Future of JATS Parser Plugin for OJS 3.5 and beyond - seeking official clarification

Software Support
1

Describe the issue or problem
Hello everyone,

I’m reaching out on behalf of an agency, Archimede Informatica, that provides technical support to multiple OJS journals. Many of our clients are currently using the JATS Parser plugin (developed by @Vitaliy) to convert JATS XML files into HTML for full-text article display on OJS 3.3.

As we plan the migration to OJS 3.5 LTS, we have serious concerns about the continuity of this functionality. Our clients have large archives of articles already published in JATS XML format, and losing the ability to display them as HTML would be a significant setback.

I’ve read the recent discussion in this forum thread where @asmecher mentioned:

  1. The Lens Galley plugin (based on eLife Lens) is no longer recommended as eLife stopped development

  2. There is a working group defining production workflows for OJS 3.6

  3. JATS Parser is one of the plugins that gets updated with each release

However, I’m seeking more specific clarification:

  • Is there an official roadmap for JATS Parser plugin development? Will it be maintained by the PKP team or by the community?

  • Has any work started on a 3.5-compatible version? If not, are there plans to begin soon?

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

Best regards,

Paolo Pellegrino

What application are you using?
OJS 3.5

2

Hi @paolo_pellegrino,

Some of this was spoken about in our Development Update the other day: https://youtu.be/3FAIVkQRmDk?si=_jasbyyybNaiJaOU

Alec and Vitaliy may be able to speak to some of the specifics.

-Roger
PKP Team

3

Hi Roger,

thank you for your email and for the link. I watched the development update video, but I didn’t find any specific references to the JATS parser for version 3.5.

Our main concern is understanding whether OJS 3.5 will also allow us to continue rendering our journals’ current XML files (which currently use the JATS parser) into HTML.

It would be important for us to have confirmation on this aspect in order to plan the update accordingly.

Thanks,

Paolo Pellegrino

4

Hi @paolo_pellegrino,

Thank you for your response. The Development Update video gives a sense of where OJS development is generally headed with respect to JATS, but, you’re right, may not have directly addressed or referenced the JATS parser. My understanding is that for future versions (e.g. 3.6) there are a lot of improvements forthcoming with respect to JATS, such as this one: Support conversion of JATS fulltext to/from HTML · Issue #10433 · pkp/pkp-lib · GitHub

But @asmecher, or other dev team members may want to speak more directly to your concern about the JATS parser.

-Roger
PKP Team

5

Hi @paolo_pellegrino,

The JATS Parser and OAI JATS plugins are not “official” PKP plugins, and it’s up to the maintainer to define their own release plans. That said Vitaliy (who maintains those) works with us and we’re aware they are high priority plugins for many users with a JATS workflow, so they will get updated at some point. Unfortunately I don’t have a timeline for you at the moment.

Starting with OJS 3.6, we’ll have built-in tools for typesetting and JATS production, so the release timeline mismatch should go away at that point.

Thanks,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

6

Hi Alec,

thank you very much for your reply and for the clarification. I appreciate the update about the JATS Parser plugins and understand that their release schedule depends on the maintainer.

It’s also great to hear that starting with OJS 3.6 there will be built-in tools for typesetting and JATS production — that will certainly help streamline the workflow.

Thanks again for your time and for the work your team is doing on OJS.

Best regards,
Paolo Pellegrino