Dynamic Spaces

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The official documentation is at: http://docs.alfresco.com

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Table of Contents

• 1 Project Description


• 2 Project Requirements/Objectives


• 3 Initial Project Scope


• 4 Discussion of Design/Implementation Approach


• 5 prerequisites


• 6 Document Links


• 7 Dynamic Folders
  
  
  
  • 7.1 overview
  
  
  • 7.2 motivation
  
  
  • 7.3 materialization
  
  
  • 7.4 Performance
  
  


• 8 Comments

Project Description

<a brief description of the project>

Project Requirements/Objectives

<discuss the project requirements and objectives>

Initial Project Scope

<outline the initial project scope>

Discussion of Design/Implementation Approach

<discuss the design/implementation approach from this project>

prerequisites

• a standard query language/mechanism and service
  
• document pointers or links
  

Document Links

There is currently only one mechanism for creating alternate organizations of a particular document organization [where document is any entity in a folder / 'space']. 
This mechanism is 'Link'.  Link represents a pointer to a particular document. 

Consider the following:

A organization has a body of documents which it store in a primary organization - a shallow hierarchy based on department:

Department, Type

So you might see something like:

• Marketing
  
  • Public
    
  • Administrative
    
  • Standard Operating Procedures
    
  • Taresheets
    
  • Case Studies      
    
• IT
  
  • Public
    
  • Administrative
    
  • Standard Operating Procedures
    
  • Project Charters
    
  • Architecture
    
  • Systems
    
  • Budget
    
• Finance
  
  • ..
    
• Fulfillment 
  
  • ..
    

You may argue that this organization is not very good.  It doesn't really matter, its arbitrary. Look on your corporate shared drives.  You will probably find many useless if not many useless and competing taxonomies. 

Worse, if you search for a particular document, you may find many copies of it.

If a project or a committee is formed, documents are usually copied into a space for that committee to operate.

'Link' provides a strong mechanism for allowing organizations to define simple shallow document organizations and then to create virtual organizations for the documents in ways that best suite the group or several groups that are using that documents.

Dynamic Folders

overview

Dynamic spaces are spaces that are based on a query and a template.  The template indicates how the output of the query should be displayed.  The default presentation is the typical Alfresco folder / document paradigm. The query does not return the actual nodes but links to the nodes.  This organization is not persisted in the repository.

motivation

Using static folders and links is a very powerful mechanism but it is manual. Dynamic spaces is an extension of the concept which allows an organization the capability to combine a query and a template to automate the creation of spaces.

Usage example A:
Consider that a publishing organization might choose a shallow organization for its content which it repurposes in many ways.  This shallow organization is based around asset type and possibly file date.

Lets assume that the editorial content of this organization is repurposed in 3 ways

• Print - a daily newspaper
  
• Web - adhock as it is ready (continuous stream)
  
• In topical periodicals
  

The organization stores the content in a static space called the stacks.  This is organized according to a general taxonomy that makes little assumption about use, ownership etc

The print group wishes to see the content organized in dated spaces according to the editions it appeared in.

The web group wishes to see the content organized in spaces according the taxonomy applied to the document as that drives its presentation on the site

The periodicals also care only about taxonomy

Note that each group is interested in seeing the same content through different lenses. Dynamic spaces allows them to do this.

Therefor a repository might look something like this:

RepositorySpaces.gif

materialization

An option should be provided to materialize the space.  Once materialized a space is no longer dynamic.  Its links and recursed hierarchies are persisted to the repository.

Performance

The application may cache the outputs of queries to enhance performance -- this is an implementation detail.

Comments

Please use the following format:

Comment from fcorneli@prdbe.jnj.com

We have implemented this concept.
The only difficulty is viewing the Dynamic spaces in CIFS...

Frans Cornelissen tel 32-14-603327