[Koha] Google Apps

[Joe Atzberger]

Jim (and Andrew) --

Thanks for the clarification.  This is very interesting news indeed!

In current form, GAE would not be suitable for an ILS like Koha (even if we
magically ported it to python), because of limitations on the data
structure.  Specifically, "Note that the App Engine datastore is not a
relational database":
http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/whatisgoogleappengine.html

It may be possible to reimagine MARC, circ, holding and patron data under
the "datastore" model, but this seems like a serious impediment for now.  I
suspect Google will expand the breadth of service options once the basic
Engine is established and popularized, so maybe mysql will become available
later (perhaps w/ additional cost).

A "Google App Engine" based ILS probably would require a distinct project
and developer community.  I actually think a pure python port of Koha would
be virtually impossible to achieve, based on the large number of underlying
dependencies that would also have to be ported.  It would take so long to
accomplish that it would not be valuable (let alone current) by the time it
was finished.  So we'll see what it looks like when they decide to support
perl!

--joe

On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 9:56 AM, James Weinheimer <j.weinheimer at aur.edu>
wrote:

>  Sorry I wasn't specfic enough. I was thinking of the Google App Engine
> hosting project that they have just initiated. Andrew Seguin corrected this
> for me. Thanks.
>
> It could be interesting. Currently, they say everything must be written in
> Python but that they will add other languges as well.
>
> Jim
>
> James Weinheimer  j.weinheimer at aur.edu
> Director of Library and Information Services
> The American University of Rome
> via Pietro Roselli, 4
> 00153 Rome, Italy
> voice- 011 39 06 58330919 ext. 327
> fax-011 39 06 58330992
>   ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Joe Atzberger [mailto:ohiocore at gmail.com]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:45 PM
> *To:* j.weinheimer at aur.edu
> *Cc:* koha at lists.katipo.co.nz
> *Subject:* Re: [Koha] Google Apps
>
>
>
> Jim --
>
> As one who has been using Google Apps for several years, including
> company-wide at LibLime, I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing.
> You seem to be thinking of Google hosting Koha as an application.  Yours is,
> as far as I know, the first such suggestion.  In fact, I don't know of
> Google hosting any software that wasn't produced in house.
>
> There are several areas of development at Google relevant to libraries,
> foremost the new Google Book Services featuring an incredibly broad catalog
> of scanned book images, including covers and searchable OCR text.  Some Koha
> users have made use of this content already.  Other coders have integrated
> Google Calendar widgets into their OPAC for displaying scheduled library
> events. But these are far removed from running an actual ILS.
>
> I too would love for the ILS's (and most other services) that I admin to
> be hosted on Google's massive data grid, but I don't foresee that happening
> in the next decade... at which point Koha server should be running on my
> cellphone. :)
>
> --Joe Atzberger
>
> On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 3:37 AM, Weinheimer Jim <j.weinheimer at aur.edu>
> wrote:
>
> All,
>
> Now that Google Apps has appeared (just!), does anybody see any Koha-type
> applications? Right now, everything on Google Apps must be in python, but
> could local libraries run their Koha catalogs on Google, thereby saving
> themselves a lot of bother?
>
> James Weinheimer
> The American University of Rome
>
> <http://lists.katipo.co.nz/mailman/listinfo/koha>
>
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