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ANGEL Vocabulary
Author: Nicole Harris
The document below gives definitions of many of the protocols, terms and acronyms used by, or connected to, the Angel project.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
APPROPRIATE COPY
Leading a specified user to the most suitable version of a resource, taking into account access privileges defined by both content providers and instutions. This may be the physical copy of a resource held in a library, an e-journal, or a service such as interlibrary loans.
API
Application Program Interface. An interface between the operating system and application programs, which includes the way the application programs communicate with the operating system, and the services the operating system makes available to the programs. For example, an API may make it possible for programs that run under it to open windows and display message boxes.
ATHENS
Athens is an Eduserv service delivering "authentication, authorisation and distributed user administration services" to UK HE/FE.
AUTHENTICATION
Authentication is the process in which a user 's claim to an identity is checked. The obvious example is proving that you are Fred Bloggs by typing in his username and password when challenged. Any single individual might have multiple identities for different purposes.
AUTHORISATION
Authorisation is the process by which an identity is allowed or prevented from carrying out tasks / accessing information on the basis of their identity.
The Bath Profile is an ISO Internationally Registered Profile (IRP) of the Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol, intended as a basis for effective interoperability between library and cross-domain applications. Conformance to this Profile's specifications will improve international or extranational search and retrieval among library catalogues, union catalogues, and other electronic resource discovery services worldwide.
A cookie is a file sent to a web browser by a web server that is used to record a user's activities on a website. Cookies can remember all kinds of personal information, such as your password, so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit the site; and your preferences, so the next time you return to a site, you can be presented with customised information.
Decomate was an EC project to develop an "end-user service which provides access to heterogeneous information resources distributed over different libraries in Europe using a uniform interface, leading to a working demonstrator of the European Digital Library for Economics". OCLC's iPort is based on Decomate ideas.
DIGITAL CERTIFICATE
An attachment to an electronic message used for security purposes. The most common use of a digital certificate is to verify that a user sending a message is who he or she claims to be, and to provide the receiver with the means to encode a reply. An individual wishing to send an encrypted message applies for a digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). The CA issues an encrypted digital certificate containing the applicant's public key and a variety of other identification information. The CA makes its own public key readily available through print publicity or perhaps on the Internet. The recipient of an encrypted message uses the CA's public key to decode the digital certificate attached to the message, verifies it as issued by the CA and then obtains the sender's public key and identification information held within the certificate. With this information, the recipient can send an encrypted reply. The most widely used standard for digital certificates is X.509.
DUBLIN CORE
"Dublin Core metadata is used to supplement existing methods for searching and indexing Web-based metadata." "The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an organization dedicated to fostering the widespread adoption of interoperable metadata standards and promoting the development of specialized metadata vocabularies for describing resources to enable more intelligent resource discovery systems."
Name given to the EDUCAUSE / Internet 2 LDAP object class used to identify widely used person attributes / roles within higher education. This standard namespace will allow a range of directory-based applications to share personal information between institutions, data providers and platforms.
Layer within the JISC IE that contains middleware responsible for combining metadata records for one or more content providers, as a result of cross-searching, harvesting, or alerting.
Headline was an eLib project "to design and implement a working model of the hybrid library". Closely associated with Decomate.
The JISC Information Environment of the set of netwroked services that allows people to discover, access, use and publish resources within the DNER. The technical architecture suggests a three layer structure of provision layer, fusion layer and presentation layer.
INTERNET2
"Internet2, led by over 190 U.S. universities working in partnership with industry and government, is developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet." The Internet2 Middleware Architecture Committee for Education (MACE) is developing the Shibboleth architecture.
ITE
Interface to Everything. Many companies and institutions are designing portals that aim to provide access to all the information needed by a user. Examples include the University of British Columbia's myUBC.
IMS ENTERPRISE
The objective of the IMS Enterprise specification is to define a standardised set of structures that can be used to exchange data between different systems.This will allow software developers and implementers to create Instructional Management processes that interoperate across systems and are being developed independently by various software developers. IMS Enterprise is looking at interoperability between Learning Management Systems and Human Resource Systems, Student Administration Systems, Training Administration Systems and Library Management Systems.
LIGHTWEIGHT DIRECTORY ACCESS PROTOCOL
LDAP is aprotocol for accessing online directory services, for example of people, library addresses or library service definitions. It is a cut down version of X.500. OpenLDAP is an Open Source LDAP suite developed by the Internet community.
A term used to describe the services that sit in the fusion layer of the IE architecture.
MLE
The term MLE is explained in different ways by different people. The ANGEL project has adopted the following definition:
"Managed Learning Environment Applications are software products that support educational activities which are normally associated with the learning experience. In this respect 'MLE Applications' will offer functions to support pedagogy, the management of learning materials, student administration and a communications environment. The may also be able to interact with othe systems and services."
This definition is based on that provided by BECTA.
A set of names in which all names are unique.
OPEN ARCHIVES INITIATIVE - PROTOCOL FOR METADATA HARVESTING
OAI - PMH is the Open Archives Initiative's protocol for metadata harvesting.
OPEN LINKING
A NISO supported concept for using OpenURLs and link resolvers to select and present hyperlinks to appropriate related information resources independent of the original information resource. <http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/Presentations.htm>.
OPENURL
OpenURL is a protocol for interoperability between an information resource and a service component. OpenURL works on the idea that links should lead users to an appropriate copy of a resource. The query sent contains metadata (a citation) about the resource, rather than simply identifying the location of the resource.
PAPI is a system for providing access control to restricted information resources across the Internet. It intends to keep authentication as an issue local to the organization the user belongs to, while leaving the information providers full control over the resources they offer.
PORTAL
A portal is a network service that provides access to a range of heterogeneous network services, local and remote, structured and unstructured. Such network services might typically include resource discovery services, email access and online discussion fora. Portals are aimed at human end-users using common Web 'standards' such as HTTP, HTML, Java and JavaScript'.
PORTAL PROBLEM
Name given to the persistent problem of providing seamless discovery services across a range of disparate content providers.
PRESENTATION LAYER
Layer within the JISC IE that encompasses all potential interfaces available to users including web browsers, portals and learning environments.
PROVISION LAYER
Layer within the JISC IE that encompasses al resources made available by content providers, including JISC-funded data services, and e-journal providers.
RSS is a lightweight, multipurpose, extensible metadata description and syndication format. RSS is an XML application that is currently used for a number of applications, including news and other headline syndication and weblog syndication. It is generally used for any situation when a machine-readable list of textual items and/or metadata about them needs to be distributed. Used for alerting services.
RESOLVER
In the context of the JISC Information Environment, "a network service that takes metadata about a resource and supplies pointers to services on, or related to, that resource, for example delivery services. In the context of the JISC IE, metadata is passed to the resolver using an OpenURL." For more information see <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/distributed-systems/dner/arch/glossary/>.
RESOURCE MANAGER
The ANGEL Resource Manager (RM) will be responsible for controlling metadata about information resources. The RM will ensure that the ‘appropriate copy’ of a resource is presented to the student, taking into account access privileges defined by both vendors and institutions, and accessibility problems. This may guide the student directly to an electronic copy, offer the location of a print version, or instigate an inter-library loan request. The institutional effort spent on maintaining metadata within the Resource Manager will contribute to the DNER infrastructure by presenting collections within the RM as Z39.50 targets to external searches. Richer interaction will be possible between two or more institutional ANGEL services, such as the sharing of resource descriptions.
The ANGEL Scheduled Services Manager (SSM) will allow the user to schedule automatic functions and tasks. This will include the maintenance of referenced URLs, license expiry warning, and collection checking for both staff and students. Users will also be able to run particular searches across resources at specified times, and schedule current awareness alerts. This will allow the user to maintain a watch on topics of interest. The link checking function will allow instructors to make use of deep-links to specific resources, rather than generic services. This will be possible through the management of OpenURL conformant links within the RM. The SSM can also be tasked to periodically check non-institutionally controlled access.
SHIBBOLETH
Shibboleth is a system for facilitating sharing of resources between institutions. When a user at one institution tries to use a resource at another, Shibboleth sends attributes about the user to the remote destination, rather than making the user log in to that destination. The destination can use the attributes in deciding whether or not to grant access to the user.
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol provides a way for applications to communicate with each other over the Internet, independent of platform. SOAP relies on XML to define the format of the information and then adds the necessary HTTP headers to send it. It would be the basis of a web service.
The ANGEL User Manager (UM) will control (or interface to externally managed) information about the end user. Together with the Resource Manager, the UM will facilitate user authentication and authorisation. The ANGEL project is working towards a single sign-on model of authentication and authorisation to overcome the problems of repeated authentication challenges and multiple passwords. To this end, ANGEL is working with JCAS on the Sparta specification, exa mining future authentication and authorisation requirements within UK HEI. ANGEL is specifically looking at two models: the American Shibboleth developments and the European PAPI design. The UM will allow the institution to assign rights groups,and to collect session information.
The term 'web services' has a specific meaning, it does not just refer to an information service on the web say. They are interfaces for communication between two applications, using XML. In the same way that programmatic interfaces are available via HTML forms, programs are now able to call on each other by exchanging XML data through an interface, e.g. by using SOAP Version 1.2, the XML-based protocol produced by the XML Protocol Working Group. XML is the standard language used by a Web service. A Web service will receive XML and send the output back as XML. The specification provides rigour, structure and a standard for importing information from location to location. "The power of Web services, apart from their great interoperability and extensibility thanks to the use of XML, is that they can then be combined in order to achieve more complex operations. Several programs providing simple services can interact in order to permit complex operations." For more information see <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue29/gardner/>.
A digital certificate standard. X.509 (version 3) has been recommended to JISC as a standard for national services. The X.509 standard defines what information can go into a certificate, and describes how to write it down (the data format). This information is made up of: version, serial number, Signature Algorithm Identifier, issuer name, validity period, subject name, and subject public key information.
XPath, XML Query, XQuery, XSLT
XPath is a language developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for addressing parts of an XML document. It is designed to be embedded in a host language such as XSLT 2.0 (part of the XSL language for transforming XML documents ) or XQuery (for querying them). XPath 2.0 (released 30 April 2002) is more powerful, as an expression language for processing sequences, with built-in support for querying XML documents, and including greater support for data types such as dates.The XML Query working group of W3C has been working with XPath developers to try "to provide flexible query facilities to extract data from real and virtual documents on the Web, therefore finally providing the needed interaction between the web world and the database world. Ultimately, collections of XML files will be accessed like databases". Their XQuery 1.0 specification includes XPath 2.0 and provides additional query features not required by XSLT. For more information see: <http://www.w3c.org/XML/Query>.
XML
Short for Extensible Markup Language, a specification developed by the W3C. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents. It allows designers to create their own customised tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organisations.
"Z39.50" refers to the International Standard, ISO 23950: "Information Retrieval (Z39.50): Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification", and to ANSI/NISO Z39.50. The Library of Congress is the Maintenance Agency and Registration Authority for both standards, which are technically identical (though with minor editorial differences). Z39.50 is a computer protocol that can be implemented on any platform, and defines a standard way for two computers to communicate for the purpose of information retrieval.