Tutorial 2: Difference between revisions

From DAAP
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
=Tutorial 2=
=Tutorial 2=


==Create a new Item==
==Understanding how the database backend talks to the web frontend==
You can use the '''Create a new Item''' form to add new '''items''' to the database whether the item is a thing such as a specific artwork or object, a person, an institution, or a place in the world. Items can also be less specific "things" such as "paper", "offset printing", "softcover binding", etc. Item records can be very complex, with lots of information attached to them, as is the case for artworks, or very simple with only one or two pieces of information attached, such as the record for "softcover binding" for example.
===Step 1===
To add a new item to the database please go to the '''Create a new Item''' page using [https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/wiki/Special:NewItem this link].
You can always find this function in the sidebar to the left on your screen, or by using the '''Create new item''' button under the heading Adding new data in the archive on the [https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/wiki/Main_Page Main Page].


https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/e/ee/Tutorial2_img1.png
Before diving into the details of uploading new materials to the database,  it is helpful to understand how the backend and frontend are connected, so that you can make informed decisions about what information needs to be added to the backend and what are the subsequent effects that are visible to all on the website frontend.


In order to do so you should log in. If you are not logged in an error message will be shown:
We will start with Items. Everything in the database that requires detailed data description needs to have its own Item page. This includes publications, people, organisations, as well as concepts such as printed matter and digital media, or physical locations such as the city of London, etc. As a logged-in user you have the ability to create new Items or edit existing ones via the database wiki interface, which we refer to as “backend” here for short. This is then directly reflected in the frontend.  


https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/3/34/Tutorial2_img2.png
For example this is a comparison of how a publication Item looks in the backend (interface) and the frontend (DAAP website).  


You can login using [https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Main+Page this link] or from the Main Page.  
You will notice that often the backend contains a lot more data than what is visible in the frontend. To access all data users can click on the “Detailed record” button, which will take them directly to the backend view of the same Item. Even though not all the information is visible on the frontend, it helps structure and facilitate various functionalities and browse-able categorisations in the frontend. The frontend is thus meant to be a portal for discovery, a way to visually explore the database, but we do encourage all users to gain good familiarity with the backend, too, as this is where users can actually actively participate in the formation of the archive.  
===Step 2===
Make sure the item you want to add is not already in the database before you attempt to add it. You can do this by searching for it using the search bar in the top right corner of the Main Page containing the text “Search DAAP”.  


https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/c/c3/Tutorial2_img3.png
After you create your own Items in the backend (which you will learn more about in Tutorials 3–5), you can see how they look on the frontend by using the unique ID generated for each item. In the illustration above, the unique ID is Q1272. To see the same Item in the frontend, you need to add that number to the end of this URL string: daap.network/artwork?id=
And this is what the final link that will work in a browser looks like: daap.network/artwork?id=Q1272


===Step 3===
Using the URL bar of your browser as a navigation tool across the database is something you will learn more about in the following tutorials. It’s a powerful way to browse the DAAP, and the web in general, and better understand how data gets stored and structured.
Then, start adding the details into the form on the Create a new Item page.
 
https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/5/5c/Tutorial2_img4.png
 
'''Language:'''
Here you choose the language you will use to describe the item. If the original language of the work is different from English, there will be opportunity at a later stage (i.e. statement editing) to indicate that. For search purposes all item labels and descriptions have to be in English (NB: NOT British English, as that would create discrepancies in the database). Please enter “en” for English in this field, if it’s not your default language already.
 
'''Label:'''
The Label is like a title – how this "thing" is referred to in the database. If your item is a publication or artwork its title would be the Label. If your item is a person this would be the person’s name, and so on.
 
'''Description:'''
Your description should be a very short statement (max 250 characters) that distinguishes one thing in the database from another. If two items in the database would have the same label, for instance two artworks both called "untitled", the descriptive text would help the user quickly distinguish between the two.
 
Once the item is created, the description will appear at the top of the item page (see Step4).
 
'''Aliases, pipe-separated:'''
Aliases are alternative ways of spelling or calling the item. For example, aliases for the city "New York" would be "NYC", or "New York City", etc. There is no limit to the number of aliases that can be added, they just need to be separated by the pipe symbol | .
 
Here we have entered the details for the publication ''Surviving art school : an artist of colour tool kit''.
 
https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/3/30/Tutorial2_img5.png
 
===Step 4===
Press the “Create” button to finalise this step. In the next tutorials we’ll show you how we added this item to the DAAP database and you can follow along the steps with the item you want to add.
 
https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/images/c/c2/Tutorial2_img6.png

Revision as of 22:27, 30 July 2021

Tutorial 2

Understanding how the database backend talks to the web frontend

Before diving into the details of uploading new materials to the database, it is helpful to understand how the backend and frontend are connected, so that you can make informed decisions about what information needs to be added to the backend and what are the subsequent effects that are visible to all on the website frontend.

We will start with Items. Everything in the database that requires detailed data description needs to have its own Item page. This includes publications, people, organisations, as well as concepts such as printed matter and digital media, or physical locations such as the city of London, etc. As a logged-in user you have the ability to create new Items or edit existing ones via the database wiki interface, which we refer to as “backend” here for short. This is then directly reflected in the frontend.

For example this is a comparison of how a publication Item looks in the backend (interface) and the frontend (DAAP website).

You will notice that often the backend contains a lot more data than what is visible in the frontend. To access all data users can click on the “Detailed record” button, which will take them directly to the backend view of the same Item. Even though not all the information is visible on the frontend, it helps structure and facilitate various functionalities and browse-able categorisations in the frontend. The frontend is thus meant to be a portal for discovery, a way to visually explore the database, but we do encourage all users to gain good familiarity with the backend, too, as this is where users can actually actively participate in the formation of the archive.

After you create your own Items in the backend (which you will learn more about in Tutorials 3–5), you can see how they look on the frontend by using the unique ID generated for each item. In the illustration above, the unique ID is Q1272. To see the same Item in the frontend, you need to add that number to the end of this URL string: daap.network/artwork?id= And this is what the final link that will work in a browser looks like: daap.network/artwork?id=Q1272

Using the URL bar of your browser as a navigation tool across the database is something you will learn more about in the following tutorials. It’s a powerful way to browse the DAAP, and the web in general, and better understand how data gets stored and structured.

Retrieved from "https://daap.bannerrepeater.org/w/index.php?title=Tutorial_2&oldid=15448"