147 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
147 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
# The ELOG Home Page
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Home of the *Electronic Logbook* package by [Stefan
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Ritt](mailto:Stefan.Ritt@psi.ch)
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*Current version: 3.1.5*
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[PDF version](https://elog.psi.ch/elog/pdf/document.pdf)
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---
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## What is ELOG ?
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**ELOG** is part of a family of applications known as **weblog*s* .
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Their general purpose is :
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1. to make it easy for people to put information online in a
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chronological fashion, in the form of short, time-stamped text
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messages ("entries") with optional HTML markup for presentation,
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and optional file attachments (images, archives, etc.)
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2. to make it easy for other people to access this information through
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a Web interface, browse entries, search, download files, and
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optionally add, update, delete or comment on entries.
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**ELOG** is a remarkable implementation of a *weblog* in at least two
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respects :
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- its simplicity of use : you don't need to be a seasoned server
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operator and/or an experimented database administrator to run **ELOG**
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; one executable file (under Unix or Windows), a simple configuration
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text file, and it works. No Web server or relational database
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required. It is also easy to translate the interface to the
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appropriate language for your users.
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- its versatility : through its single configuration file, **ELOG** can
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be made to display an infinity of variants of the *weblog* concept.
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There are options for what to display, how to display it, what
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commands are available and to whom, access control, etc. Moreover, a
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single server can host several **weblog*s*, and each *weblog* can be
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totally different from the rest.
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## Screen shots
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<a href="elog/elog.gif" target="_blank">
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<img src="img/elog_thumb.gif" alt="thumb" style="float:left; margin:0 1em 1em 0; width:200px;">
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</a>
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On the left upper panel is a typical logbook page displayed by Netscape Navigator. Each
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logbook page can contain attachments in a similar way to emails. This makes it possible
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to store images or text files and retrieve them easily. You could for example attach a sample
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configuration file which can later be copied to the local machine with the "*Save As\...*"
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function of the Web browser.
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Several logbooks can be served though a single **ELOG** server. Each logbook can use different
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attributes for its entries. The logbook can then be searched using these attributes. The
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right pane on the left image shows a search for all entries with attribute "*Type*" equal to
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"*Configuration*", and the lower pane shows the search result. It is also possible to use
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full-text search in attributes and the entry body.
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While logbook entries are usually displayed one entry per page, they can also be listed
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consecutively which makes it easy to produce a paper printout of a logbook.
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Logbook pages can be edited or deleted. This feature can be turned off in the configuration
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file so that a logbook entries cannot be changed after being submitted.
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An additional feature is the automatic generation of a notification email messages
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based on a certain type or category of a logbook entry.
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Also try out the **[online demo](http://elog.psi.ch/elogs/Linux%20Demo/)**
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## Use cases
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The features of **ELOG** make it useful for several applications:
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- **Personal Logbooks**. Personal notes can be written into **ELOG** and
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can then be retrieved from anywhere with a Web browser. This makes it
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handy for PC supporters who have to go around in companies or
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laboratories and don\'t want to carry their paper logbook with them.
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The same holds true for people traveling around a lot. The logbook
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database consists of plain ASCII files which can copied easily between
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different computers to have local access, for example on a notebook
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with no network connection.
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- **Shared Logbooks**. Logbooks can be shared by several people, for
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reading and optionally for writing. This way workgroups can share and
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exchange information like in a (simplified) news group. This is
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supported by the *Reply* command in **ELOG** which creates
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"*threads*" of entries. Users can be notified by email when new
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entries are added to the logbook. Compared to that of a news server,
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the installation of **ELOG** is much simpler.
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- **Small Databases**. Since arbitrary attributes can be defined for a
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logbook, it can be used as a small database with search facilities.
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- **Problem collections**. A system can consist of two logbooks, in one
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of which users enter bugs or problems. If someone adds a problem, an
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email is automatically sent to the administrator, who can then copy
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the entry to the second logbook and add the solution to the problem.
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Users can then look up all fixed problems.
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- **Shift Logbooks**. If the *Allow delete* and *Allow edit* flags are
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off, an entry cannot be modified once it\'s been entered. This can be
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useful for shift logbooks for example in accelerator control rooms
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where each entry becomes a "*document*" with a time and author
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stamp. **ELOG** was originally developed as a shift logbook for the
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[PiBeta](http://pibeta.psi.ch) and [Muegamma](http://meg.psi.ch)
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particle experiments at [PSI](http://www.psi.ch).
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- **File collections**. Since files can be attached to **ELOG** entries,
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the system can be used to store and retrieve files. This can be used
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to store configuration files, which need to be accessible by several
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people over the web, or to store images. Since **ELOG** features an
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elaborate query facility, entries can be searched for by specifying
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several categories.
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## License
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**ELOG** is released under the [GNU Public
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License](http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html) .
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## Credits
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The author would like to give credits to following people:
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- [Fred Pacquier](mailto:fredp@dial.oleane.com) for this Web site and
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the French translation
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- [Recai Oktas](mailto:roktas@omu.edu.tr) and [Roger
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Kalt](mailto:roger.kalt@psi.ch) for the Debian package
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- [djek](mailto:djek@xs4all.nl) for the Dutch translation
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- [Heiko Scheit](mailto:Heiko.Scheit@mpi-hd.mpg.de) for many bug fixes
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and fruitful discussions
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- [Julio Calvo](mailto:jhcalvo@arnet.com.ar) for the Spanish translation
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- [Emiliano 'AlberT' Gabrielli](mailto:AlberT@SuperAlberT.it)
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for his idea of scaling attached images
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- [Andreas Luedeke](mailto:andreas.luedeke@psi.ch)
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for continuing user support and deployment of ELOG at PSI
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## Talks and presentations
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Here are some talks and presentations given at various occasions:
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- Seminar at KIT, Karlsruhe, Jan. 2015. [Introduction
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talk](https://elog.psi.ch/elog/talks/2015_1_intro.pptx) by Stefan
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Ritt.
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- Seminar at KIT, Karlsruhe, Jan. 2015. [Application of
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ELOG](http://elog.psi.ch/elog/talks/2015_1_accel.pptx) for accelerator
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operation at PSI by [Andreas Luedeke](mailto:andreas.luedeke@psi.ch).
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---
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*Content by [Stefan Ritt](https://www.psi.ch/en/ltp-muon-physics/people/stefan-ritt), Web pages
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by [Fred Pacquier](mailto:fredp@mygale.org)*
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