Introduction

DSpace is an open source software platform that enables organisations to:

• capture and describe digital material using a submission workflow module, or a variety of programmatic ingest options
• distribute an organisation's digital assets over the web through a search and retrieval system
• preserve digital assets over the long term

This system documentation includes a functional overview of the system, which is a good introduction to the capabilities of the system, and should be readable by non-technical folk. Everyone should read this section first because it introduces some terminology used throughout the rest of the documentation.

For people actually running a DSpace service, there is an installation guide, and sections on configuration and the directory structure.

Finally, for those interested in the details of how DSpace works, and those potentially interested in modifying the code for their own purposes, there is a detailed architecture section.

Other good sources of information are:

• The DSpace Public API Javadocs. Build these with the command mvn javadoc:javadoc
• The DSpace Wiki contains stacks of useful information about the DSpace platform and the work people are doing with it. You are strongly encouraged to visit this site and add information about your own work. Useful Wiki areas are:
  • A list of DSpace resources (Web sites, mailing lists etc.)
  • Technical FAQ
    
  • Registry of projects using DSpace
  • Guidelines for contributing back to DSpace
• www.dspace.org has announcements and contains useful information about bringing up an instance of DSpace at your organization.
• The DSpace General List. Join DSpace-General to ask questions or join discussions about non-technical aspects of building and running a DSpace service. It is open to all DSpace users. Ask questions, share news, and spark discussion about DSpace with people managing other DSpace sites. Watch DSpace-General for news of software releases, user conferences, and announcements from the DSpace Federation.
• The DSpace Technical List. DSpace developers help answer installation and technology questions, share information and help each other solve technical problems through the DSpace-Tech mailing list. Post questions or contribute your expertise to other developers working with the system.
• The DSpace Development List. Join Discussions among DSpace Developers. The DSpace-Devel listserv is for DSpace developers working on the DSpace platform to share ideas and discuss code changes to the open source platform. Join other developers to shape the evolution of the DSpace software. The DSpace community depends on its members to frame functional requirements and high-level architecture, and to facilitate programming, testing, documentation and to the project.