eReSS Wiki

"A wiki is a type of website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring."

This understated defintion of a wiki from Wikipedia clearly describes the role and benefits this type of service can provide. Taking into consideration the size and breadth of Wikipedia, it also demonstrates the powerful ability of a wiki to bring people together to create a unified body of content. It is this collaborative facility that suggested the use of a wiki for eReSS, as detailed further in the study's methodology. Consortium members will be actively involved in contributing and sourcing contributions from third parties: voluntary contributions are also extremely welcome and will help to make the wiki an authoritative source of community information and knowledge.

Five entry points to the wiki are currently available, as listed and detailed below. These will be expanded and/or amended as the study progresses and new ways of presenting the information emerge to guide the user through the body of of information on VRE interoperability and associated standards and specifications. An overview of these entry points is also available.

• Standards and specifications
  
• Categories
  
• Technologies
• Architectures
• Context of use
  

The wiki will provide factual information on all standards and specifications of relevance to VRE development and interoperability. These are listed individually for quick reference access. Information is provided on their parent body, current and future versions, related standards and their potential and actual usage in VRE space. A brief description is also provided alongside links to relevant websites, including the homepage of the standard itself.

The individual standards and specifications have been grouped in a number of categories to assist in guiding users to standards in their area of interest. These categories are based on current knowledge of relevant standards and it is anticipated that they will evolve over the duration of the study. Feedback is welcome to ensure the categories meet the needs of the VRE community.

Standards and specifications are rarely used in isolation, but often incorporated within systems and software that carry out a range of functions. These technologies can have a major effect on potential interoperability depending on how they have been configured to use relevant standards. Attention needs to be given to this factor when planning VRE development.

Both technologies and standards and specifications will be included in the overall architecture of a VRE. There are a number of overarching architectures that can offer guidance to developers and facilitate long-term and sustainable interoperability. How standards and technologies fit within these architectures will be an important aspect of how they support eResearch through VREs.

Notwithstanding the value of the technical solutions available, it is how they are implemented that is key to successful VRE development. The context of use provides experience of the practical side of interoperability and can guide those coming new to VREs.