Creating COinS for websites

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  • SimonCropper
    I have confirmed that this now works. Thanks ajlyon.

    As requested by Dan, I wait to post the tutorial until after the updated COinS.js file works it way out to the public.
  • SimonCropper
    For people finding this thread. Following the latest release of Zotero, ajloyn's version of the COinS translator is now available to everyone.

    I have published the procedure on how to use this functionality in the developed section of the wiki under 'exposing metadata' and have also put a link in the 'Knowledge Base'. Hopefully others find it useful.
  • adamsmith
    SimonCropper - looks great.
    Still, couldn't we just put your instructions here: http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/exposing_metadata/coins, replacing the current content?
  • ajlyon
    SimonCropper: Great work on the instructions! If you want to contribute to other parts of the documentation too, it'd be great; many pages are sorely in need of good, illustrated, step-by-steps, and you've proved you can do a great job on them.
  • dstillman
    Yes, this is great, but what adamsmith said. (We can maybe keep the PHP part somewhere, but I don't think we need the rest of that page, and that's the URL this should be at.)
  • SimonCropper
    Although interesting the PHP part you mentioned does not actually discuss Zotero or its functionality at all. It could easily be dropped and the paragraph on COinS in the Using an Open Standard for Exposing Metadata revamped. This would however require the OpenURL COinS coins page to be deleted - not something I have the authority to do; or the inclination to do, without the permission of the original author.
  • SimonCropper
    ajlyon: Thanks, it is nice to get some positive feedback. Open Content creation is something I am actively involved in on my website http://www.fossworkflowguides.com and I don't mind creating useful content for other projects when doing something that overlaps.

    Where are your biggest holes or biggest mess?
  • dstillman
    Simon: It doesn't matter who the original author was (particularly since the original author has yet to chime in, and I'm not going to bother finding the original page in order to find out). It's a wiki, and we're telling you that yours is better.

    The COinS page belongs at that original URL, and there shouldn't be multiple pages, so please move your content there. If there's something other people think is worth keeping, they can get it from the page history. I'll delete yours once you move it. Thanks.
  • SimonCropper
    OK. Then what I propose to do is revamp the above mentioned paragraph and essentially orphan the 'OpenURL COinS' page. I'll try and get redirect the page to my new tutorial. I am proposing keeping my title as it is clear and succinct what it contains.
  • SimonCropper
    Done, Exposing Metadata updated.
  • adamsmith
    nice.
    As for improving documentation - if you're using the beta version there is a lot to do - documented new features such as duplicate detection, the new quick search bar, the new word processor integration.

    As for other parts of the documentation - some of it is a bit outdated, referring to 2.0 or even earlier versions.
    I don't, of the top of my head, know of anything with big holes (except the word processor integration, which I'm working on atm) - Rintze knows most about the documentation, maybe he has suggestions.
  • dstillman
    I am proposing keeping my title as it is clear and succinct what it contains.
    I don't have time to debate this. I've moved the content to http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/exposing_metadata/coins , which adamsmith and I asked you to do many times. The page already has a title. There's no need for a URL that long.

    This is a great page, though, and I hope you'll contribute more.
  • RintzeRintze
    I am proposing keeping my title as it is clear and succinct what it contains.
    To add to Dan's comment, URLs shouldn't be changed unless a) the page title doesn't cover the content anymore, or b) content has to be moved to a different section in the wiki. Wiki pages are often linked to, e.g. in Zotero forums posts, but also on other websites and in third-party documentation, so we prefer to keep things where there are. If a move is really necessary, the old page should contain a link to the new one (Dan can also set up an automatic redirect).

    As for "big holes" in the documentation: I started reorganizing the developer section (http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/start) a while back, but some pages are still rather rough. For the user documentation section my main concerns are a) outdated documentation and b) the fact that most documentation was written when Zotero was still only available as a Firefox extension. I think the documentation should be restructured to both make it easy for users to pick the environment best suited for them (Zotero for Firefox, or Zotero Standalone with a connector), and clearly highlight any differences in functionality between these two offerings.
  • nschneid
    Thanks for this feature! Unfortunately I receive an error when attempting to export items of the Report or Presentation type to COinS—is this by design, or a bug?
  • adamsmith
    that's a bug - ajlyon would have to have a look. My guess would be that since COinS can't actually display those item types the export fails. Instead it should probably revert to a default item type.
  • ajlyon
    I'll implement a fallback, but this is mainly just exposing a limitation in COinS (and ultimately of OpenURL). I thought the export would skip them, but I never actually tried.
  • noksagt
    edited September 6, 2011
    OpenURL is limited, yes, but you can use dublin core:
    rft_val_fmt=info:ofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.genre=report...
  • SimonCropper
    Is it possible to have Zotero export dublin core or any other metadata standard?
  • adamsmith
    Zotero does have an export translator for Unqualified Dublin Core RDF, yes.
  • SimonCropper
    edited September 6, 2011
    Apart from COinS, which obviously has some limitations, are there any other metadata standards that Zotero can 'Quick Copy' a selection and the resultant XML/HTML/whatever be inserted somewhere in a webpage and be seen by Zotero?

    Ideally, the more than one reference should be able to be inserted and more than books and journals recognized.

    So we are clear -- (1) I want to use my own library, (2) I want to drag-and-drop relevant references to what I am discussing from my Zotero Library into the webpage or blog that I am working on, (3) at least, Zotero be able to 'see/import' these references, and (4) have more than books and articles recognized.
  • ajlyon
    COinS is currently the only real option. RDFa would be an option, but nothing supports it (not Zotero, and not anything else that I know of, apart from clients that specialize in RDF).

    We do hope to start supporting several vocabularies with RDFa, much as COinS currently is supported, in the relatively near future. That will include detection in webpages and export in some way, but there's no timeline.

    I will follow noksagt's advice and fall back to the DC type and specify genres in the next version of the COinS exporter, but I'm travelling again until Monday; feel free to bump this thread if there's no activity by this time next week.
  • ajlyon
    I'd forgotten that this logic is in the Zotero core code-- it'll take a bit more time and effort to get other item types working, so I'm rescinding my one week timeline. It would still be relatively straightforward to add more types to COinS import and export, but I won't be working on that for a while yet. Sorry.
  • SimonCropper
    No problems from my point of view. COinS is a solution, but by far inadequate for robust long term use.

    In the short-term it is a matter of just reminding yourself that it only really works on books, articles and chapters.

    If you get an opportunity to work on the translator having data fall back to its generic schema before being exported would be good but you know then you will get posts of why someones presentation is being formatted like a book.
  • wilko.hardenberg
    I'v actually problems with chapters: the CoINS produced by Zotero doesn't show rft.btitle and when I reimport it into Zotero I lack the book title. Any possible solutions?
  • wilko.hardenberg
    and, as in this example the single author is given as bot rft.au and rft.aufirst+rft.aulast, so that I get the same author twice on reimporting

    <span class='Z3988' title='url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=urn%3Aisbn%3A8842209805&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Le%20Chasses%20Royales%20in%20Valle%20d'Aosta%20(1850-1919)&rft.place=Torino&rft.publisher=Umberto%20Allemandi&rft.aufirst=Pietro&rft.aulast=Passerin%20d'Entre%CC%80ves&rft.au=Pietro%20Passerin%20d'Entre%CC%80ves&rft.date=2000&rft.tpages=142&rft.isbn=8842209805'></span>
  • mark
    edited June 21, 2012
    I have had problems implementing book chapters in COinS too — the concept of editor is missing. (Previous thread.)
  • adamsmith
    The lack of editor is a limitation of the format, but what Wilko reports sounds like a bug (or two) to me.
    If anyone wants to take a look that'd be great, I won't have time anytime soon.
  • adamsmith
    @wilko - are you still having the 2nd problem you report? I don't get duplicate authors (also, note that for items like your sample export, Zotero will actually do an ISBN query first)

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