ZMS 2.0 - The most important innovations

ZMS 2.0 [1 Mb]

New conception of the user management

The most important current developments concern the re-organisation of the use management, that on multiple demand now is centralised and will take over the das knot-assocaited concept. Within the framework of a competency network project for the Charité in Berlin currently regarding ZMS version 2.0 the following is being implemented:

Overview of the central user list (Root-object of a ZMS instance).
 

Definiing individual access rights for a ZMS user.

Defining a new role based upon the standard roles resp. the underlying rights which can be associated to certain knots. All roles can be added to one user.

Users can be accessed via ZMS-Root-Menue "access"; in this menue users and roles are generated separately. At the overview page each "user" first is initializied without role (Login-Name, Password, E-Mail, Hyperlink to profile data). In a user-spezific sub-menue any number of nodes can be selected, where users may have different rights / roles. For defining access-nodes ('local roles') the following attributes are obligatory: language(s), URL of the content-node (via Sitemap-Popup) and supplementary role(s). Per default the already known roles are existing: Admin, Editor, Author and Subscriber.
To make a transit from the old to the new model, click on the button "Initialize" to overtake the old user dates into the new interface after 'loading' the new
ZMS version; effect is the collection of all users in the central acl_user-folder and - acc. to the new model - the setting of the nodes- resp. roles-affiliation as attribute.
Furthermore, a button "Synchronize" exists, which corrects the referencing of the access nodes with changes in the content tree that may influence the rights.
The new concept for user maintenance also provides a simple interface for integration of LDAP-directory services via the Zope-product LDAPUserFolder.

Declarative URLs

Another innovation is the introduction of declarative URLs (speaking paths) on basis of the short title resp. the Meta-attribute DC.Identifier.Url.Node.

Configurable input interface for spec. Obj.

The concept spez. Obj. gets more flexible with the possibility to define an own input interface! For this a method must be configured for the spec. Obj. id=manage_main that overtakes the complete presentation logic.

ZMS eLearning components

ZMS eLearning components - SCORM-compatible Open Source Content Management: The discussion about eLearning too often concerns only technological features of Software-Systems. However organisational and content-related, didactic challenges are to be mastered that must be seen primarily independent from system solutions.

When initialising a new ZMS objekt, ZMS eLearning components can now be installed optionally. For this an exemplary LMS (Learning Management System) unfolds as well as a LCMS (Learning Content Management System) client with special objects and content structure.

Multilingualism

With a missing Language-Suffix in the URL ZMS states by the Zope-request-variable 'http_accept_language' out of which lingual area the site is being accessed. Accordingly the user is lead further in a language consistent manner. The used method MultiLanguageManager.getLanguage() is mapping language initials of two or three characters length: ger/de, fra/fr, eng/en. For consitency reasons the long-term use of two-characters strings acc. to ISO 639-1 is recommended.

Chinese Interface

The so far in 5 languages existing editorial interface is now enriched with a Chinese variant.

Special objects and datatypes

The list of data types and the supplementary function was extended.
1. By introduction of methods it is possible to programme complex interfaces or to integrate editors for Special Objects flexibly.
2. The new 'XML'-data type prevents the output of CDATA with the XML-export.
3. Meta-elements can refer to lists in the content tree, e.g. to datatables, so that editorially extensible catalogues are easy to realise.
4. The code-generator for the presentation templates of special objects was extended with a default conditional construct and a structuring span-element.
5. The new data type 'Resource' permits to integrate any binary data (e.g. an image or XSL-code) in the special object; so the special object can be easily im/exported together with additional files as a 'package' if needed.
6. The python-oriented naming convention _name allows the introduction of any 'private' elements that are not displayed in the editorial interface. These elements may be accessed via object methods (see above).

In the configuration menue "Design" the look of the management interface may be changed by the option 'Skins'.

ZMS 2.0 offers to introduce the editorial interface 'Skins'; examples in the kind of usual operating systems are already intergrated. The interface was functionally discretely optimized: the integration of non-latin fonts was made easier and some few Layout improvements were introduced. The unexperienced user will barely notice changes.
In the main menue the point "tasks" now also appears with non-activated work flow; the modes of presentation are enriched with a listing and sorting function "last changed objects".

For the 'trash bin' one can put in an automatic emptying interval, so that the final deletion must not happen manually.