[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Custom client possible?

[Dan Scott]

On Wed, Sep 29, 2010 at 01:29:13AM -0500, bookworm2010 at xemaps.com wrote:
> Is it possible for an end user (i.e. member of the public) to write his own client to query the library catalog instead of using the OPAC? If so what are the related resources (documentation, sample code, forum/email list, etc)? The ideal solution would be a set of js functions for making queries, placing hold, logging in, retrieving patron's record, etc. Thx.

If you use Firebug to watch what happens when you're using the OPAC to
make queries, place holds, log in, retrieve a record, etc, you can see
that there are a set of existing JavaScript functions that do all of
these things. The "workshop" document that Jason pointed you to helps
provide the context for what's going on under the covers, and the
code4lib journal article at http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/3284
expands on that with a description of the fieldmapper. You can skip the
part that describes how to create a new OpenSRF method, but it helps to
understand how the OpenSRF services offer methods and the calling
conventions.

Between knowing how to use "introspect" in srfsh to list the available
OpenSRF methods, and knowing how to use the
fieldmapper.standardRequest() JavaScript function in Dojo to issue those
calls to OpenSRF methods, and peeking at what the existing OPAC is
doing, you could probably get pretty far in writing your own client.