Hi all,as promised earlier, here is the svn access to my billing system application source code:  http://svn.estadieu.com/cs4u/ . Enjoy it!It was my first symfony project, therefore the code is most probably not perfect I hope it can be useful for some of you. 

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I have been silent in the last few weeks…For a good reason: I have been busy like hell for a new website (french only) on which I was contracted to do all technical developments based on top of Symfony framework. It is now open publicly and you can have a look at http://www.miroirsocial.com/ . It’s a website that aims to share news and start a discussion between unions and human ressources. 

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One of my client wants to change its current DMS used to manage safety, quality and environment documents (and based on MyDMS). After discussions we identify a list of basic features to develop a new version from scratch. One of the key element was to decide the technology we will use, and guest what what came on the top: Symfony.

One of the objective would be to release it later on as an open-source solution since there is no such solution yet in the symfony world. So what is best to start an open-source project than asking you guys what you would expect from a DMS?

Here is a first quick list that we identify already:

Generic

• Open-source solution
• Multi-languages support (I18N),
• Fast search engine
• RSS feeds

Document classification: Categories and Tags

• List categories (folders) and attached documents according to user credential,
• Allow document to be classified into several categories at the same time without duplicating the document itself,
• Tags (keywords) for easy search with tagcloud,
• Organization categories to allow view per department, unit,…
• Notification list on categories

Documents

• Upload any type of documents (can be specified of course),
• Document versioning to keep track of all versions of a document + locking system for edition,
• Document publishing status available: waiting approval, approved, revoked.
• Document security status: public, internal use, restricted, confidential,
• Document types (e.g. ‘Manual’, ‘Work Instruction’,…)
• Expiration system for document with email alert to author.
• Document translation manangement (a document can be in several languages for each version),
• Document can have attached (or linked or related) documents (e.g. Work instruction have the complete list of related records)
• A document can have no electronic document attached but simply a reference to a physical document.
• Notification list per document
• Star ala Gmail to create a list of personal favorite documents

Users

• Simple workflow for reviewing and approving document before publising,
• Comments on document,
• Favorites (stars ala google): user documents to easily find documents user need the most and allow email alert whenever it is update,
• personalized content: list of new document since last login, alert when a user document has received a comment,…
• personal zone to store private documents

Advanced features:

• Full-text search including search within PDF content (Xpdf or pdfstring ?)
• LDAP integration
• Barcode integration (Mozilla Prism based?)
• Drag’n'drop of documents from desktop to the app as well as to move folders, documents,…
• WebDAV support/integration?
• Integration with desktop office tools?
• Option: geolocalization for documents
• dynamic folders (ala intelligent playlist in iTunes) based on criteria. Can be created globally or on a personal view. Can be created based on a specific search.
• Notification messages on dynamic folders change or saved search.
• RSS and iCal subscription for planned events such as time to review a document, expiration date…
• Special type of document: groups of photos (allow a slideshow,…)

I have identified a certain number of existing Symfony plugins that can be useful for such a project, namely:

• sfGuard of course for user management/credentials
• sfLucene for the search engine
• sfFeed2 for RSS support
• sfJobQueue and/or sfPropelNotification to queue up email alert or other jobs such as validation workflow
• A couple of Propel behaviors:
  • Versionable and Uuid for versioning purpose
  • Commentable for comments
  • Nested and Ordering for ordering and sorting (anyway used by other plugins too)
  • Sluggable for clean and meaningful url
  • Taggable for tag support
  • Starable a plugin I will write to have the Gmail like staring system (personal favorites)

Optionally we can use as well:

• 2 more propel behavior plugins: Ratable and Recommendable
• ISBN for books?

Yes, it is now your time: share your view on DMS to see how we can start to build a generic enough solution for all. We are first looking at web-based features, we can imagine to have a 2nd phase for more advanced features that rely on desktop heavy solution…keep this for next year!

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Earlytel, a french company, is legally selling unlocked and localized iPhone in France and the rest of Europe.

This is how French see the Apple business model for iPhone! I love that! I definitively like most Apple products but I hate their arrogant attitude and their lake of respect for customers.

Due to a specific french law, Apple is forced to sell its iPhone unlocked in parallel of its agreement with Orange…a big hole for their business model! Therefore they have decided to sell the iPhone unlocked for 1.000Euros!!! And here comes EarlyTel. Thanks guys, I like this kind of struggle

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