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The
"Lightweight Network Interface" (LNI) is a work in progress to
provide (yet) another way to gain networked access to the DSpace
application-level API. Initially developed to support the requirement that
"Web Services" be used on the CWSpace project (archiving MIT's
OpenCourseWare (OCW) to DSpace), the ensuing vibrant (!) discussion regarding
possible technical approaches (SOAP, RESTful, WebDAV, XML over HTTP) led us
to define some high level goals for how this new interface ought to be shaped
(e.g. platform-neutral; based on mature standards; readily extensible; work
with (not replicate) existing remote APIs (SRW, OAI-PMH); comprehensive view
of DSpace model; etc.).
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Dubbed the
"Lightweight" network interface, the intent has been to largely
adopt the robust and proven protocols (and "verbs") of WebDAV and
HTTP, and to establish a proposed mapping of WebDAV's Resource-centric view
onto the DSpace object model. (Note that a set of SOAP methods has also been
developed on top of the WebDAV functionality, such that in fact either
approach is supported.) The details of the resulting proposed API were posted
on a lengthy page to the DSpace Wiki; a "smoketest" Java client to
the LNI was posted to the CWSpace Wiki (along with detailed instructions on
how to work with SSL and the LNI).
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This
presentation introduces the technology, the API, the rationale for the
approach, and a discussion of the mapping to the DSpace data model as well as
example uses of the LNI to DSpace (e.g. submit; disseminate; copy to another
collection; list collections; etc.).
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Closely related
DSpace development activity of the Plugin Manager, Packager Plugins, and
Crosswalk Plugins will be addressed briefly as well, as these are used in
conjunction with the LNI on the CWSpace project for submission (and
dissemination) of IMS Content Packages of OCW content (courseware websites).
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