------ Forwarded Message
From: Lisa Schiff <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 14:53:30 -0700
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: CDL releases eXtensible Text Framework (XTF) 2.1
**This announcement is being widely released; apologies in advance for
duplication.**
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Schiff
California Digital Library
University of California, Office of the President
415 20th St., 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 587-6132
[log in to unmask]
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/
California Digital Library Announces New Release of the eXtensible Text
Framework (XTF)
Oakland, CA, May 12, 2008 - The California Digital Library (CDL) is pleased
to announce a new release of its search and display technology, the
eXtensible Text Framework (XTF) <http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/>
version 2.1 (http://www.cdlib.org/inside/projects/xtf/
). XTF is an open source, highly flexible software application that
supports the search, browse and display of heterogeneous digital content.
XTF offers efficient and practical methods for creating customized end-user
interfaces for distinct digital content collections.
Highlights from the 2.1 release include:
* Extensive interface improvements, including new search forms, built-in
faceted browsing, and a new look and feel.
* Increased support for document and information exchange formats.
> * XHTML and OAI-PMH output
> * NLM article format indexing and output
> * Microsoft Word indexing
* Streamlined XSLT stylesheets for simpler deployment and adaptation.
* Updated documentation that has been moved to the XTF project wiki
<http://xtf.wiki.sourceforge.net/> , allowing XTF implementers to share
solutions with entire user community.
* "Freeform" Boolean query language, offered as an experimental feature.
* Backward compatibility with existing XTF implementations.
>> A complete list of changes <http://xtf.wiki.sourceforge.net/changeLog_2.1>
>> is available on the XTF Project page on SourceForge
>> <http://sourceforge.net/projects/xtf/> , where the distribution (including
>> documentation) can also be downloaded.
>>
>> Since the first deployment of XTF in 2005, the development strategy has been
>> to build and maintain an indexing and display technology that is not only
>> customizable, but also draws upon tested components already in use by the
>> digital library and search communities - in particular the Lucene text search
>> engine, Java, XML, and XSLT. By coordinating these pieces in a single
>> platform that can be used to create multiple unique applications, CDL has
>> succeeded in dramatically reducing the investment in infrastructure, staff
>> training and development for new digital content projects.
>>
>> XTF offers a suite of customizable features that support diverse intellectual
>> access to content. Interfaces can be designed to support the distinct tools
>> and presentations that are useful and meaningful to specific audiences. In
>> addition, XTF offers the following core features:
>> * Easy to deploy: Drops directly in to a Java application server such as
>> Tomcat or Resin; has been tested on Solaris, Mac, Linux, and Windows
>> operating systems.
>> * Easy to configure: Can create indexes on any XML element or attribute;
>> entire presentation layer is customizable via XSLT.
>> * Robust: Optimized to perform well on large documents (e.g., a single text
>> that exceeds 10MB of encoded text); scales to perform well on collections of
>> millions of documents; provides full Unicode support.
>> * Extensible:
>>> * Works well with a variety of authentication systems (e.g., IP address
>>> lists, LDAP, Shibboleth).
>>> * Provides an interface for external data lookups to support
>>> thesaurus-based term expansion, recommender systems, etc.
>>> * Can power other digital library services (e.g., XTF contains an OAI-PMH
>>> data provider that allows others to harvest metadata, and an SRU interface
>>> that exposes searches to federated search engines).
>>> * Can be deployed as separate, modular pieces of a third-party system
>>> (e.g., the module that displays snippets of matching text).
>> * Powerful for the end user:
>>> * Spell checking of queries
>>> * Faceted displays for browsing
>>> * Dynamically updated browse lists
>>> * Session-based bookbags
>> These basic features can be tuned and modified. For instance, the same
>> bookbag feature that allows users to store links to entire books, can also
>> store links to citable elements of an object, such as a note or other
>> reference.
>>
>> A sampling of XTF-based applications both within and outside of the CDL
>> include:
>>
>> * Mark Twain Project Online <http://www.marktwainproject.org/>
>> (http://www.marktwainproject.org), developed by the Mark Twain Papers
>> Project, the CDL and the University of California Press.
>> * Calisphere <http://www.calisphere.org/> (http://www.calisphere.org/), a
>> curated collection of primary sources keyed to the curriculum standards of
>> Californiašs K-12 community, developed by the CDL.
>> * The Encyclopedia of Chicago <http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/>
>> (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/), developed by the Chicago
>> History Museum, The Newberry Library, and Northwestern University
>> * The Chymistry of Isaac Newton <http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/>
>> (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/) and The Swinburne Project
>> <http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/swinburne/www/swinburne/>
>> (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/swinburne/www/swinburne/), Indiana
>> University
>> * Finding Aides at the New York Public Library
>> <http://labs.nypl.org/2007/10/30/extensible-text-framework-xtf/>
>> (http://labs.nypl.org/2007/10/30/extensible-text-framework-xtf/)
>> * EECS Technical Reports
>> <http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.crossQuery.Cross
>> Query?rmode=btr>
>> (http://sunsite2.berkeley.edu:8088/xtf/servlet/org.cdlib.xtf.crossQuery.Cross
>> Query?rmode=btr), UC Berkeley
>>>> ###
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----------------------------------------------
>>>> Lisa Schiff, Ph.D.
>>>> Technical Lead, Publishing
>>>> California Digital Library
>>>> 300 Lakeside Drive #745
>>>> Kaiser Center
>>>> Oakland, CA 94612
>>>> 510-987-0881 (t)
>>>> 510-987-0243 (f)
>>>> www.cdlib.org <http://www.cdlib.org/>
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------ End of Forwarded Message
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