The content for this EcoSal site originated as a book, Escherichia coli and Salmonella: Cellular and Molecular Biology, first published in 1987 and revised as a Second Edition in 1996. Responding to the demand for interactive content, ASM Press published a CD of this title in 1998, based on the Second Edition book. ASM's CD producer generated "master" content files in Word, and these are the basis for the original EcoSal Web site. Those files were converted into XML and saved into a database from which are generated the HTML files displayed online.
In rendering this large body of content into a "fluid," XML-tagged database, the goal was to build an online publishing "machine" which would give the EcoSal authors and editors an environment in which this content could evolve. ASM Press and its suppliers encountered numerous challenges with this highly complex set of data.
While print and CD publishing formats focus on "hard-coded" displays of information, things change drastically when that same content is put into a database from which multiple display outputs are generated. To function properly, an XML-tagged database requires a uniform rule set and a high level of tagging consistency, neither of which was available for the previously typeset data. Tables, display math, special characters, and figures are the main "culprits" in this regard, and EcoSal's HTML pages feature a rather hybrid approach. Depending on their relative complexity and the nature of the source files for each item, these elements are treated in multiple ways. A math equation, for example, may appear either as keystroked text within the regular text body or as a separate graphic (.gif). While this disparity of approaches is not optimal, because the reader might note different sizes and displays of figures, tables, and equations, the content does accurately reflect that of the Second Edition book and CD.
To answer all the challenges faced by the Authors and Editors, the redesigned EcoSal site has been implemented with Joomla (an open source content management system). The Joomla interface allows updating, creation, modification, and removal of the site content whenever required. ASM Press's plan is that EcoSal will evolve and become more "fluid" and consistent over time as new content is added and old content is archived. Again, accuracy and immediate access to this content is the primary goal, with the goal being to build an online publishing machine which will support new and ongoing EcoSal content.
A Note on Navigation. A numbered, hyperlinked list of tables and figures appearing in each chapter appears in the left frame of each chapter opening page, below the TOC. Clicking a figure or table hyperlink in that list will transport you to the selected figure or table “in place” in the text within the large, main frame. (Note that your “back” button will not transport you back to your previous place in the text; you will need to click on one of the hyperlinked heads or subheads in the TOC in the left frame to return to the desired location in the text.) Clicking a hyperlinked table or figure callout from within the text itself, however, will present the item in a “pop up” box, which can be closed subsequently without transporting you out of the text.
We hope that you find the many functionalities of the EcoSal site useful, such as the search capabilities, customization options, printing/download options, interior and exterior hyperlinking, etc., and we welcome your comments and suggestions. Click on the “Contact” URL at the bottom of the screen to contact us.
