Note: all contents from http://webservices.dhts.duke.edu/
DHTS Strategic Web Services was created to align with Duke Health’s vision of consolidating the silos of content and knowledge of over 150 web sites into one consistent user experience.
Our Services for building sites on the web….
* Creation and conversion of existing sites to the Duke Health Framework.
* Custom application development.
* Web Needs Assessment and Project Management
* Information Architecture and User Interface Design
* Graphic Design (no original artwork)
* Support for the content management framework, common development, upgrades and patches
* Server Support for HTTP and Database
* DNS Support
* Log Analysis
* Security
* User support for problem resolution and assistance in content formatting
The XOOPS ( eXtensible Object Oriented Portal System, pronounced “Zoops” ) framework used by DHTS Web Services is a critical, ongoing project. With so many sites to operate and maintain, Web Services needed a flexible, low cost solution that allowed for rapid development and deployment.
What is it?
* XOOPS is open source software, meaning that Web Services has all of the source code and full control over what it can and cannot do. We have modified XOOPS to meet Duke’s needs by changing the source code and adding or modifying modules.
* XOOPS is a content management system (CMS) meaning we have placed control over content in the hands of our clients. This frees us from working on content related maintenance tasks and allows us to build on the framework and work on other web applications.
* XOOPS is a community. The XOOPS community is constantly improving the software and adding additional modules, all of which is available for free.
Some basic facts about XOOPS:
* XOOPS is written in PHP and uses a relational database (MySQL).
* XOOPS utilizes modules, which can be installed and uninstalled to customize a site for a client. Web Services offers many modules which have been screened by our staff for quality and usability.
* XOOPS is themeable, meaning each site can have its own identity (within the appropriate standards, of course).
* XOOPS is easy to use for anyone familiar with common word processing applications such as Microsoft Word. No knowledge of HTML is required to maintain your site.
Common questions about XOOPS:
Q: Is XOOPS really free?
A: Yes, XOOPS is free in that there is no vendor to purchase the software from nor is there any ongoing license fees. XOOPS is published under GNU General Public License (GPL).
Like all software, however, XOOPS isn’t truly free. The costs, rather than easily categorized in terms of a purchase price, are instead rendered into somewhat intangible services such as support and ongoing development. Moreover, even though the original software was free, Web Services has put a significant amount of effort into building it into a reliable framework specifically for Duke. When we set up a website for you, this is essentially what you are paying for.
Q: Can I download and use XOOPS?
A: Yes, you certainly can. Go here to get it: http://www.xoops.org
Q: Can I get the DHTS Web Services version?
A: We have made rather extensive modifications to the XOOPS framework, and are therefore reluctant to release our version of the software into others’ hands. Support and other issues multiply when you have multiple environments and platforms to contend with. However, we will be more than happy to provide you with a XOOPS instance hosted on our servers that you can try out. Contact us for more information.
Q: What are some features that the Web Services XOOPS version has over the standard version?
A: In addition to defining a core set of the best modules available we have made a number of enhancements to the framework. These include but are not limited to…
* An advanced WYSIWYG editor, making editing the website easy for anyone familiar with a modern day word processor.
* LDAP authentication for NetIDs.
* An original, easy to use gallery module for displaying images.
* A Google!" Maps based university map module, with point and click administrative interface.
* A faculty module for making listing and displaying information about staff and faculty easy, up-to-date, and informative.
* In context editing.
* much more…
Available Modules
News:
Site administrators are able to post, publish and manage articles in their website. Articles can be categorized into several topics and subtopics, and each one of them can be identified visually by using topic icons.
Administrators of the site and registered users can decide if they want to be notified when new topics or articles are posted. Depending on permissions, visitors can submit articles for approval and publishing. Four specific types of news items are available for display in different parts of the site: Big Story, Recent News, Top News and News Topics. Some of the features of this component are:
* You can browse news items in a linear fashion or through the monthly news archive
* News items can be published at once or scheduled to pop online on a desired date and time
* News items can be left on the site or scheduled to expire on a desired date and time
* Site administrators can define as many topics and subtopics they need to categorize their news items
* Each topic or subtopic can have its own image, and the image can be defined to appear left or right in the index
* Each news item has defined an introductory text, the one that will appear in index pages. A complementary text is optional
* Long articles can be further subdivided in pages using the tag
* Articles can optionally use HTML
* Site administrators can see a preview of their stories before publishing them
* Site administrators can decide if a specific news item appears or not in the home page
* All the text of the stories is fully searchable
* Every story can include images by using the WYSIWYG editor
* The module has integrated notification features
* Optionally, all news items can be commented by users
* Headlines of the module can be syndicated to other sites through an RSS newsfeed
* Permissions based categories
Forums:
Depending on permissions set by the site administrators, moderators, registered users and anonymous guests can exchange posts and discuss topics. Forum management is done from within the Admin Control Panel, but assigned moderators can do from basic forum moderation within the forum itself.
Four specific types of forum items are available for display, usually in the front page: Most viewed topics, Most active topics, Recent topics, and Recent private topics.
Some of the features of the forums are:
* You can set private forums, available only to members
* You can preview your message before actually posting it
* Moderators can be defined per category
* Users can be notified about most events in the forums
* HTML and images are allowed in posts
* It’s possible to link to images
* It’s possible to add clickable URLs and email addresses
Calendar:
The DHTS CMS offers two flexible and feature rich calendar applications. Each has its strengths and which one you choose will depend upon the types of content you intend to display. Both offer categories, search, day-week-month-flat views, mini-calendars and more.
AgendaX offers:
* A 7-day upcoming events area and a 30-day upcoming events area that can be displayed in other areas of the site (like the homepage).
* Dates with events are highlighted with link.
* A random event for the current day if there’s any.
* A random event of the next day to up to 2 months
* A “flatter” display area, for groups which need to display many events on the same day.
xCal offers:
* A traditional calendar view with events appearing in the appropriate time slots.
* Easy event add functionality.
* Eye pleasing at-a-glance day, week, month, and year views.
* Traditional monthly printable version, for groups which prefer to print their calendars.
* More appropriate for groups with fewer events occurring at the same time.
Maps *beta*:
GMap is a new application DHTS has added to the CMS framework. GMap is considered “beta” because it uses the Google Maps service, also in beta. This does not mean that the service is unstable or incomplete instead it is used to indicate that it may change in the future.
GMap uses custom tile sets and an intuitive point and click interface to allow site administrators to customize the map to their needs. By default, GMap uses a tile set designed by DHTS to overlay the Duke Campus map on top of Google’s default map. GMap includes features such as:
* Directions from anywhere in the United States, provided via Google.
* Customizable informative map popup windows
* Unlimited zoom in / zoom out functionality, click and drag map scrolling, etc.
* Easy point and click administrative interface
* Most Duke Campus buildings are already plotted on the map, so it is ready for use “as is” or may be customized for each group
* Easy building lookup
* Customizable map icons
* Customizable map marker categories.
Click here to view an example map
Image Gallery:
Simple Gallery is a full-featured yet simple image gallery application designed to be easy to administer. Features include:
* Modular navigation no need to reload the entire page when changing galleries or viewing images.
* Permissions based albums
* Click and drag interface for organizing and categorizing your images.
* Automatic image resizing
* “Featured Album” display a random image from a user defined album on any page.
* “Featured Images” display a random image from a list of user defined images on any page.
Contact:
DHTS offers a comprehensive and totally customizable contact application. Forms may be created to gather any information you require (no PHI) and have that information emailed to a person or group of your choosing.
Faculty Listing:
Administrators may import a faculty listing from the various Duke services, which greatly reduces the amount of data entry required to list faculty members on your website. Moreover, this data is pulled dynamically from these services, so when data is updated in core Duke systems that data is immediately available on your website. Features:
* Physician import & dynamic personal profile, including contact information, education, research interests, publications, and more.
* Easy staff entry form via NetID or DempoID lookup.
* Tabular or collapsible hierarchical view
Polls:
The display of interactive survey forms on your site is available as a component of the DHTS CMS. Each poll can display a question on which visitors can “vote”. This can be a valuable way to collect feedback from your community. Polls can be configured to allow single or multiple choices and visitors can view the “results” to date.
Syndication:
The DHTS CMS allows you to display and publish RSS/XML news feeds. A news feed is a file summarizing elements of a site’s content, a service commonly provided by dynamic websites. By adding a feed to your website, you can display headlines and other content from other websites that is updated in real-time. Likewise, you may publish a feed which other may consume and display. This feed will be updated on any site using your feed as soon as you update your content.
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