[Archivesspace_Users_Group] batch delete dates saga continues

[Tang, Lydia]

Mark,
Thank you for identifying my problem!  Just for the sake of technological dummies like me, what should I do?  Everything there (besides removing the <unitid> tags is exactly as it spat out of ArchivesSpace, so I wonder if the export allowed the invalid characters?  I also wonder if the importing process could be improved within the ArchivesSpace code to search for “aspace_" and not batch add it as well as recognize (or not export out in the first place) the "Linear Feet" / linear_feet controlled vocabulary?  Ideally, after establishing with the database that linear_feet should publish as Linear Feet, I wish it would continue to recognize that rule when new stuff is imported in.
I was also meaning poll people on “how do I even get started” with learning more about working the ArchivesSpace guts?  I can understand EAD but obviously don’t know the wizardry possible with XML, there’s JSON, python, etc, and I would be interested in starting courses with Code Academy to learn, but I don’t even know where to begin.  Advice appreciated!
Lydia

From: <archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org> on behalf of "Custer, Mark" <mark.custer at yale.edu>
Reply-To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Date: Friday, November 10, 2017 at 11:50 AM
To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Subject: Re: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] batch delete dates saga continues

Lydia,

In the EAD files that you attached, both have invalid XML characters in them (Unicode: 0x14).  Those are easy to remove before re-importing in an XML editor like oXygen, but I'm curious how they got into ASpace in the first place?   In any event, it's possible that that's what's blocking your imports this time around, and if that's the issue, if you just fix on those issues, then the ASpace importer won't tell you about the next issue until it runs again.

In any event, I'd also suggest making  the following changes to your XML file before re-importing, so perhaps the snag is a good thing for now 😊 :

·         ASpace adds "aspace_" to all of the @id values in the EAD file upon export.  If you don't remove those before reimporting, then on the next export you'll get "aspace_aspace_".  Removing them will invalidate the EAD file, but ASpace doesn't care whether the file is valid or not upon re-importing it.
·         ASpace expects to have the database values for the controlled value terms in the exports, not the translation values.  So, if you don't change things like "Linear Feet" to linear_feet and "Mixed Materials" to mixed_materials, then you'll wind up with new database values in ASpace after the import.  Those of course can be merged after the fact, but that's another step, and it would be unfortunate to have to do that on every occasion.

There's a lot more to say on the practice of re-importing EAD into ASpace, but I haven't still come up with a great strategy for that, so basically we try to avoid it 😊

Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org [mailto:archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org] On Behalf Of Tang, Lydia
Sent: Friday, 10 November, 2017 10:47 AM
To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Subject: Re: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] batch delete dates saga continues

Wizardry!  Thank you, Olivia!  I would have NEVER figured that out.  It seemed to take out the <unitdate> tags perfectly but I ended up getting snagged on importing because of, um, a seemingly benign line which was marked as not well-formed.  Oof, so close, but snagged up!
Lydia

From: <archivesspace_users_group-bounces at lyralists.lyrasis.org> on behalf of Olivia S Solis <livsolis at utexas.edu>
Reply-To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Date: Friday, November 10, 2017 at 10:36 AM
To: Archivesspace Users Group <archivesspace_users_group at lyralists.lyrasis.org>
Subject: Re: [Archivesspace_Users_Group] batch delete dates saga continues

<unitda[^>]+>[^<]+<\/unitdate>