[kepler-dev] [kepler-users] question about kepler

[Matthew Jones]

Hi,

The actor repository allows you to upload an actor along with its MoML document 
and documentation.  The actor is stored in a Metacat server 
(http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/software/metacat) and the documentation is 
indexed to enable searching the repository through a web-based interface.  The 
repository can also be searched from within the Kepler application to locate 
remote actors of interest.  Metacat uses LDAP as its directory server to 
authenticate users.  Metacat supports fine grained, role-based access control of 
the objects it stores, but we currently are only supporting public/private 
access levels to simplify the process of uploading actors.  This could be 
reconsidered if there is a use case for more access levels.

Kepler communicates with Metacat using the EarthGrid web services interface. 
Any server that supports the appropriate web services interface could 
technically be used as an actor repository within Kepler. Metacat is one such 
server, and there may be others that would be candidates.

You can indeed deploy a version of metacat at your institution and use it for 
your actor repository by configuring the Kepler client to point at the new 
repository.

Kepler automatically prompts a person to login when they attempt to perform an 
operation requiring authentication, such as uploading an actor to the 
repository.  There is also a Login menu that allows someone to login at any time.

In terms of web-based UIs, there are several efforts.  Hydrant is indeed an 
excellent example, but others are also developing systems.  The GEON project has 
  been running Kepler in the GEON portal successfully for several years, and 
Paul Allen at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology is developing an interface 
for biodiversity research.  The interest in this topic is significant, and so we 
will probably be forming a working group to improve Kepler's ability to be run 
in a portal environment.

Regards,

Matt

P.S. Please do not cross-post to kepler-dev and kepler-users -- pick the 
appropriate list for your question -- most developers are on both lists.

dejw wrote:
> Hi Jianwu again,
> 
> I want to ask more about this below:
>>>
>>> 3. Actor repository - I understand that it is possible to have one 
>>> common actor repository for some organization? Kepler uses LDAP for 
>>> it? Are there some access rights for actors or something like this? 
>>> Is it possible to grant some roles to users when LDAP authentication 
>>> is used? Is it possible to require login while starting Kepler?
>>      You can find the current actor repository at 
>> http://library.kepler-project.org/kepler/. Yet it is not widely used 
>> currently. We are trying implement more comprehensive actor repository 
>> mechanism.
>>>
> 1. So you use LDAP server to store actors? or something else?
> 
> 2. How about access rights and user roles as regard access to actors in 
> such repository?
> 
> 3. I understand I can deploy such repository inside some organization 
> and configure kepler to use it?
> 
> 4. Can I set kepler to require login before start editor? to recognize 
> user somehow?
> 
> Dawid
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew B. Jones
Director of Informatics Research and Development
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
UC Santa Barbara
jones at nceas.ucsb.edu                       Ph: 1-907-523-1960
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecoinfo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~