Hello DSpace developers, I want to add my 2 cents not as a developer who understands DSpace internals (because so far I don't) but as a user who wants to customize the interface for his institution. With all respect to you, I have to agree with the point David brought - Java shouldn't create user interface. You're making clear all the disadvantages this brings, so let me make the advantage clear. It would enable more people to customize their DSpace. Please keep in mind that not all users may be familiar with all the advanced technology used here. Usually they only want to add a UI element and still it requires them to understand both themes and aspects (i.e. XSLT and Java). I see no obvious reason why Java should insert (pseudo-)HTML elements. This requires me to customize Java code and I want to avoid it if at all possible because of the maintenance costs of keeping customizations up-to-date.
To be more specific, I first encountered DSpace and tried to customize it. I gave up many ideas just because of mentioned maintenance cost. In the end, my customizations are only CSS and I left themes almost because I didn't want to modify aspects but it was not possible. If you look at DRI body, this is HTML look-alike which gets generated by Aspects, options and meta are cool. Later, I encountered Xerxes, which is a system David designed and which also uses XSLT for its presentation layer. The main difference for me is that I don't have to change code if I want to add a UI element. I have all the data available in XML "key-value pairs" (an approach David mentioned here earlier) and I get to pick anything and render it as I see fit. I love this approach because all my modifications are only overridden XSLT templates. The closer I stick to the upstream version, the easier are the upgrades. So please, make DSpace more accessible to the average user. Keep simple things simple to lower the barrier of entry (you want a large and thriving community, right?). Even if you have to develop a third alternative to JSPUI and XMLUI. Regards, ~~helix84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beautiful is writing same markup. Internet Explorer 9 supports standards for HTML5, CSS3, SVG 1.1, ECMAScript5, and DOM L2 & L3. Spend less time writing and rewriting code and more time creating great experiences on the web. Be a part of the beta today. http://p.sf.net/sfu/beautyoftheweb _______________________________________________ DSpace-tech mailing list DSpace-tech@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-tech
