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AILLA TechnologiesDatabaseDuring the pilot phase of the project information about online resources was stored in an LDAP database, which worked well for the scale of the pilot site and was effective in demonstrating proof of concept. However we soon realized that more advanced search options and security would be desirable, hence the decision to move to a relational, SQL based DBMS (Database Managment System).The relational database we decided to use is MySQL, due to its popularity, stability and cost. It is available free of charge for both commercial and non-commercial sites, and it has a large and active support community. There are also a host of free tools that make administering MySQL very simple. One we highly recommend if you are using a webserver enabled with PHP is phpMyAdmin. Much of the initial development was spent designing an ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram) that would be flexible, intuitive and most of all would store the relevant resource information cleanly. We wanted it to handle user accounts, resource security, various contact information, and be easily mapped to the OLAC and OAI database schemas based on the Dublin Core initiative. Both the ERD and OLAC mapping diagram are available for viewing: View the ERD. View the OLAC Mapping Diagram. PHPThe web interfaces were coded using PHP. PHP is an excellent scripting language that is available at www.php.net. It has built in functions for numerous database managment systems, supports both POSIX and perl regular expressions, works exceptionally well with MySQL and is free of charge. It is also open source, and in our experiences has proven far more stable than commercial alternatives such as Macromedia's Cold Fusion.Web AccessibilityFrom the onset we wanted the website to be accessibly both for those with disabilities, and for those who lack access to high speed internet connections or high-end PCs. Both causes were aided by keeping the design of the site simple, including as little javaScript as possible, and by following the guidelines proposed in the Worldwide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative.We tested the site using the Watchfire Corporation's online program Bobby, and it has passed the tests for Priority 1 accessibility. In the coming months we hope to follow through on making AILLA Priority 2 and 3 accessible as well. HardwareAILLA is being hosted on machines maintained by the Digital Library Services Division at the University of Texas at Austin. All digitized media files are stored on secure servers.DigitizationDigitization of AILLA's files is performed using ProTools software from Digidesign by way of a digi001 unit with G-4 Apple Macintosh computers. Audio files are digitized at a minimum of 44.1 kHz in 16-bit sound and saved into both .wav and .mp3 formats.Since we never know what our next submission will include, our lab is also outfitted with a variety of analog devices. We use UHER and Revox decks for reel-to-reel tapes and TASCAM 122MK III cassette decks. For the occassional LP album we have a Technics SL-L20 turntable. |
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