[Download-List] Possible enhancements to Cedarville Download

David L. Rotman rotmand at cedarville.edu
Thu Dec 10 09:50:00 EST 2009


I would like your opinion on some possible enhancements to our Download program (used to extract data from Universe and Unidata files).  Enhancements under consideration include:

* Command-line option allowing additional text in an XML document after the root element but prior to the data elements.  This could be used for embedding a schema definition in the output file.

* Installation-time option to force logging of all activity using Download.  There would be a default setup or the installer could specify a subroutine to call.

* Installation-time option to force calling a security subroutine at each invocation of Download.  A subroutine template would be provided, but sites wanting this option would need to customize the template to include their own security checks or to call an existing security subroutine.

I have also received a request to add encryption, but I believe this is better handled within paragraphs (SELECT, DOWNLOAD, ENCRYPT).  Encryption is typically a process applied to an entire file, so incorporating encryption would mean generating a plain text file first and then applying encryption to that file.  This is just my opinion...your thoughts are welcome.

Feel free to respond to the list or offline as you wish.




Dave Rotman
Associate Vice President for Technology
Chief Information Officer
Cedarville University
251 N. Main Street
Cedarville, OH 45314
rotmand at cedarville.edu
voice 937-766-7905
fax 937-766-8819






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