Parameters Spreadsheet Utility Updated

Coincident with the move to github, the parameters.pl program in my Evergreen utilities suite received a code update. It now lists all of the fields from the circulation and hold matrix matchpoint tables. Prior to this update, it only output those fields used by MVLC. This change makes the script more useful to other Evergreen sites.

Evergreen Utilities Moved to github

I have made a clone of my Evergreen ILS Perl and SQL utilities on github. The new location is https://github.com/Dyrcona/evergreen_utilities. If you have been using these utilities, you may want to change your remotes to the new location.

I can't say how long the repository will be available at the old location, but as far as I know there are no plans to take it down any time soon.

I will have another post ready shortly that explains a recent update to the utility that builds a spreadsheet of your circulation and holds parameters.

JSONPrefs has a new home

If you have been using my JSONPrefs Perl module in your scripts, you should know that it now has a new home on Github.

It now resides at https://github.com/Dyrcona/JSONPrefs.

It will remain up at the old location, http://git.mvlcstaff.org/?p=jason/JSONPrefs.git;a=summary, for an undetermined amount of time.

Please note that the history of the master branch was completely rewritten for the new home. Everything was squashed into one commit with all previous history obliterated. Its requirements were also adjusted slightly. It now depends on the JSON Perl module and not JSON::XS.

Maybe JSONPrefs will make it to CPAN one day, but I really doubt it.

Evergreen 2.9.0 Upgrade Script Problem

Chris Sharp, of Georgia Pines, detected a problem with the upgrade from Evergreen 2.8.4 to 2.9.0.  It would fail because of a table being modified while data was being also being inserted into it.

This problem has been corrected and a new release uploaded to the public download server: http://evergreen-ils.org/egdownloads/

If you have already downloaded Evergreen 2.9.0 from that location and plan to upgrade, you must download it again or the upgrade will fail.

If you are planning to upgrade using git, the public repositories have been updated, so doing a git pull will get you the fixed upgrade script.

As the release manager for 2.9, I apologize for any inconvenience this causes.


In my defence, this is the largest upgrade script in Evergreen history so far.

Evergreen 2.9 Release Candidate Available

Thanks to the efforts of dozens of community members, Evergreen 2.9-rc release candidate was released today. Please download it and have a go at testing.

The release candidate contains fixes for the following bugs since the beta release:

Fines are not calculating until after circulation is closed

remove legacy_script_support from sample SIPServer configuration

authority data may be deleted during propagation with current values of authority.control_set_authority_field

WARNING for Penalty.pm during make install

The final release of Evergreen 2.9.0 is scheduled to coincide with the next monthly update releases of the 2.8 and 2.7 Evergreen series in two weeks on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.

A Day Late...: Evergreen 2.9-beta released

Thanks to the efforts of dozens of community members, Evergreen 2.9-beta was released yesterday, August 20, 2015. Please download it and have a go at testing.

New Features in 2.9-beta

• Caching of compiled OPAC templates for performance.
• Support for conditional negative balances.
• Disable Google Analytics in the staff client.
• Add account expiration date to OPAC My Account area.
• More sorting options in OPAC My Account area.
• Ability for staff to clear added content cache.
• Better progress updates when activating a purchase order in acquisitions.
• Ability to assign statistical category entries to items imported through Vandelay.
• Support "blanket" (long-lived, multi-invoice) orders in acquisitions.
• Notify patrons via email of pending account expiration. 
• Add RDA Content Type, Media Type, and Carrier Type attributes.
• MARC tag table service to better teach Evergreen how to use MARC tags.
• Teach record attributes about SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System).

Note: The last two on the above list are currently only useful with the web staff client preview but could be useful to other Evergreen components in the future.

The web staff client preview was updated with "sprint 2" features, including:

• MARC Editor
• Fixed Field Editor
• Flat Text MARC Editor
• Embed Vandelay
• Batch Edit
• URL Verification UI
• Manage Authorities UI
• Monograph Parts UI 
• Holdings View
• Volume/Copy Editor
• Z39.50 Search and Import Interface
• Additional Hot Keys for the web staff client
• Improve Firefox Compatibility
• Add base files for web staff client internationalization/translation.

In addition to the removal of scripted circulation and hold rules that was previously announced, more dead code was removed:

• open-ils.penalty service
• legacy self-check interface
• last of the code from the JavaScript OPAC

One final detail of note, the Acquisitions Administration menu was moved from being a submenu of Server Administration to having its own entry on the Admin menu.

Evergreen 2.9 Upcoming Beta Release Reminder

There will be no alpha release of Evergreen 2.9. With the beta release scheduled to coincide with the monthly maintenance releases next week on Wednesday, August 19, there is little point in doing an alpha release right now.

This message is also meant to serve as a reminder of the beta release and to encourage everyone to have a look at the bugs targeted for the beta. You can find the list of them here:

https://launchpad.net/evergreen/+milestone/2.9-beta

The beta is the cut off point for new features. These are bugs with a "Wishlist" importance in Launchpad, though some of the "Undecided" bugs may fall into that category as well. Any new features not merged by the time the beta is cut will need to wait until the next major release.