[DDI-SRG] DDI Foundation Tools Program Update - Corrected web site link

[Pascal Heus]

All:
apologies for a typo in the tools web site link below.
It should read:
http://tools.ddialliance.org/index1.php
regards
Pascal

Pascal Heus wrote:
> Dear all:
> Please find below a brief progress report for activities related
> to the  DDI Foundation Tools Program (DDI-FTP).
> Let me know if you have any question or comments.
> best regards,
> Pascal
>
>
>
> DDI Foundation Tools Program Update - December 2007
> ===================================================
>
> (1) Membership
> The Foundation Tools Program (FTP) program officially started last
> September with 8 member institutions, an initial budget of $30K, and
> various in-kind contributions. About $10K has been spent so far,
> primarily for the development of the new Web site (see below). Interest
> is being sparked in other institutions and additional members and
> resources are expected to emerge in the near future.
>
> (2) Web site
> A new Web site is being designed to host the DDI Tools (all versions of
> DDI) and is available for preview at
> http://tools.diialliance.org/index1.php. The main feature of the site is
> a database-driven library that users can search for DDI-related
> applications/utilities, components for software developers, XML
> examples, XSL transformations, and reference documentation/tutorials.
> The database is being populated with the tools currently listed on the
> DDI Alliance Web site along with new components coming out of the
> DDI-FTP. Remaining to be completed are the following tasks: finalizing
> the database content, deploying community tools (such as FAQ and mailing
> list), making technical adjustments to the user interface, and going
> through a round of review. We will then have a public launch early
> January 08. Comments, suggestions, and contributions would be most
> appreciated. The site is hosted by ODaF with most of the development
> sub-contracted to Metadata Technology.
>
> (3) Tools development
> (3a) The development of core libraries was initiated over the summer by
> Jannik Jensen (DDA), J Gager (Metadata Technology) and Pascal Heus (Open
> Data Foundation/Metadata Technology). A set of core Java libraries based
> on the Apache XML Beans technology is now available to developers for
> all official versions of DDI 1/2.x and for the DDI 3.0 Candidate
> Recommendation 2 (CR2).  These components are listed on the new Web site
> and can be downloaded from the File section of the project repository at
> http://forge.opendatafoundation.org/gf/project/dditools/.
> Work is in progress for a utility to perform second level validation
> on DDI 3.0 documents.
>
> (3b) UKDA DExT
> The UKDA / ODaF DExT project is slightly behind schedule but has seen 
> good
> progress and resulted in several contributions to the DDI-CR. A
> sub-component allowing Java developers to read SPSS data files and
> export metadata in DDI 2.0 and 3.0-CR2 versions has been released
> separately for beta-testing and is available in the File section of the
> project repository at
> http://forge.opendatafoundation.org/gf/project/ukda_dext/. The utility
> also allows for the export of data to ASCII formats. This could be used
> to develop export utilities or Web-based SPSS/DDI conversion services.
>
> (3c) Other tools
> We are aware of the following ongoing efforts:
> - An SPSS exporter for DDI 3.0 has been developed by Achim Wackerow and
> is available at 
> http://db.zuma-mannheim.de/DDI/StatsProgs2DDI/StatsProgs2DDI.html
> - The company Algenta is developing a DDI 3.0-based questionnaire design
> tool. This was presented during the workshops in Germany with release
> expected in the first half of 2008 (this is a commercial product).
> Developers are Jeremy Iverson and Dan Miller.
>
> (4) Road map
> The technical road map document is being drafted and the first version
> will become available around mid-January. This road map will present a
> list of needed tools for DDI in order of their importance to the effort.
> The content is also being adjusted based on ideas that emerged during
> the candidate release period, new needs identified through various
> meetings/talks, and recently discovered technologies.
>
>
>