Practicum on Anatomic Pathology Web Page Development
INTRODUCTION
In pathology the acquisition, transfer and archival
of information is paramount, and the Internet has become the largest
information resource in history. A layer on top of the text based
connectivity of the Internet lies the graphical, interactive,
multi-media rich World Wide Web. This has become a strategic
vehicle for pathology because of its ability to provide image
and textual content, user interactivity and the ability to disseminate
information globally.
How can this power be tapped? What needs to be done
to create a WWW site?
For this workshop, these steps have been broken down
into three separate sections:
Part I - Web Server Essentials, Ben Craigo, LIS Analyst, WWW R&D/Administration
Part II - Web Authoring Tools, Charlie Hatton, WWW Programmer/Administrator
Part III - Putting it All Together , Fang He, WWW Administrator, Systems Analyst
Mike Sendek, HEW (CLT), PC Applications Specialist
PART I - Web Server Essentials
The foundation of a successful site on the World
Wide Web is the server it sits on. A Web server is any computer
that accepts and answers requests for information over the Internet
from a WWW browser. This combination of raw computational hardware,
underlying operating system and WWW server software can mean the
difference between success and failure.
First it will be the necessary to determine what
hardware to house the server on. This section will take some of
the anxiety over what the technical specifications actually mean.
Some of the topics will include the quantity of storage capacity,
extended memory and system architecture. The decision on the
hardware will usually decide the underlying operating system as
well.
Next will be the operating system that will form
the platform that all the software will run on. There are many
issues to take into consideration when choosing the operating
system. For instance, what level of technical support can be
expected from in-house IS departments, who is going be the administrator
and what OS is that individual familiar with, what is the budget,
hardware configuration and applications supported. After the
physical server is setup and configured, this will dictate the
remaining options of server software to choose from.
Finally the discussion will be the server software
itself. What is it and what does it actually do? Which one should
be chosen and why? There are a lot of issues here: administration,
costs, upgradeability, support, level of acceptance, security
and implementation.
The success and failure of a server is based on its
ability to maintain acceptable levels of performance on a consistent
basis. What may interfere with that are system limitations, overload
and scalabiltiy. In addition, other factors of influence are
budgetary concerns, computing environment, network topography,
administrative issues and security.
Part II - Web Authoring Tools
Development of a fully functional and useful World Wide Web site, for either Internet or intranet use, requires more than the installation and configuration of server software. Content development, server and content maintenance, and quality assurance are all dependent upon the availability of specific software tools, and the expertise to effectively use those tools. In this section, we will define the types of software and expertise integral to a successful pathology-based WWW site, and offer examples of each type.
In order to define the accessories and knowledge required to maintain any WWW server, the content of the site must first be identified. Nearly all WWW sites will provide information represented as text. Common text-based applications in pathology include case discussions, informational brochures, disease grading schemas and guidelines, and educational materials designed to assist students, physicians, and/or patients and their families. All textual information must be formatted using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to be included on a WWW site.
In general, pathology-based sites are also highly graphical, in addition to containing textual information. The development of online pathology atlases and case studies requires the use of clinical gross and microscopic images, and may also include other image-based data such as radiology scans, photographs, slides (2X2's), and laboratory gels or films.
Many pathology sites also provide dynamic services such as search engines, online forums, and interactive educational tools. These applications require the development or implementation of software
programs which are not directly accessed by the user, but which manipulate and generate data based on users' input to HTML forms. The programming languages most commonly used to develop these applications are C/C++, Perl, and, more recently, Java.
Finally, for pathology WWW sites, as well as most others, it is very important to ensure that the content provided is as recent, accurate, and complete as possible. Specifically, maintenance of a WWW site involves duties such as routine checks of the integrity of all HTML links, the validity of the HTML tags used, and the validity of the content itself.
The tools required to develop and maintain a pathology
WWW site thus fall into four categories: image capture and manipulation,
word processing/HTML formatting, programming, and site maintenance.
For each of these areas, we will provide references to several
examples of software packages which can be useful in developing
WWW content, and also discuss the expertise required to effectively
use the tools and manage the site.
Part III - Putting It All Together
Once all the necessary hardware and server software
has been installed, it is time to consider the actual purpose
of this exercise, i.e. assembling your AP data into Web format.
Initially this looks to be an overwhelming task, but as will
be shown, this task is not as daunting as it might appear on the
surface.
You will be shown a variety of hardware and software
solutions that can be utilized to create your web site. In our
environment the following hardware devices are routinely used
to provide image content for our own Web pages.
Depending upon your project budget, any and all of
these devices will prove to be useful to add image based content
to your Web site. Their operation will be shown so that the participant
may gain some feel for their use in a routine clinical environment.
The process of actually establishing your Web site
and converting your content into Web displayable documents can
be approached from a variety of different perspectives. In very
simple terms it will be necessary to produce HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language) documents. These are the documents that are read by
the Web browser software and are displayed when you access a Web
server. HTML documents can be created using a wide variety of
tools ranging from the simplest of text editors (Windows notepad)
to full blown automated site generators that will allow the construction
of sophisticated sites in a short period of time using drop and
drag technology. To a large extent your choice of tools will
be influenced by your past experience and your familiarity with
both Web site design and HTML coding.
To illustrate one approach to Web site authoring,
we will develop a simple prototype AP site using one of the newer
products in the marketplace, Microsoft Frontpage97. The version
that will be used is a beta release from Microsoft.
Much of the software that is in use for Web development
is available for download on the Web itself. A list of favorite
download sites and tools will be provided along with a brief discussion
of what they are used for and why we like them. A CD containing
the basic shareware and freeware tools for Web site development
will be made available to all Workshop attendees.