HOMEFrequently Asked Questions - Pipeline2
Second Generation DAISY Pipeline
- What is the DAISY Pipeline 2 ?
- What is the difference between the DAISY Pipeline 1 and DAISY Pipeline 2 projects ?
- Why a new project ?
- What will happen to the DAISY Pipeline 1 project ?
- What are the high-level objectives ?
- Who is working on the DAISY Pipeline 2 ?
- When will the Pipeline 2 be available ?
- Will the Pipeline 2 be open source software ?
- Where can I find more information ?
- Can I contribute ?
The DAISY Pipeline 2 is an ongoing project to develop an open-source, cross-platform framework for automated production of accessible material.
As its name implies, the Pipeline 2 is the follow-up of the DAISY Pipeline 1. Although they both share the same goal to build an automated production tool, the Pipeline 2 intends to provide a totally redesigned next generation framework that better leverages new standards and technologies.
While the DAISY Pipeline first released in 2008 has so far been a successful answer to the needs of the DAISY community, it does not make economic sense to maintain our own version of the Pipeline core engine since standards with the same scope are now available. The adoption of existing standards (and off-the-shelf implementations of those standards) at the heart of the Pipeline framework will allow us to fulfill our objectives at a lesser long-term cost.
The DAISY Pipeline 1 has been in maintenance mode for several months now, which means that it is no longer actively developed by the DAISY Consortium. Maintenance releases will however keep on being published to fix known bugs and integrate any third party contributions.
The Pipeline 2 project aims at developing a new framework to:
- Minimize the development and maintenance cost
- lower the framework learning curve
- increase the interoperability with the heterogeneous automated production workflows
One of the primary objectives is also to provide early support for the ongoing DAISY and EPUB standard revisions.
The Pipeline 2 is a collaborative project hosted by the DAISY Consortium, with numerous organizations participating and contributing to the development (including Dedicon, NIMAS/CAST, NLB, RNIB, SBS).
The Pipeline 2 is an ambitious project, split in two main phases which will be carried out successively during a 3-year time frame. A first experimental release is expected by the end of 2010, although the first phase is expected to be entirely completed in June 2011.
Absolutely. As usual with software developed by the DAISY Consortium, the DAISY Pipeline 2 components will be released under a business-friendly open source license (most probably the LGPL).
Since the project is under heavy development, the best place to look for more information is on the Pipeline 2 development site hosted on Google Code.
Of course! Any contribution is certainly most welcome. If you would like to join the DAISY open source community and contribute to the development of the Pipeline 2, please contact Romain Deltour (Project Lead) using the Contact Us Form on the DAISY Web site. Please select the "Project DAISY Pipeline" Category.
