[ba-ohs-talk] Harland--Placeless Documents
fyi...
http://www2.parc.com/csl/projects/harland/ (01)
Harland provides:
"· persistent document objects that can hold application data in a
dynamically-extensible set of named property values
· a query facility for retrieving these objects based on the values
of their properties
· enforcement of application-supplied constraints
· automatic manipulation of a relational database for storage and
query processing without a fixed schema for the application data
" (02)
Reference was found at http://nooface.com/ (03)
"Harland is a Java API developed by Xerox PARC that provides a persistent
attribute store for document-based applications written in Java. Harland
works in combination with a relational database by providing a layer on top
of the relational model to simplify attribute storage and retrieval, while
retaining the performance and aspects of data structuring that make RDBs so
powerful. Document properties are statements about documents that make
sense to the user, and affect what they can do with the documents. Harland
is the latest implementation of Placeless Documents, an architecture
developed by Xerox in which documents are organized and managed according
to their properties, rather than according to their location, as in
traditional hierarchical file systems (see online presentation). A 90-day
trial version of Harland can be downloaded. " (04)
Placeless Documents: http://www2.parc.com/csl/projects/placeless/
"Placeless Documents are documents that are organized and managed according
to their properties, rather than according to their location. Document
properties can be things you already know about your documents, like that
they're published, or notes, or about the budget,or drafts, or source code,
or important, or shared with your colleagues, or from your manager, or big,
or from the Web, or... whatever suits you. Document properties can also be
things that you want to be true about your documents, like that they are
backed up, or replicated on your laptop, or can be purchased for a small
fee. These latter properties carry the code to implement or interface with
the desired functionality. Document properties are statements about your
documents that make sense to you, and affect what you're going to do with
the documents. "
"Our vision is one of customizable, context-aware management of integrated
information spaces, which:
· integrate information components from many sources: repositories
(WWW, mail, file systems), devices (scanners, video-cameras, television,
phone), and dynamic processes (workflow, source code management systems,
search engines, and dynamic document content),
· allow customizable organization of the information based on
properties of that information, e.g., budget related, read at home, shared
with John, and From: petersen@parc.xerox.com,
· allow information properties to be arbitrary objects specified
through many different mechanisms: explicitly by the users themselves,
captured by physical context sensors, inferred from usage, automatically
generated by content analysis, etc.
· allow information properties to be active and carry behaviors to
automate information work, enabling functionality like fax to John at 5pm
each day, translate to English, notarized, backed-up in Utah for safety, etc.
· scale to sizes anywhere between an individual and the enterprise,
· are available at all locations required by the users, and
· protect the privacy and intellectual property of users.
In this world the focus is on information, customization, and functionality
that extends beyond the abilities of monolithic applications. Essentially,
information carries the behaviors and semantics needed to operate on it.
Information is independent of location and becomes responsive to the
environments it is used in and the contexts of individual users, and it is
managed independently by both its consumers and providers. " (05)