From W

global links:

1. new NPD admin system (test version)
2. new NPD user system (test version)
3. Reports - weekly reports. setup and test reports, and others
4. Meetings - information on past and future meetings
5. Project plan - the original, and current updates
6. the completed dissertation
7. Original NPD - info and links
8. Web services links

---

1. This week work progressed well on the NPD admin system. There is now an up-and-running prototype which can be used to browse any record in the NPD by searching for its gene name. there are some changes required to layout, particularly in the keywords page, and wherever web links are included. This will not be hard to alter, it is just a case of deciding the best way to display the information.
2. Unfortunately there have been some problems enabling editing of the NPD. The functionality is in place and is ready to go, but it is impossible to edit some fields without changing the schema of some of the NPD tables. Whilst this was always a consideration, aforementioned issues with getting access to the original NPD data, and to the code that controls the original online user access methods, makes this complicated. I will need to analyse how much of the schema can be altered without damaging the original user system, or else change the original user system. That may not in itself be too hard, but given the time constraints that must be adhered to in order to complete this research project, it presents a significant issue at present. I will continue to look into this next week.
3. Graeme has mentioned the possibility of dropping some of the content in the NPD given that it can be pulled from other institutional repositories. This may also help with some of the editing problems. However, any changes of this sort would also suffer the complications of effects on the original NPD user system.
4. I have asked Wendy and Graeme for comments on the current layout of the prototype admin system, and have performed some testing on it myself. Further changes will be made, and a test could be carried out by Wendy to ensure it performs all the necessary functions. However, this will be dependent on decisions made re. the previous mentioned problems with the original user system.
5. Over the coming weekend I will be completing the first draft of my dissertation, including more detail on the testing plan, and on current issues. Hopefully, these will be resolvable within a week, but if not, some further changes to the project plan will be suggested.
6. The original intention was to start work on the automated access systems next week, and to contact Marco Roos as soon as I find his email address. I think this should still go ahead, as it may be possible to alleviate some of the current problems by automatically pulling data from external sources.
7. So, first phase tasks are not yet quite completed as per the original schedule of getting them done today, but this is due to unavoidable complications at the early stages with accessing the original NPD, and has led to solutions to these earlier tasks becoming more reliant on results achieved on the second phase. This will need to be reflected in the project plan updates.
8. As an aside, I have considered the benefit of writing an xml schema for the database contents - this may prove useful down the line, and could help to solve other accessibility issues. However, thinking further on that, and on the various automated access methods available, has brought me to realise that I have not as yet found convincing benefits of OGSA-DAI over more typical SOAP or xmlrpc access methods. Especially given that Pubmed offer SOAP access, and Taverna can handle multiple access types, including but not restricted to OGSA-DAI. Despite my previous experience and education in eScience at the very institution where OGSA-DAI was created, I have not yet come across concrete examples of its applicable benefits to this project. Therefore, it will be important next week to get a clearer idea of exactly why OGSA-DAI would be beneficial, but more importantly to specify what ways this could impede the development of other access methods or interoperability.