This document summarizes a presentation on extending the functionality of the BExIS data management system. It discusses several aspects of extensibility including developing new modules, integrating BExIS with other systems through APIs, and customizing the user interface through branding. New modules can provide additional functions, data formats, and tools. Integration is achieved by exposing data and services through web APIs. Branding allows customizing the user experience for different customers. The talk provided examples of these extensibility features and outlined future topics like improved UI structures and API documentation.

1. BEXIS Tech Talk Series
#5: BExIS Extensibility
Javad Chamanara
Presented at BExIS Developers Conference
June 2016
Germany

2. Reminder: What is BExIS
• Requirements
– Data Lifecycle Management
– Generic
– Extensible
– Portable
– Scalable
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More details on the BExIS Requirements

3. Reminder: Core Concepts
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DataMetadata
Data StructureMetadata Structure Semantics Geo
Administration Security
«use»
«use»
«use» «use»
«use»
More details on the Conceptual Model

4. Reminder: Architecture
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DB2 PgS
Data Access
Security
Core Functions
UI
UI Framework
...
Modularity
Integration
Synthesis Work
Semantic Search
Analytics
User Defined
Spatial Querying
External Tools
Web Services
Archiving
Import/ Export
Publishing
More details on the Architecture

5. Extensibility Aspects
• Module Development: Is the mechanism to
add functionality to BExIS
– Support for specific data formats
– Data Analysis and Visualization
– Geographical Search
– Resource Booking
– Semantic Search
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6. Extensibility Aspects
• Integration: Data/service exchange between
BExIS and other systems.
– Publishing datasets in external repositories
– Allowing access to datasets for analysis
– Acquiring PIDs
– …
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7. Extensibility Aspects
• Branding: Is a way to position BExIS in a user
community on behalf of a customer
– Logo, Icons
– Themes, colors,
– Text, graphics,
– …
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8. Shell
• Layouts
– Arrangement
– Content
• Themes
• Menus
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9. Shell: Layout
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10. Shell: Themes
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11. Shell: Menus
• Registered by Modules
• Integrated into Shell
• Some are fixed
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12. Module Development
• A module is a set of related user facing
functions, operating from inside the BExIS
Shell
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13. Components of a Module
• UI
• Services
• Data Access
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14. Module: UI
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15. Module: UI: Area Registration
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16. Module: UI: Layout selection
• <Module>/Views/_ViewStart.cshtml
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17. Module: UI: Menu
• Fixed areas
• Limited # of Levels
• Registration in _Menus.chhtml
– Areas/site/views/Nav
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18. Module: Configuration
• Each module has it own
– Web.config
– Workspace
• Config folder
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19. Module: Configuration
• Each module has it own
– Data folder
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20. Module: Data
• Seed Data:
– The data needed by module to start working.
– It can be immutable or modifiable
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21. Module: Libraries
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22. Branding
• Who needs to re-brand BExIS
– Tenants: The customers who install and own BExIS
• What can be re-branded
– Appearance
– Documents
– Functionalities
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23. Sample Tenants: BExIS
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24. Sample Tenants: iDiv
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25. Branding: Functionalities
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26. Mechanics of Branding
• The Branding package
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27. Inside the Package
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28. Package’s Manifest file
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29. Resolution Mechanism
• Tenant Resolution
– Single tenant: in web.config
– Multi tenants: by matching rules
• Name Resolution
– Resolved tenant
– Fallback tenant, otherwise
• Resource Resolution
– Resolved tenant
– Fallback tenant
– Application predefined resources
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30. Branding: Management
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31. Integration (Interoperability)
• Data/Service
– Offering
– Consumption
• Interaction Method
– Push
– Pull
• Current: Offering pull based services
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32. Integration: Services
• Authentication/Authorization
• Dataset
• Schema of a dataset
• Metadata of a Dataset
• Selected Variables of a Datasets
• Selected Tuples of a Dataset
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33. APIs
• Access Method
– Web based
– HTTP
– REST
• Output format
– CSV
– JSON
– XML
• Example
– rBExIS package for R
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34. Sample Web API calls: Data
• http://www.name.com/api/data
• http://www.name.com/api/data/6
– /api/data/6?header=id,name
– /api/data/6?filter=(Grade>50 AND Grade <90)
– /api/data/6?header=id,name&filter=(Grade>50)
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35. Sample Web API calls: Data
Structure
• http://www.name.com/api/structures/6
• http://www.name.com/api/metadata/6
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36. Sample Web API calls: Metadata
• http://www.name.com/api/metadata
• http://www.name.com/api/metadata/6
• http://www.name.com/api/metadata/6?Conv
ertTo=EML
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37. Outlook
Whats next in the talk series?
UI Structure and Web API
Detailed developer view
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38. 3838
Thanks!
Questions?
Contact:
javad.chamanara@uni-jena.de
http://bexis2.uni-jena.de
BEXIS Tech Talk #5: BExIS Extensibility
Acknowledgment