Unomarks
Unomarks is a system to manage bookmarks and similar resource descriptions.
Unomarks is designed to merge bookmarks from multiple sources into a single database. When a URI is added to the database and if that URI already exists in the database, no new record will be created. This means that adding a list of URIs twice will have the same effect as adding it once, so the user does not have to worry about creating double entries or about creating a mess when adding URIs, which already exist.
The bookmarks of this database can have several additional information, such as a resource description and might be assigned to several categories. They can have a priority for further processing.
This database might be published as a catalogue, but it might also be used as an intermediate storage for bookmarks to be registered in more elaborate catalogues later. Bookmarks will not be entered into a catalogue immediately if this requires a lot of work (e.g., if the editorial process for the creation of a catalogue entry requires a careful inspection of the resource, writing a report, collecting information about the creators of the resource and so on). So a temporary container for the bookmarks is needed, where they can be stored until time is found to process them further. However, this temporary container should contains some preliminary system for categorization of the bookmarks and for the managing a queue sorted by priority to select a bookmark for a more costly inspection and coverage in such a manner that higher quality resources are processed first.
Unomarks uses a language called Unource to describe resources.
Bookmark lists from several resources can be converted to Unource. New bookmarks might also be written down manually using Unource or possibly using a special Unource -editor.
- The flow of resource information in Unomarks (aka Unoflow )
Browser-
bookmark plain Text
file (e.g., list of URIs
from Firefox) |
| |
| Unourox | Unourext
Bookmarks V V
entered Bookmarks URI list
manually file in converted
in Unource Unource to Unource
| | |
'---------------Unourge---------------'
|
V
.-----------.
| central |
| Unomark |
| files |
'-----------'
|
.------------------'------------------.
| | Unourump
V V
possibly possibly
move to export to
catalogue HTML pages
Unource
The simplest form of an entry in Unource is a line with a URI followed by an empty line.
- A simple entry
http://www.example.com/example/
The URI might be preceded by a single notes line that might contain a description and/or keywords.
- A simple entry
An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
The URI might be followed by a date line giving the date and optional time of when the note was taken.
- A simple entry
An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
The date might be preceded by an (abbreviated) name of the person taking the note, separated by an at-sign.
- A simple entry
An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
The first line might also contain tags.
- A simple entry
[web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
Not too much effort should be made to normalize the tags, because this would make to effort too high. You choose tags that come to mind. Later similar tags might be merged automatically.
The first line might start with a signed number from the set "+3, +2, +1, +0, -0, -1, -2, -3". This gives the priority for further Evaluation (i.e, transfer to a catalogue) for this bookmark. +0 is the default, +1 means “high priority”, +2 “very high priority”, and +3 “extremely high priority”. A minus sign indicates that the resource has been evaluated.
- A simple entry
+1[web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
Single-letter Tags are reserved to give the publication target. I.e., [p] might mark „free for general publication“.
- A simple entry
+1[p][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
A private entry can be marked explicitly by another publication target.
- A private entry
+1[x][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
Two-letter tags a reserved to give the language of the resource and the notes
- A simple entry
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
Multiple URIs might be given between the first and the last line, when all the notes and tags apply to each of them, individually.
So instead of
- A simple entry
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00 +1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/other/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
One might write
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
http://www.example.com/other/
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
An equals sign indicates another URI for the same resource
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://www.example.com/example/
=http://www.example.com/example/index.html
slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
Instead of a resource, a note might also be a text. In this case, the note line and the date line must both be present. The note line must end and the date line must start with a colon
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page:
This is a text
that might contain empty lines.
:slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
If really needed an additional boundary marker can be introduced by a second line starting with a colon and a boundary text.
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page:
:boundary
This is a text
that might contain empty lines.
And even date lines starting with a colon.
:slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
The text still is not terminated! But the next line will
terminate this text:
:boundary
:slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00
When bookmarks were imported from another source, this might be given in brackets at the end of the date line
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://example.com slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00[file "bookmarks1.html"]
When bookmarks were exported to a catalogue, this might be given in braces at the end of the date line
+1[p][en][web design][example pages]An interesting Example page
http://example.com slr@2006-06-22T06:39:07+02:00[file "bookmarks1.html"]{Mycat}
Other fields might be added and described later, such as titles, descriptions, comments, and keywords obtained from a source or an automatic inspection and the date of such inspections.
Remarks
A software-piece to convert bookmarks between the formats used by some of the most popular browsers is called Columbine Bookmark Merge.
Online Tool
- http://www.linkagogo.com/
- This tool allows to store bookmarks and also includes converters to convert from AOL PFC.