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THL Tools Status Report

Last Updated: June 27, 2011

Developing a broad spectrum of tools ranging from work flow management and input tools to data repositories to final delivery systems has been one of the major foci of the THL from the beginning. Rather than taking the easy path of commercial systems and short cuts with quick results but long term chaos, we have from the start taking the difficult and slow tact of building integrated systems adherent to international standards. This means that the infrastructure will endure for years to come and that data can be easily migrated and maintained in flexible ways.

Systems

Audio-Video database: we are in the last stages of replacing our old PHP system for cataloging, managing, and publishing audio-video recordings and transcripts with a new Drupal System (Media Base), which will have integrated synchronized transcripts and transcript searching. It has online editing and workflow management facilities.

Bibliographical database: we are currently replacing the outdated Scout Portal bibliographical system with an extension of our Ruby on Rails Media Management System. It will include online editing and workflow management facilities. However, we do not currently have a date for completion.

Collaboration Worksites: we are actively using UVa's implementation of the higher ed open source Sakai initiative, which at UVa has been labeled "Collab". These provide worksites with integrated suites of tools, including wikis, resource upload/download, discussion forums, mailing lists, and more.

Essay Publishing System: we have a fully implemented XML-XSLT system for publishing scholarly essays and editions of Tibetan texts. We are working on implementing sophisticated searching, as well as better integration for references to images, audio-video, and Tibetan texts.

Image database: we are using the Ruby on Rails system (Media Management System) with online editing and workflow management facilities. It is also integrated into the Place Dictionary and Knowledge Maps for references to places and subjects.

Flash Maps: the system for connecting interactive Flash maps with databases of information on features such as buildings has been implemented for Sera Monastery, Meru Monastery, and Drepung Monastery. We are replacing this with UVa's VisualEyes framework, which is more flexible and rapid to deploy.

Knowledge Maps: we offer a Ruby on Rails system for creating hierarchical, multilingual, and annotated "maps" of various subjects. This includes online editing and workflow management facilities.

Literary databases: we have powerful publishing framework for Tibetan catalogs and texts based upon XML/XSLT with Cocoon, Lucene and Solr. Unfortunately, it does not include online editorial facilities.

Map Catalog: we offer an instance of an open source technology called Geonetwork for cataloging and publishing static maps, which can then also be projected and viewed on dynamic interactive maps.

Place Dictionary: we offer a Ruby on Rails Place Dictionary, with online editing and workflow management facilities, and integrated with powerful open GIS mapping software.

Roster & Social Networking application: we have a powerful Ruby on Rails system that entables individuals, organizations, and projects to describe themselves, and socially network with each other. It has online editing and workflow management facilities.

Tibetan Dictionary: we have a powerful Ruby on Rails system for this, which includes online editing and workflow management facilities. Our next step in development is to integrated searching of Tibetan texts and audio-video transcripts, as well as links to images and audio-video recordings.

Fonts

Our special focus for many years was Tibetan fonts and we played an important role in making the Tibet Unicode revolution possible, which is the international standard for encoding fonts. We still offer the comprehensive Unicode Open Type font Tibet Machine Uni, which is based upon the glyphs from Tony Duff's Tibet Machine font. However, we are no longer currently actively working on font development, though we are happy to promote the work of others in this important area.

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