How to create a LONI Software Download Package

Download Package Requirements

For each software download package, the software download archivist needs these documents:

Required:

• A Usage Guide (in PDF format)
• A description of the software, see "Software Description Fields" section.
• A zip file containing the software, see "Download Package Format" section.

Optional:

• An image illustrating the software.
• images illustrating selected software features.

Adding your software to the LONI software download system

Complete the following steps:

1. Complete your software.
2. Decide what you will put into your download package. The current policy is to include source code with binary files. You must include a copy of the current LONI Software License.
3. Organize your files.
4. Write a user "UsageGuide", and convert it into a PDF file. This will be added to the software download web site to let potential users examine it while deciding if they want your software.
5. Create any supplemental documentation (Strongly Reccomended!) and add it to your download package files. Extra documentation is suggested because software users will not use tools they cannot easily understand.
6. Fill out the Software Description (see below)
7. Create the download .zip file (see below).
8. Send the Software Download archivist :
   • your download .zip file
   • the usage PDF
   • the software description.
9. Receive from the Software Download archivist:
   • Confirmation that your package has been added
   • the package id number of your package
10. Download your package from the system, unpack it, and verify that the proper contents are as expected.
11. Notify the archivist that the addition is correct and complete.

Updating your software in the LONI software download system

Follow the same steps as for "adding", except that you must supply the software download archivist with the download id number of the package you wish to replace.

Download Package Format

The file format is an MS DOS zip file.

The download package zip file will contain:

• Your software
• The standard LONI license.
• Your software's documentation

It must be structured as follows:

It is a zip file which, when unzipped, creates another zip file whose name contains the software version. This second file, when unzipped, creates the actual download package files. An example will illustrate:

Example: For software tool "Foo", version "1.2.5", containing three subdirectories, Documentation, Examples, Software and Source:

ls Foo 
   drwxr-xr-x   16 fooer  foogrp  544 Jul 17 13:53 Documentation
   drwxr-xr-x    4 fooer  foogrp  306 Jul 18 15:30 Examples
   drwxr-xr-x    9 fooer  foogrp  306 Jul 18 15:30 Software
   drwxr-xr-x    9 fooer  foogrp  306 Jul 17 13:53 Source

then, the download file will be named "Foo.zip", and the following
show the contents of the file (DOS users, substitute 'DIR' for ls):


#  the file downloaded from the software download web site
ls
   Foo.zip

# Foo.zip contains another zip file, Foo_1.2.5.zip
unzip Foo.zip
ls
   Foo_1.2.5.zip

# Foo_1.2.5.zip contains the toplevel directory that hold the Foo software
unzip Foo_1.2.5.zip
ls
      Foo_1.2.5

ls Foo_1.2.5
   drwxr-xr-x   16 craig  craig  544 Jul 17 13:53 Documentation
   drwxr-xr-x    9 craig  craig  306 Jul 18 15:30 Software
   drwxr-xr-x    9 craig  craig  306 Jul 17 13:53 Source

Software Description Fields

The user searchable database that supports the software download web site needs a description of your software. This description is in the form of the following data fields, all of which should be present in the description, even if blank.

Basic Fields

• software_name
• software_acronym
• category (one of : "visualization", "processing", "analysis", "conversion")
• type_id (one of : "application", "class library/toolkit")
• short_description
• current_version
• release_date
• developers
• overview
• application
• installation
• using_pointer
• use_terms
• funding_source
• image_filename (a '.png' file illustrating your software)

Software Features

Each significant feature of your software is described by a group of the following fields.

• feature_num
• title
• short_description
• description
• image_feature_filename - (a '.png' file illustrating this feature)

Software requirements

• platform
• software_version
• processor
• memory
• disk_space
• display
• software
• download_size
• specific_os_version

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Revised: 6 Aug 2008 Author: Craig Schwartz