User:Bill Flanagan/Notebook/GoogleDocs/2009/11/30

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 * style="background-color: #EEE"|[[Image:owwnotebook_icon.png|128px]] Google Docs Integration
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 * style="background-color: #F2F2F2" align="center"|  |Main project page


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Current Status

 * wiki exists online but need to be modified.
 * php class to add/delete/change entries has been created.
 * difficulty is in connecting the current wiki to the class
 * security model issues.
 * no issue re: compromising security.
 * problem is in having a specific end-point in mind

Next Step (10:06AM)

 * get the test wiki into a usable state
 * return here to document it.
 * not detailed doc; simple set of bullets points related to what's needed.
 * to reinfoce this, I think I need a simple way to timestamp each section entry.
 * do not revise this doc but add to it.
 * therefore the next deliverable is a macro that I can use to timestamp each section entry
 * current model is to revise and not record.
 * revision is useful but it eradicated the past without reverting to sing the wiki history.
 * good test therefore: see how long it takes to write macro
 * better solution: just write the time in the title and write the macro later.
 * always want to find a way to automate but in this case I can do it myself then optimize later if this works.

Status (11:00AM)

 * Added notes for the project and created a few information pages.
 * I did not write the macro. Just add it manually for now.
 * I added another title below to keep the trailing content out of sight.
 * I made a copy ofthe current OWW blog to allow for daily updates on OWW heath and well being: whats'orking and what needs to be done.
 * The mail has issues and needs to be addressed. I'm aware of the problem and will work on it later.
 * Later is a nebulous term. There are no current comments outstanding about it so it's not a critical issue.
 * The UMS system is not sending alters. I need to investigate but an spending my time doing this work for now. I will get lost in it if I dive in now.
 * We are now on 2 spam abuse lists. I need to investigate this and fix.
 * I'll move these comments to a separate project when time permits. For now They are here.

OpenID Integration with Google (11:10)

 * Google does not provide a transparent interface to OpenID.
 * They document their differences.
 * The result is that the format has to be explicitly implimented
 * Once it works for any one Google service it works for all

Action (11:10)

 * Enable the Google OpenID interface and provide a link here to demonstrate how it works

Next Steps (11:10)

 * Re-enable the Google Docs extension to allow trivial connectivity
 * Establish a baseline
 * Allow for others to comment
 * Provide rudimentary interface for Drew to work with

Next Steps (11:30)

 * read the current lab notebook page via php file_get_contents
 * find the last "next steps" entry on the page
 * save from it to the beginning of the next section
 * replace my current mac growl message with it
 * save the old one
 * maybe just throwing it to a twitter feed will work
 * twitter then provides the recording as well as informing what I'm doing.
 * imposes 140 char max. I like that.
 * may be too manual but it works.
 * ETA for it (no twitter for now): 10 minutes.
 * Report back here as soon as it works.

Finished. Comments (12:21)

 * I did it. But it took longer than anticipated.
 * Why?
 * Wrote a full class to do it
 * needed to do more sorting than anticipated.
 * output format had to be fixed
 * I added an archive funtion to make sure I don't lose any
 * Still no timestamp but this can wait.

Next Steps (12:21)

 * Get OpenID working and include a link here.

Results (2:11)

 * OK. Here's the link to the page. Main_Page
 * I assume that I'm the only person who currently can get in and will verify this.
 * Also enabled the status following app to work moe cleanly
 * Investigate using the MW API to get the doc in a more formal manner

Next Steps (2:11)

 * Get the Word and Excel doc list back up and working.
 * Provide a link here.
 * Once they're done, we can concentrate on the other important functions
 * Upload
 * List
 * Search

Results (3:37)

 * Added support for the google calendar
 * Used on the Google Zend API
 * What does this mean?
 * Can create a Google calendar for some entity in OWW and then use it as a way to track behavior.
 * Example: Notebook Entry
 * Example: Equipment log
 * Example: Paper publishing date or submission
 * Note: Explore the use of the code written to date as way to save a lab notebook page as a Google calendar event.
 * Upside: provides a way to export lab notebook data to
 * iphone,
 * android,
 * blackberry,
 * mnacos,
 * windows
 * Downside:
 * Loss of context of the information.
 * No (current) 2-way sync.
 * Wiki has limited ability to do complex data management
 * Lab notebook format has no time support, just date
 * Option: use a simple extended page syntax like this: yyyy/mm/dd/hh/mm/ss
 * Use this syntax for naming all sections in the notebook
 * Problem: Too strict regulation of section names
 * This may not be an issue for forward-time chronology users
 * If people choose to instead use a subject-section orientation on a daily basis they will have ugly titles.
 * Option: do not sync times but instead publish sections in the calendar.
 * Provide a track-back link to the OWW page from the calendar
 * Investigate using pictures, etc. in calendar entries. But not right away!
 * Meta: See is there's a way to show this content in other ways
 * Meta: See if I can find a way to crawl these pages for keywords rather than having to do it manually.
 * I want control and not a wholesale indexing of all content.
 * Meta: See if I can provide a way to export a bookmark to a calendar to allow a erson to track what he./she was doing at the time a bookmark was created.
 * Base this on the OWWLinks
 * Provide it as an option.

Next Steps (3:40)

 * Get Excel and Word up using calendar code same code as base on the wiki.
 * Use the calendar to track submissions, mods, etc.
 * People may not understand this.
 * Why?
 * For me, a calendar is an abstract object capable of detailed time management
 * But the Google Calendar is an application people use
 * Disconnect between data and application
 * I should not assume that people will see the calendar vs. using of Google Calendar as a database
 * Will cause confusion.

Results (4:52)

 * added the calendar update to my google calendar
 * currently just adding the title of the task
 * location currently set to MIT
 * Meta: look into using google location services to also add the lat/long where the update was made from
 * this would only work if this was done on a client and not a server
 * HTML5 extensions for location awareness may be relevant
 * see Using Geolocation
 * Word and Excel still are in progress

Comments (5:20)

 * twitter command line interface
 * here: is the code.
 * May be useful
 * Hold off for now.

Next Steps (5:22)

 * Move the calendar class to the server and add Excel to it.
 * Need better definition of the excel interface to be added
 * Describe the steps
 * Before doing this get something up (anything) then make it better.
 * Resist temptation to think and just get it running.
 * Don't hijack OWW/MW file upload. Just get the command line interface running first
 * Calendar will record the event of uploading
 * No url links yet.
 * Google data calendar API doc: here
 * Google spreadsheet API doc: here

End of Day Summary

 * calendar API is working.
 * status alerts working
 * using the spreadsheet api will not be needed at this point.
 * The other file-oriented Google Doc API is sufficient.
 * OpenID for Google is working in gdocs private wiki
 * A lab notebook for tracking progress will work
 * More extensive use of the wiki markup features makes sense.


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