SFN:Software Infrastructure

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Free/libre software

We shall use only free/libre software wherever possible. We don't expect to make use of any proprietary software for text processing. However, in rare case of complex raster image processing where free/libre software may not have the requisite equivalent, we might resort to some proprietary software, but will strive hard to get back to free software as soon as the equivalent is available.

The entire Sayanha network, desktops and servers run on GNU/Linux operating system.

TeX and friends for text processing

TeX (and its variants like pdfTeX, XeTeX and LuaTeX) is the principal engine for typesetting. We will not use any other typesetting system or proprietary system for the purpose.

Backup and Continuity Plans

Apartfrom usual onsite back up, we shall ensure backup in two different continents for the protection of data.

GMD: I would also suggest that to enhance professional standing/perception (e.g., in library community), participation in LOCKSS (http://www.lockss.org/about/what-is-lockss/), for example, should be considered.

Authoring, Editing and Output Generation

Features

• Real-time collaboration (for example Etherpad Lite http://etherpad.org/)
• Web based
• TeX aware
• Instant output generation in the cloud
• Author disambiguation (see project Orcid http://about.orcid.org/)
• DOI lookup
• Linking public databases (gene, chem, species, … banks)
• Pubmed linking
• Crossref linking
• BibTeX (investigate Jabref too http://jabref.sourceforge.net/)
• Messaging/chatting while authoring (explore Node.js http://nodejs.org/ as a possible framework)
• Online technical support
• Marked edit changes in output PDF
• Deleted words/characters as tooltip in PDF
• WYSIWYG math editing (MathML/XML)

Input formats

• TeX and its variants like LaTeX
• Word processor formats
• XML (NLM, Elsevier JA, DocBook, TEI)

Output formats

• Web version PDF for onscreen reading on desktops and major tablets
• Print version PDF with high resolution figures for printing
• ePub for phones, desktop and other devices that has an eBook reader
• XML for archival
• HTML with MathML for supporting browsers
• HTML with images for MathML ignorant browsers

Software projects

Interested free software developers who want to contribute to this project shall visit our facility in Trivandrum, India, stay in our beautiful campus for free and contibute a module.

• Accessible PDF