[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Moving patron editor to AngularJS

[Kathy Lussier]

Hi all,

As many of you know, the goal of the current web client project is to 
move the existing functionality of the current staff client to a 
browser-based client. This means that the Dojo screens will remain as is 
because they work in a web browser without making any changes.

There was talk at the February developers meeting about moving some of 
these interfaces to AngularJS so that we would eventually would have a 
client that is entirely Angular-ized.

The folks at MassLNC has identified the patron registration form/patron 
editor as a critical interface to be done in AngularJS. Although there 
are several Dojo interfaces that will be carried over as is, the patron 
editor is something that is used with high frequency at a busy 
circulation desk.

We've also found that embedding the editor in the web client is a bit 
awkward, with a scrollbar within a scrollbar. In addition, we've done 
some tests where it appeared to take longer to load the patron editor in 
the web client than it does in the current client. Our testing last 
summer showed a bigger lag back in August when the web client was first 
being tested, but, even though the lag doesn't appear to be as long now, 
we're still finding that it loads a bit more slowly.

As a result, MassLNC has been looking towards working with a developer 
to rebuild this very important interface in AngularJS.

I've posted some requirements for the work on the Evergreen wiki. They 
are available at 
http://wiki.evergreen-ils.org/doku.php?id=dev:browser_staff:patron_editor_reqs.

Our group has reviewed these requirements and believe they are an 
accurate reflection of all the functionality that is currently available 
through the patron registration form/patron editor. However, I'm sharing 
these with the community to make sure they indeed match all of the 
current functionality.

Please note: with just a couple of exceptions (noted below), we are just 
looking to replicate the existing functionality available in the current 
client, not add anything new.

The exceptions are:
* We asked for a label change so that Physical address replaces the 
current Billing address on the registration form. This terminology would 
make it consistent with what is displayed in the patron summary. It 
would also address the bug identified in 
https://bugs.launchpad.net/evergreen/+bug/1068646.

* We added optional functionality to add a table of contents to the 
editor, as can be seen in the mockup done by the Evergreen OPW Intern, 
Julia Lima, while she was working on a UI Style Guide for Evergreen. 
http://media.tumblr.com/69beec7802a938b889bdfa80c7e0d54b/tumblr_inline_nkn0okinXl1t572gy.png

If you have any feedback on the requirements or see something that is 
missing, feel free to let me know.

Thank you!
Kathy

-- 
Kathy Lussier
Project Coordinator
Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
(508) 343-0128
klussier at masslnc.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier