The goal of the WP4: The BlogForever Software Infrastructure is the creation of the weblog spider component and the digital repository web application component. This will be achieved in a few steps, which include the gathering of user requirements and definition of use cases, the development of a web spider tool for the weblog data extraction, manipulation and importing to the digital repository, the creation of a digital repository web application, capable of storing and managing large volumes of weblog data and finally the delivery of the final BlogForever platform.
WP4 has 6 main distinct tasks:
- Task 4.1 User requirements and platform specifications : This task consists of obtaining complete and accurate user requirements by identifying individual users and user groups for BlogForever, and gathering their views, needs and expectations. Each partner will send their own feedback (views, needs and expectations) and will gather feedback from the communities they belong to, using questionnaires. Finally, the results are going to be modeled with the use of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) to produce the platform’s specifications and use cases.
- Task 4.2 Design of the weblog spider component : This task will use the knowledge gained in Task 2.3 (Weblog data extraction) to design the final weblog spider component. The resulting designed component will be able to extract information from weblogs, contact the digital repository (developed in Tasks 4.4 and 4.5), and import data automatically.
- Task 4.3 Implementation of the weblog spider component : During the scheduled duration of the current task, an initial weblog spider prototype will be developed, based on the prototype deliverables from Task 2.3 (Definition of the weblog data extraction methodology). The prototype will then gradually get improved and developed to the final production-quality spider system. It is important to receive feedback from Task 3.3 of the DRM Policy planning, since automatically content aggregating spiders need to respect the intellectual rights of weblog authors and the licenses of weblog hosts and services.
- Task 4.4 Design of the digital repository component : This task will consult work done by WP2 and WP3 as well as the results of task 4.1 (User requirements and platform specifications) in order to design the expected functionality of the weblog digital repository component. Preservation, interoperability and legal issues researched at WP3 will be taken into account, while matters of special attention that might arise during the specification of the case studies at Task 5.1 are also to be regarded.
- Task 4.5 Implementation of the digital repository component : The design of Task 4.4 will be implemented through iterations. During these iterations, a new modification or add-on will be implemented, tested and documented each time.
- Task 4.6 Integration and Standardization : The weblog spider and the digital repository will be tested during the two rounds of the implementation of case studies at task 5.2. The results of the separate tests of the first round will be evaluated and lead to the necessary modifications ensuring interoperability while after the second round of testing the outcome will be the final BlogForever platform, comprising of the final weblog spider component and the final weblog digital repository component, fully functional and communicating optimally with each other.
The above mentioned tasks will produce the following deliverables:
- Deliverable 4.1 User requirements and platform specifications
- Deliverable 4.2 Weblog spider component design
- Deliverable 4.3 Initial weblog spider prototype
- Deliverable 4.4 Digital repository component design
- Deliverable 4.5 Initial weblog digital repository prototype
- Deliverable 4.6 Final weblog spider component
- Deliverable 4.7 Final weblog digital repository component
- Deliverable 4.8 Final BlogForever platform
