[Sw-l] The SignWriting Server 1.2 update

[Stephen E Slevinski Jr]

Hi SignWriting List,

I'm happy to announce version 1.2 of the SignWriting Server.  I've added 
a few improvements based on developer feedback.

The SignWriting Server has 2 main purposes.  Primarily, it is the new 
backend for the SignPuddle 3 development.  Secondarily, it will allow 
other developers to easily interact with the SignPuddle data directly 
within their applications.

The SignWriting Server returns SVG and JSON data.  Unless you're a 
developer or power-user, you will not want to use the SignWriting Server 
directly.  Early next year, I will start releasing snap-shots of the 
SignPuddle 3 front-end development.  SignPuddle 3 will be for the normal 
SignPuddle users.

Main site:
* http://signbank.org/swserver

Mirror site:
* https://swserver.wmflabs.org


# Version 1.2 improvements
All of the SignWriting Server capabilities are documented in the guide 
and through the examples.  Below is a list of the v1.2 improvements.

## Puddle Listings
It is now possible to get a list of the available puddles: either a list 
of all puddles or a list of the puddles available for a specific language.

* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle
* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/language/ase


## Puddle database downloads
Each puddle exists as an SQLite 3 database.  These databases are 
available for download from the SignWriting Server.

* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/db/sgn4


## Limits per request
When querying or searching a puddle, the default limit is 100 entries 
per request.  This limit can now be set to any number, or the limit can 
be set to zero to disable the limit and return all of the results 
without limit.

* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/search/hello?limit=10
* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/query/Q?limit=0


## Sorting the results
Previously, the return results were sorted by each sign's SignSpelling 
Sequence.  Now it is possible to specify the sort order of the returned 
results.  By default, the sorting is ascending.  For descending results, 
prefix the sort column by the minus (-)

* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/query/Q?sort=created_at
* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/query/Q?sort=-updated_at

## Date based retrieval
It is now possible to retrieve entries based on the date created or 
updated.  You can specify a before date and/or an after date.  The date 
is formatted as year/month/day hour:minute:second, such as "2015/01/01 
23:01:12".  The time is assumed to be UTC.  Please note it is possible 
to specify as much of the date as required: anywhere from the year by 
itself down to an exact date and time.  Sorting defaults to ascending, 
either "created_at" for created and "updated_at" for updated.

* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/created?after=2015
* http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/created?before=2008
* 
http://signbank.org/swserver/puddle/sgn4/updated?after=2015/01/01&before=2015/02/01&sort=-updated_at


## Default dictionaries for ISO 639-3 codes
Rather than using the puddle codes such as "sgn4", it is now possible to 
use an ISO 639-3 code to specify the sign language dictionary 
requested.  The ISO code will return results from the selected public 
dictionary for the particular sign language.

* https://swserver.wmflabs.org/puddle/ase/search/steve?ci=1

For each sign language, the public dictionary was set based on what was 
available.  To get information on the public dictionary, you can request 
the puddle information for any ISO 639-3 code.

* https://swserver.wmflabs.org/puddle/ase


# Development continues
The SignWriting Server is a work in progress.  Please contact me with 
any feedback, ideas, or requests.

Next I will be working on the user authentication system for the 
SignWriting Server.  This will make it possible for users to log into 
the SignWriting Server so they can add new information and update 
existing information.

Regards,
∼Steve

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