[TYPO3-dam] fileversioning in DAM - a scheme for inspiration?

[Pascal Voitot]

Hello,
I'm currently studying how to use typo3+DAM as a Document Management System
keeping the existing file structures and indexing files (with metadata and full
text also) and allowing to manage versioning and maybe see if we could be
compatible with future document management systems which will come with some
future OS I won't name :)... I find lots of good points for the DAM, but lots
of leaks also but nothing making me go away from it :)...

Anyway concerning versioning, I have also the point of view of the raw
programmer which uses the well-known CVS-like tools.
One very useful feature of these tools is to have 2separated versioning
mechanisms:
- the automatic one managed by the tool itself which takes any modification as a
new version and keeps it in the repository with information about the
modification(for an image or a PDF, diff as CVS does is not possible but lets
keep in mind the concept of "modificafions")
- the manual one managed by the users with the "TAG" feature: when the user
wants to keep a version as a reference one, it puts a tag on it with his
specific versioning format.

I have seen some companies which can do 10s of versions of one DOC in a day
because they modify 2 or 3 words per iteration and they keep all versions to
keep tracks of every modification. But sometimes, they tell:"this version is
the reference one, lets keep it". So the DAM could manage small modifications
in an automatic way and could provide a way of tagging one version with the
version format the user wants.

So my idea (which is only an idea :)) is to imagine the DAM with a CVS-like
versioning system with all the constraints multimedia can bring with them!

Finally, I agree with you Troels, the management of document format versions and
also languages would be a real advantage for the DAM!!!

br
pascal


Selon Troels Kjær Rasmussen <troels at linkfactory.dk>:

> Is a scheme for fileversioning already set up?
>
> I suppose a simple chain of db and filestructure versions would do the
> job and would be a fine implementation of versioning in the T3DAM.But
> his weekend I had a glimpse of what i thought to be a brilliant inhouse
> DAM tool for a danish game-developing company, where they handle a lot
> of versioned graphics, multilingual docs a.s.o. Below is my "translated"
> model for how this could be for T3DAM - it´s just a quick idea, but
> maybe René and others could find inspiration for the versioning scheme
> of T3DAM and if not, im perfectly in understanding with this.
>
> The essence for them was that they had to have multi-strain versioning
> of files - 1 strain for ordinary versioning (v1, v2, v3) but also they
> had format versioning (orig psd, gif copyversion,PNG copyversion / orig
> OpenOffice file, pdf copyversion, word copyversion) and finally also
> language versions af those files - all broken down in shadow directories
> like the following.
>
> They used Openoffice and Graphicsmagick for most CLI automated format
> versioning.
>
> Main repository
> 	- subfolder1 of main repository
> 		- actual wordfile(s)
> 		- actual giffile(s)
> 		- sub pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 		- sub jpgfolder of repository (hidden) - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- jpgcopy of actual wordfile(s)
> 		-i10n folder (hidden)
> 			- german
> 			- danish
> 				- danish copy of wordfile(s)
> 				- danish copy giffile(s)
> 				- sub danish pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as
> versioned files in parentdir
> 					- danish pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 	- subfolder2 of main repository
> 		....
>
> So this structure wasn´t "real" versioning, but it opens the possibility
> of the linguistic and format related "versioning" of all files and
> folders. The cool thing was that the (hidden language and format folders
> didn´t appear as folders, but where all listed under the same main
> record in the db in the parentfolder - so files that had been translated
> and exported to different fomats where just listed like this.
>
> documentname 	- document description  	-  orgsize  	- orginal format	 -
> original language 	- language overlays	 - format overlays
> Myfile.doc		blablabla	    500kb	    word/doc               english
> german, danish	      pdf, sxw
>
> I found this pretty cool - But why couldn´t the formatversion not just
> be generated on the fly? - because all the above had another real
> versioning system like descriped below...
>
> Main repository (version 2)
> 	- subfolder1 of main repository
> 		- actual wordfile(s)
> 		- actual giffile(s)
> 		- sub pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 		- sub jpgfolder of repository (hidden) - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- jpgcopy of actual wordfile(s)
> 		-i10n folder (hidden)
> 			- german
> 			- danish
> 				- danish copy of wordfile(s)
> 				- danish copy giffile(s)
> 				- sub danish pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as
> versioned files in parentdir
> 					- danish pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 	- subfolder2 of main repository
>
> Main repository (version 3)
> 	- subfolder1 of main repository
> 		- actual wordfile(s)
> 		- actual giffile(s)
> 		- sub pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 		- sub jpgfolder of repository (hidden) - files occur as versioned
> files in parentdir
> 			- jpgcopy of actual wordfile(s)
> 		-i10n folder (hidden)
> 			- german
> 			- danish
> 				- danish copy of wordfile(s)
> 				- danish copy giffile(s)
> 				- sub danish pdffolder of subfolder1 (hidden)  - files occur as
> versioned files in parentdir
> 					- danish pdfcopy of subfolder1 wordfile(s)
> 	- subfolder2 of main repository
>
> a.s.o
>
> This meant that when a new real version was created of a file or folder
> all formats and language "versions" where copied out to the
> versionbranch exactly as they where at a given time.
>
> I find this way of versioning very cool and usable- would this be a way
> for fileversioning for T3DAM? Of course the expected and normal thing to
> do would be to just implement versions of the default files and then let
> language and formatversioning be up to the user - but implementing a
> system as described above would definately bring T3DAM in a pole
> position regarding webbased DAM.
>
> comments please... and please don´t flame me it´s only a ball I kicked
> in the air for inspiration.
>
> regards
>
> Troels Kjær Rasmussen
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--
Pascal Voitot
ingénieur en génie informatique de l'ISMRA ENSI de Caen