Jalama Project - Alpha Software Release for Review by Data-Managers and Developers

[Matthew Brooke]

The Jalama project (http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org) is pleased to 
announce its first software release (0.1alpha1) for review by 
data-managers and developers.  This release is a proof-of-concept in 
creating user-interfaces that are described in a declarative XML syntax 
(XUL) and rendered from within a Java desktop or handheld application 
(such as future versions of Morpho).

This alpha release displays a simple XUL wizard, which guides the user 
through the steps necessary to create a simple EML dataset document 
(intended to be compliant with the EML 2.0.0 schema - see 
http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/software/eml/).  As such, it may be 
useful to data managers for creation of simple EML documents, but we 
would reiterate that this is an alpha release, and there will be issues 
and bugs that have not yet been addressed.

Binaries are available for Windows 2000/XP, Mac OS X 10.2.x and Linux 
(RedHat 7.2 to 9.0) - see the software download page 
(http://jalama.ecoinformatics.org/software/index.html),  which also 
contains a downloadable compressed archive of the source files.

We would welcome any input or suggestions (email jalama-dev at 
ecoinformatics.org), most notably:

1) Installation issues for the various target operating systems
2) Compatibility with (i.e. the the ability to run on) the various 
target operating systems
3) Validity of output EML (which may be checked using the online 
validation service at 
http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/emlparser/index.html). If reporting 
non-valid EML documents, please provide a copy of the EML output if 
possible.
4) Feedback on usability of various widgets (such as lists, or radio 
button choices. Note there are known issues with radio buttons not 
displaying the "selected" mode, although they still function correctly)

* Please consult the README file for a list of known issues before 
reporting bugs *

The long-term goal of the Jalama project is to create a flexible, easy 
to use system for developing metadata and data entry forms for use in 
lab and field environments for ecology. The system will use a 
metadata-driven approach to form generation, and software products from 
the project will target both desktop and handheld computer.  These 
applications will simultaneously enable researchers to provide critical 
structured metadata in order for their work to participate in a 
distributed "Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity" 
(http://knb.ecoinformatics.org).

The Jalama Project (pronounced "hah-LAH-mah") is managed through the 
Marine Science Institute at the University of California, Santa 
Barbara.  It is a collaboration between the National Center for 
Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS - http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu) 
and the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans 
(PISCO - http://www.piscoweb.org).  However, products resulting from 
this project are released as open source, and further collaborations 
and contributions are welcome.



-------------------------------------------
Matthew Brooke
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
735 State Street, Suite 300
Santa Barbara, CA  93101-3351
Phone:  805-892-2503
FAX: 805-892-2510
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu