGML-aware search engine. Open Text provides support for word and phrase searching, indexing of SGML elements and attributes, fast retrieval, and open systems integration. Open Text (often referred to a OT5, or Open Text version 5) has not been a supported product for some time, but has been licensed for redevelopment by the University of Michigan as XPAT. Open Text is different from an index like Google that cannot distinguish among parts of a text or Web page because Google indexes all words without structure. Open Text indexes all words and retains the meaningful structure and categorization added by the SGML markup allowing both keyword searching and database-like searching by the elements.
  • Software developed by: No longer supported.
  • Local use: Open Text and XPAT are used extensively by the Library in the discovery and delivery of electronic texts and in the Repository.

OpenURL

  • What it is: OpenURL is a protocol for interoperability between a remote information resource and a local system that offers licensed access. It is a URL that transports metadata or keys to access metadata for the object for which the OpenURL is provided. Electronic journal and database publishers are beginning to support OpenURL access to their resources, and vendors, such as Ex Libris and Sirsi are marketing URL Resolvers (programs that translate requests).
  • Protocol specified by: The NISO Committee for the Standardization of OpenURL. http://www.sfxit.com/openurl/ and http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/default.htm
  • Local use: The Library launched its Find@UVA OpenURL Resolver in fall 2004.

Page Image

  • What it is: A scanned image of a page of text.
  • Local use: Used to create PDFs for electronic reserves delivered through Toolkit, as well as in the delivery of electronic texts from the Etext Center and from the Repository.

PDF

  • What it is: Portable Document Format. A format for publishing documents, designed primarily for encoding their appearance on screen and on paper. PDF-A, an archival standard for PDF, is under development.
  • Format specified by: Adobe Software. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/adobepdf.html PDF/A: http://www.aiim.org/standards.asp?ID=25013
  • Software using this format: Adobe's Acrobat suite and all Adobe software can create PDFs; freely available Adobe Acrobat reader for Web browsers.
  • Local use and support: Used for delivery of electronic reserves through Toolkit. Some electronic texts can be delivered as PDFs.

Persistent Identifier

  • What it is: A persistent identifier is name for a resource which will remain the same regardless of where the resource is located. Links to the resource will continue to work even if it is moved. Examples include DOIs, OpenURL, Handles, URNs (Uniform Resource Name), and PURLs (Persistent URLs).
  • Local use: The Digital Library Repository assigns its own internal persistent IDs to the objects that it manages. The Library is implementing Sirsi's OpenURL Resolver, which also takes advantage of DOIs.
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Perl

  • What it is: An interpreted programming language often used for Web scripts, text processing, and rapid prototyping. When invoked by Web servers, Perl scripts are called via the CGI interface
  • Language specified by: Perl Mongers. http://www.perl.org/
  • Local use: Perl is used to write scripts that analyze data for delivery in Web browsers. Perl scripts are often used in combination with CSS (to format output) or XSLT (to translate output). Etext and Geostat particularly use Perl as part of their delivery. Perl scripts are also often written as simple programs that can transform data taken from one source (such as Virgo records) into other formats (such as XML files).

PHP

  • What it is: A scripting language where PHP commands are included in a Web page (such as commands to retrieve content from databases) and are then are executed on the web server to generate dynamic HTML pages. This is an Open Source product.
  • Language supported by: The PHP Group. http://www.php.net/
  • Local use: One of the programming languages used to provide access to databases over the web, used most often at the Library with a MySQL database.

Plugin

  • What it is: A piece of software that adds extra features to a larger piece of software. The most frequent context for plugins facilitates access non-HTML code in via Web browsers. The Flash Viewer, the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, and the QuickTime Player are plugins. Plugins for ubiquitous format on the Web are generally available freely.
  • Software provided by: The vendors that control the proprietary format documents to be viewed. Many standard plugins are installed on Library machines upon setup.
  • Local use: The Library does not automatically install updated plugins when they become available because there are too many new versions appearing too frequently, often without widespread notice.

QuickTime

  • What it is: A format for encoding and delivering motion media and audio files. Files are stored on a QuickTime server and are "streamed" (gradually delivered on the fly without downloading) to the web browser.
  • Format supported by: Apple Computer. The Server and the Player software are freely available, but the software for creating QuickTime files is a commercial product. http://www.apple.com/quicktime/
  • Local use: QuickTime is extensively used for the creation of media files by the Digital Media Lab.

RSS

  • What it is: Short for RDF Site Summary or Rich Site Summary, an XML format for syndicating Web content that is often referred to as a newsfeed. A Web site that wants to allow other sites to re-publish some of its content creates an RSS document and registers the document with an RSS publisher. A user that can read RSS-distributed content can use the content on a different site. Syndicated content includes such data as events listings, news stories, headlines, project updates, excerpts from discussion forums or even corporate information.
  • Format supported by: RSS was originally developed by Netscape, but no longer maintains the standard. Current control over standard is unclear. http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html or http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
  • Local use: The University myuva Uportal uses RSS to redistribute news, including the Cavalier Daily. The Robertson Media Center uses a RSS feed to keep users updated about new additions to the collection. RSS feeds on new collections are planned for the Repository.

Schema

  • What it is: A DTD is for specifying the structure (only) of an XML file: it gives the names of the elements and their attributes that can be used, and how they fit together. DTDs are designed for use with traditional text documents, not rectangular or tabular data. A XML Schema provides a means of specifying formal data typing and validation of content in terms of those data types, so that document type designers can provide criteria for checking the data content of elements as well as the markup itself. Schemas are themselves written as XML files.
  • Format specified by: Word Wide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema-0/
  • Local Use: No local use at UVa yet, although we are planning ahead to ensure that our Digital Library Repository and its related systems can support Schemas in additions to DTDs.
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Search Engine

  • What it is: A program that indexes documents and allows users to search the index. In the context of the Web, the term usually refers to a facility for searching a large index of Web pages, such as Google.
  • Local Use: Part of the functionality of Virgo is the WebCat search engine that in part provides search access to the records describing the collections. The Library web site uses Google to index and search its pages. The Etext Center provides search access to their collections using the Open Text search engine. The XPAT search engine has been licensed for testing with the Repository.

Servlet

  • What it is: A Java program that resides and executes on a server to add functionality to the server or support processing of data on the server. The term was coined in the context of the Java applet, a small program that is sent as a separate file along with a Web page.
  • Local use: The Repository uses Servlets for some of its functionality.

SGML

  • What it is: Standard Generalized Markup Language. An older standard format for representing structured documents and data that was the predecessor to XML. Developed originally in the 1960s and 1970s for publishing, HTML is derived from SGML.
  • Standard defined by: ISO, but is not available online through them. http://xml.coverpages.org/sgmlsyn/sgmlsyn.htm and http://www.oasis-open.org/cover/general.html
  • Local Use: Standards defined for SGML include TEI, and EAD. Electronic texts were marked up by the Etext Center in TEI for SGML from 1992 to 2001. All SGML resources in the collections are expected to be converted to XML over time, and as allowed by license.

Sirsi Unicorn and WebCat

  • What it is: Software managing our library acquisitions and cataloging (Unicorn), and circulation and Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC -- WebCat)
  • Software provided by: Sirsi Corporation. See their Unicorn page: http://www.sirsi.com/Sirsiproducts/unicorn.html
  • Local use and support: Used across all areas of the Library, for acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, and reference. The OPAC provides access to information about the collection to staff, faculty, students and the public. Cataloging records are in the MARC format.

SOAP

  • What it is: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a lightweight protocol for exchanging messages between computer software, typically in the form of software components. SOAP is based on XML. SOAP can be run on top of all the Internet Protocols, but HTTP is the most common. SOAP is one of the enabling protocols for Web Services.
  • Protocol specified by: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/2000/xp/Group/
  • Local Use: Fedora and the Digital Library Repository utilize SOAP as the protocol for its Web Services.

Streaming

  • What it is: Streaming is a method for delivering video and audio files over the Web. Streaming does not download an entire movie; instead, it siphons out a thin, one-way data stream at a constant rate that plays the broadcast in real time. A streamed one-minute movie plays in exactly one minute. As long as the connection has enough bandwidth to handle the data stream, the movie will play. After the data is displayed, it is discarded. Viewers can see the broadcast again only by requesting it from the streaming server.
  • Local Use: Streaming QuickTime media files are created extensively by the Digital Media Lab. The Library stores its streaming media files and a server supported by ITC.
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SQL

  • What it is: Structured Query Language. SQL is a standard interactive and programming language for getting information from and updating a database. Interactions take the form of a command language that lets you select, insert, update, and find out the location of data.
  • Language defined by: A national (ANSI) and international (ISO) standard. http://web.ansi.org/ and http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.openerpage
  • Local Use: All databases in use at the Library are SQL databases.

SRU/SRW (aka Zing)

  • What it is: A web services implementation of the Z39.50 protocol that specifies a client/server-based protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases. It specifies procedures and structures for a client system to search a database provided by a server, retrieve database records identified by a search, scan a term list, and sort a result set. Access control, resource control, extended services, and a "help" facility are also supported. The protocol addresses communication between corresponding information retrieval applications, the client and server (which may reside on different computers); it does not address interaction between the client and the end-user.
  • Protocol specified by: The Library of Congress ZING (Z39.50 International: Next Generation) group. http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/agency/zing/srw/
  • Local Use: Many licensed electronic journals and databases are accessed through Z39.50. The SRW implementation of Z39.50 will likely have a role in developed a federated search tool that can send search Virgo, the Repository, and licensed resources simultaneously.

Tag

  • What it is: An element in HTML or XML is a fundamental component of the structure of a document. Elements can contain plain text, other elements, or both. To denote or mark up the various elements in a document, you use tags. Tags consist of a left angle bracket (<), a tag name, and a right angle bracket (>). Tags are usually paired (e.g., <H1> and </H1>) to start and end the tag instruction. The end tag looks just like the start tag except a slash (/) precedes the text within the brackets.
  • Standard defined by: Defined within the standards for HTML and XML.
  • Local Use: In all HTML and XML documents.

Tamino

  • What it is: An XML database used to index, manage, and search XML documents.
  • Product supplied by: Software AG. http://www.softwareag.com/tamino/default.htm
  • Local Use: Tamino was tested at the Library, but not continued in production.

TCP/IP

  • What it is: Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol. The standardized suite of network protocols that enables information systems to link to other information systems on the Internet, regardless of their computer platform. TCP and IP are two software communication standards used to allow multiple computers to talk to each other.
  • Protocol specified by: ISO. http://www.iso.ch/ISO/en/ISOOnline.frontpage
  • Local use: All workstations and servers at UVa communicate with the network and each other via TCP/IP.

TEI

  • What it is: Text Encoding Initiative. A format for representing text documents, designed primarily for encoding their logical structure. The format and rules are expressed as a DTD against which TEI files are checked for conformity to the rules. TEI encoded files include a TEI Header that contains the basic metadata that describes the content (author, title, date, publisher, etc.) in addition to the markup that structures the text itself.
  • Format specified by: The Text Encoding Initiative Consortium. UVa is one of the founding organizations. http://www.tei-c.org/
  • Software using this format: Note Tab, Word Perfect, and any ASCII text editor can be used to mark up (create) TEI files.
  • Local use: TEI has been used to encode electronic texts through the Etext Center since 1992. The original "official" TEI is a SGML encoded format, and a subset known as TEI Lite was created for a minimum standard format. TEI P4 and TEIXLite are the current standards available for XML encoding. UVa has created its own set of rules (an "extension") for the use of the TEI structure that we call the "DLPS DTD."
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TIFF

  • What it is: A standard format for representing images, suitable for archival use.
  • Format specified by: Adobe. The specification for the latest standard version (6.0, standardized in 1992) can be found in this PDF document from Adobe.
  • Software using this format: All full-featured image capture and manipulation programs, such as PhotoShop, can read or write TIFF files. Most Web browsers do not have built-in TIFF support.
  • Local use: TIFF is the format used for all preservation, collection, and delivery masters for all image collections. Some delivery applications for electronic texts display the page images using TIFF-to-GIF, a program developed at the University of Michigan that translates TIFF to GIF files on-the-fly (as needed) for viewing in Web browsers.

Unicode

  • What it is: The Unicode Standard is the universal character-encoding standard used for representation of text for computer processing. Unicode provides a unique numeric code (a code point) for every character, no matter what the platform, no matter what the program, no matter what the language.
  • Standard developed by: The Unicode Consortium. http://www.unicode.org/
  • Local use: Used for the encoding in non-Roman language electronic text resources, such as the Japanese Text Initiative and the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library.

URL

  • What it is: Uniform (or Universal) Resource Locator. The standard type of reference used in World Wide Web hyperlinks.
  • Format specified by: The World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/Addressing/
  • Software using this format: All standard Web browsers, including Netscape and Internet Explorer.
  • Local use: Used for all Library Web page access.

URN

  • What it is: Uniform Resource Name. A standard for addressing objects with the institutional commitment to serve as persistent, location-independent resource identifiers, in place of a URL.
  • Format specified by: Internet Engineering Task Force. http://www.ietf.org/
  • Local use: URNs are not in use at the UVa Library. Some resources licensed by the Library may employ URNs.

UVa Anywhere

  • What it is: Licensed Library resources can normally be used only from computers on Grounds; UVa Anywhere is one of the ways that you can authenticate (prove your UVa affiliation) to allow use from home or while traveling. ITC provides a "virtual private network" that puts your computer temporarily on the UVa network. Register with ITC to put a certificate on your computer, then download and install the network software.
  • Provided by: ITC at UVa. Instructions are available at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/pki/vpn/.
  • Local use: UVa Anywhere is a new service as of spring 2003. At this time, it is available only for Windows PCs. A Mac version of the software should be available later in the year. Once it is set up, UVa Anywhere provides reliable, fast access with none of the database-specific problems seen with proxy. It also works with non-Web resources, so that EndNote users can connect off Grounds as easily as on. Setup is somewhat more complicated than for proxy and requires downloading 4.2 MB of software. There can be problems with software firewalls and with some especially ISPs, especially AOL and Juno.

UVa Proxy Server

  • What it is: Licensed Library resources can normally be used only from computers on Grounds; the Proxy Server is one of the ways that you can authenticate (prove your UVa affiliation) to allow use from home or while raveling. ITC maintains a proxy server that provides access to selected Web resources. Setting up to use it is a two-step process: register with ITC for a proxy account, then configure your Web browser for proxy use.
  • Provided by: ITC at UVa. Instructions are available at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/proxy/.
  • Local use: If you have an Internet service provider, proxy can provide good access to licensed Web resources. It is easy to set up and has little effect on the speed of your Web browsing, but problems can happen unpredictably with some versions of Netscape and IE when connecting to particular databases.
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Virgo -- also see Sirsi

  • The name for the UVa OPAC (online public access catalog) and suite of online user services.

VRA Core

  • What it is: The VRA Core Categories, Version 3.0, consist of a single metadata element set that can be applied as many times as necessary to create records to describe works of visual culture as well as the images that document them. The VRA Core can be used to design a set of databases; a XML Schema is under development in 2004-2005.
  • Format specified by: The Visual Resources Association Data Standards Committee. http://www.vraweb.org/vracore3.htm
  • Local Use: The underlying standard for the IRIS collection management system used by the Fine Arts Library for its image collections.

Web Services

  • What it is: The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using XML encoding (WSDL - Web Services Description Language), communication protocols (SOAP), and programming scripts over the Internet.
  • Format specified by: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/2002/ws/
  • Local Use: The Fedora system is built using Web Services.

Wavelet

  • What is it: A wavelet is a mathematical function useful in image compression. Wavelets can compress images to a greater extent than is generally possible with other methods. In some cases, a wavelet-compressed image can be as small as about 25 percent the size of a similar-quality image using JPEG.
  • Local use: The Library uses MrSid, a wavelet-compressed image, in the delivery of its image collections. The Library will also begin production with JPEG 2000, another wavelet compressed format, in 2005.

XML

  • What it is: Extensible Markup Language. A set of rules for creating tagged ASCII text files representing structured documents and data. XML files describe heir own structure and content by making a reference to a DTD or a XML Schema that indicate the rules followed in the document and its tagset. The rules can follow a published standard or locally defined use. XML has stringent rules for what is called “well-formedness” -- all XML documents, no matter what particular scheme you are using, must follow certain structural rules. XML files should also be "valid," requiring that the files be parsed (checked) against a DTD or Schema. A rule might be: “My document has an element called text, and within every text there’s one and only one author, and one and only one title.” A parser is a program that checks the document against the rules and makes sure that the document follows those rules, and is valid.
  • Format specified by: The World Wide Web Consortium. The basic XML specification is now standardized, including the implementation of XML DTDs, XML Schema, XQueries, and XLink and XPointer and XPath (external and internal pointer statements). http://www.w3.org/XML/
  • Software using this format: Note Tab, Word Perfect, and any ASCII text editor can be used to mark up (create) XML files. Recent versions of Internet Explorer can display XML; otherwise, XML must be translated by XSLT for viewing in a browser.
  • Local use: The primary method for encoding all digital library encoding projects since 2002.

XPAT

  • What it is: XPAT is an SGML/XML-aware search engine. XPAT provides support for word and phrase searching, indexing of SGML elements and attributes, a baseline of support for valid and well-formed XML (including Unicode support), fast retrieval, and open systems integration. XPAT is based on the search engine previously marketed as PAT and as Open Text. XPAT is different from an index like Google that cannot distinguish among parts of a text or Web page because Google indexes all words without structure. XPAT indexes all words and retains the meaningful structure and categorization added by the XML markup allowing both keyword searching and database-like searching by the elements.
  • Software provided by: University of Michigan. http://dlxs.org/products/xpat.html
  • Local Use: XPAT has been purchased by the Library as an update to Open Text, which is used extensively in the discovery and delivery of electronic texts.
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XPath and XQuery

  • What it is: XPath is a language for querying internal parts of an XML document, providing basic facilities for manipulation of strings, numbers, and true-false (Boolean) conditions. XQuery is an extension of XPath that provides a human-readable query syntax.
  • Format specified by: The World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath
  • Local use: The search engine for the repository and XML-encoded electronic texts must support XPath and XQuery to provide useful searching for users.

XSL and XSLT

  • What it is: XSL is a language for expressing stylesheets in XML. XSLT (XSL Transformation) is part of XSL. In addition to XSLT, XSL includes an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting. XSL specifies the styling of an XML document by using XSLT to describe how the document is transformed into another XML document that uses the formatting vocabulary. XSLT can also use CSS to augment styles.
  • Format specified by: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). http://www.w3.org/Style/XSL/
  • Local Use: XSL and XSLT are used extensively for the delivery of electronic texts and datasets, as well as for all delivery through the Central Digital Repository.

Z39.50

  • What it is: A Protocol that specifies a client/server-based protocol for searching and retrieving information from remote databases. It specifies procedures and structures for a client system to search a database provided by a server, retrieve database records identified by a search, scan a term list, and sort a result set. Access control, resource control, extended services, and a "help" facility are also supported. The protocol addresses communication between corresponding information retrieval applications, the client and server (which may reside on different computers); it does not address interaction between the client and the end-user.
    ZING (Z39.50 International: Next Generation) is available for review in 2004. The web services implementation of z39.50 is SRW.
  • Protocol specified by: The Library of Congress and the Z39.50 Implementers Group (ZIG). http://www.loc.gov/z3950/agency/
  • Local Use: Many licensed electronic journals and databases are accessed through Virgo via Z39.50. Z39.50 will have a role in developed a federated search tool that can send search Virgo, the Repository, and licensed resources simultaneously.

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