Unfortunately, the upcoming release of a new JCollection version will take a few weeks longer, there have been so many things to be changed. Meanwhile, here are some thoughts on the future of JCollection. There are basically three objectives I would like to achieve:
- A easy-to-use book/movie collection management system (or video games or other media) including support for fetching additional information from various sources
- Integration to library information systems such that libraries can offer additional services to their customers
- Professional collection management for sellers
The first objective is achieved, there are some details to be improved, and this is what I am working on mostly. Easier adding of items in the frontend and in the backend, simpler webservice usage, etc. When this is done, the new version will be released. Objectives two and three are a bit more special. The difficulty in the integration with library systems is that the developers of these systems try to keep the communication means secret, hence it takes a lot of time and effort to get this running. The good news is that there I have successfully tested the connection to one particular system and it seems to work fine. The next steps should be a lot easier then. The third objective requires some tweaking of features that JCollection already offers, so this should not be a big problem. In addition to that, an import/export feature to some of Joomla's shop systems is required. Most of this only exists in my head, but hopefully will become reality soon!
