Joomla and Open Data in Ireland
Written by Rob | 12.07.11
EMC23 - Web Development Blog
Over the past few months here at EMC23, we've been investigating how Joomla can be used to import, consume, manipulate and display open data. We've also been looking at ways to integrate open data into our Joomla Interactive Game System JiGS. This culminated with a hackathon organised by Distillr.com where I presented my ideas to a group of about 12-20 developers. There were 4 heads from Joomla User Group Ireland present at the hackathon which I think was exceptional.
Open data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "Open" movements such as open source, open content, and open access. The philosophy behind open data has been long established (for example in the Mertonian tradition of science), but the term "open data" itself is recent, gaining popularity with the rise of the Internet and World Wide Web and, especially, with the launch of open-data government initiatives such as Data.gov.
from wikipedia
Open data is expected to generate 'economic gains estimated at no less than 140 billion euros per year' and Ireland could be in a prime position to take advantage of this ,but at present it is behind. This needs to be rectified. From lack of people with the required skills to a cut in education resources, it is up to us to come up with novel solutions to these problems.
To continue this investigation I have set up a blog collation page at http://www.scoop.it/t/open-data-development-with-joomla where I hope to present articles from around the world that discuss open data, big data and Joomla as a framework for working with them.
Meanwhile, Chris Davenport from the Joomla leadership has uploaded to GIT a library for Joomla that allows the user import and export CSV and XML. I intend to use this library once I begin porting my code to the new Joomla 2.5 CMS and platform. Joomla 2.5's ability to allow users extend Joomla with libraries, in addition to components, plugins, and modules will create a platform that is much more extensible and allow for greater collaboration between developers.
It is my belief that the new Joomla platform, as well as the CMS of course, will be ideal for cleansing and manipulating open data and I hope to present this to the open data community in Ireland in the new year.
We also intend to use these libraries in our Joomla Interactive Games system. As a simulation it will be perfect for consuming data and presenting it with cutting edge user interfaces. We would hope to leverage the knowledge and experience in building the game/simulation framework in realworld/realtime mobiles apps and app frameworks.
I will continue blogging developments over the coming months but for a daily update please checkout the portal
