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John April 25th, 2010

For years–before I had Netflix, before Netflix even existed–I looked all over town for a film that came highly recommended called The Gospel According to Matthew. I finally found it one day at Video Rodeo and checked it out. It was amazing–I was enthralled with this film like I’d been with few others. About halfway through, Jesus came walking over the water onto land, opened his mouth to say something to Matthew, and the DVD froze.

I tried cleaning the disk, tried fast forwarding past the scratched part, tried to jump past it with chapter selection, tried to watch it on a different DVD player. Nothing would make the DVD play past the halfway point.

Back at the store they said they’d probably never get a replacement for it–the film was available only as part of a very expensive Pasolini boxed set. They offered me a free rental but that wasn’t what I wanted–I wanted to see the rest of the film.

Years later, the film has been released on its own and the library has a copy. I checked it out some time back, brought it home, and left it on the desk, unwatched, until I had to return it. The film was fixed in my mind as perfect film, and I was worried I’d revisit it and find that it wasn’t.

Today I was watching Slumdog Millionaire, mostly because it’s one of the very few films on the IMDb top 250 that I haven’t yet seen. Early on I decided it was kind of predictable how all of Jamal’s trivia knowledge stemmed from various unpleasant situations in his past, and my mind began to drift off–thinking of Danny Boyle’s films, thinking of British colonialism and liberal guilt, thinking of how the film was described as a crowd pleaser but I thought it was kind of shallow. Thinking, actually, that Jamal wouldn’t have escaped his childhood without carrying some serious baggage, and that his character would most likely be inclined towards detached hookups or clingy abusive relationships.

About halfway through the film, Jamal was hanging out with Latika, Salim had just left, and the DVD froze. When the DVD unfroze, Salim was holding a group of men at gunpoint. The DVD played another three minutes or so and froze again.

Nothing I try will make this DVD play all the way through.

I’m not sure if I’ll watch the rest of it, but in this case it’s not because I think it’s a perfect film. Rather, it’s hitting me as a moderately entertaining watch which isn’t offering me anything new. I feel certain that Jamal will prove himself innocent to the policeman’s satisfaction, that he will walk away with his millions, that he will find Latika, and that they will be reunited happily ever after. I feel certain, too, that Jamal and Latika won’t be immediately robbed–by Salim or anyone else–and won’t have to deal with mountains of taxes, or mountains of bribes to various corrupt officials, that they’ll never be implicated in Amman’s death though Salim probably will, and will suffer it silently, and that the film’s ending will be superficially satisfying.

And I feel certain, finally, that millions of rupees are a poor compensation for a childhood of being raised in the slums, having witnessed a parent’s murder, having been tricked into childhood serfdom and barely escaping being deliberately blinded, having witnessed a second murder (even if it was of a reprehensible character), and having been tortured during questioning for having done nothing wrong.

I wonder if a better film might have been made with that same character, with that same background, with a resolution of not becoming rich but instead of coming to peace with the past and laying it to rest.

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John April 2nd, 2010

Some time back I read an article talking about how libraries all over the country were individually recreating the wheel, duplicating effort instead of building on someone else’s. There were various reasons for this mentioned: that some librarians didn’t want to feel obligated to maintain code put out in the public, that some were embarrassed about code they considered subpar, that some workplaces didn’t allow for that sort of sharing, etc.

In Florida, the work done by state and county employees, as well as municipalities, is all considered in the public domain. So in a spirit of sharing, in the hopes it will help someone outside our district, here’s this code I wrote in PHP to format holds lists generated by a well-known interface to library catalogs.

The code is far from perfect, but on my laptop–with my laptop doing the processing, not sending the list out and waiting for a response–a 100-page report gets accepted, processed, and returned streamline in literally just a few seconds. So I’m considering it good enough to call “done” and move on.

The script can of course be modified or extended to fit your own needs, according to your own departmental breakdown and/or stack arrangement. The important thing is that I think it can give a starting point on how to approach the problem of overly verbose lists (it turns a 102-page report into a 66-page one).

With those caveats:

<?php
// check whether the form's been filled out
$list = ($_POST['list']);
$dept = ($_POST['dept']);

// removing extra line breaks at beginning and end
$list = trim($list);

// checking to see if there's actually a list
if (empty($list))
	{
	header("Location: workflows.php?status=notext");
	}

else {
	print "<html>\n<head>\n";
	print "<style type=\"text/css\">";
	print "body {\n    font-family:'Arial', 'Helvetica', sans-serif }";
	print "</style>";
	if ( (empty($_POST['dept'])) || (!isset($_POST['dept'])) )
		{print "<title>Holds list: All</title>";}
	elseif ($dept == 'youthserv')
		{print "<title>Holds list: Youth Services</title>";}
	else // Adult Services
		{print "<title>Holds list: Adult Services</title>";}
	print "</head>\n<body>\n";
	}

$jmedia = array();
$easies = array();
$jnonfic = array();
$jfic = array();
$ya = array();

$anonfic = array();
$av = array();
$afic = array();
$avhs = array();

$detritus = array();

// removing extra spaces throughout
$list = preg_replace('/( ){2,}/', ' ', $list);

// remove repeating header
// remove HOLD PICKUP LIST
$orig = "/HOLD PICKUP LIST/";
$list = preg_replace($orig, "", $list);

// remove Production date
$orig = "/Produced ([A-Za-z]{3}) ([A-Za-z]{3}) ([0-9]{1,2}) [0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2} ([0-9]{4})/";
// first try to store this as a variable for later output
preg_match($orig, $list, $matches);
unset ($matches[0]);
$produced = implode(" ", $matches);

// now remove Production date from header
$list = preg_replace($orig, "", $list);

// remove Production library
$orig = "/Library\:[ ]+[A-Za-z]+(\-[A-Za-z]+)?/";
$list = preg_replace($orig, "", $list);

// Converting line breaks
$list = preg_replace("/( )*\n+/", "<br />", $list);

// Removing extra line breaks
$list = preg_replace("/((<br \/>)+\s+(<br \/>)+\s*)+/", "<br /><br />", $list);
$list = preg_replace("/<br \/><br \/><br \/>/", "<br /><br />", $list);

// to get those stray extra line breaks (tried this other ways. no go.)
$list = preg_replace("/<br \/><br \/>[ ]+/", "<br />", $list);

// Removing copy number
$list = preg_replace("/copy\:[0-9]{0,4}/", "", $list);

// Removing type
$list = preg_replace("/type\:[A-Z]{3,}(\-[A-Z]{2,})?/", "", $list);

// Removing location
$list = preg_replace("/location\:[A-Z]{4,}\s{0,}<br \/>\s{0,}/", "", $list);

// Removing pickup library
$list = preg_replace("/Pickup library\:[A-Z]{3,}(\-[A-Z]{2,})?/", "", $list);

// removing line break between callno. and author
$callno = '/(<br \/><br \/>)([A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)?([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)?([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)?([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)?([ ][A-Z0-9\.\*\,#&-]+)?\s?<br \/>/';
$replacement = '$1$2$3$4$5$6$7$8 / ';
$list = preg_replace($callno, $replacement, $list);

$listarr = explode("<br /><br />", $list);

// first 'if' here does branch holds
if ( (empty($_POST['dept'])) || (!isset($_POST['dept'])) ) // branch
	{
		foreach ($listarr as $key => $value)
		{
			// group jmedia
			// send off CD JAZZ so all later CD J[A-Z] are in JFic
			if (preg_match('/^CD JAZZ/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/(SOFTWARE|DVD|VIDEO|CD) J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jmedia, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(SOFTWARE|DVD|VIDEO) (E|J)/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jmedia, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group easies
			elseif (preg_match('/^E /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}
			// grabs CDs and Cassettes in area
			// must have grabbed E DVD and VHS first
			elseif (preg_match('/^([A-Z]+[ ])?E [A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/SNUGGLE/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group JNonfic
			elseif (preg_match('/^J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			// for the rare Jnonfic cassette.
			// CDs will be assumed in media section.
			// must have grabbed DVD and VHS nonfic first
			elseif (preg_match('/ J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/JBIO/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^BRAILLE J/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group Jfic
			elseif (preg_match('/^J[A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			// grab CDs and Cassettes
			// can't use just '/ J[A-Z]+'/ because
			// it grabs from all genres and callnos
			elseif (preg_match('/(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|L\.P\.|TALKBOOK) J[A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group YA
			elseif (preg_match('/^YA /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($ya, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/ YA /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($ya, $listarr[$key]);}

			// grab adult nonfic and bio
			// assumes no adult genres begin with E, J, OR Y
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?BIO/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($anonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($anonfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group adult CDs, CASSETTES, DVDs
			// grabbed CD JAZZ first
			// E, J, YA grabbed already and exited if/then
			// so it should be no problem
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD|VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK) [A-Z]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD|VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group adult fiction, genre, L.P., N.R., VF
			// assumes no adult genres begin with E, J, OR Y
			// BUT: E, J, YA grabbed already and exited if/then
			// so it should be no problem
			elseif (preg_match('/^((L\.P\.|N\.R\.|VF) )?[A-Z]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($afic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VF) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($afic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// things not grouped elsewhere
			else
			{array_push($detritus, $listarr[$key]);}
		}
	}

// this below to give E/J/YA items only.
elseif ($dept == 'youthserv')
	{
		foreach ($listarr as $key => $value)
		{
			// group E/Jmedia
			// do nothing for CD JAZZ so all later CD J[A-Z] are in JFic
			if (preg_match('/^CD JAZZ/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/(SOFTWARE|DVD|VIDEO|CD) J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jmedia, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(SOFTWARE|DVD|VIDEO) (E|J)/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jmedia, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group easies
			elseif (preg_match('/^E /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}
			// grabs CDs and Cassettes in area
			// must have grabbed E DVD and VHS first
			elseif (preg_match('/^([A-Z]+[ ])?E [A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/SNUGGLE/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($easies, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group JNonfic
			elseif (preg_match('/^J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			// for the rare Jnonfic cassette.
			// CDs will be assumed in media section.
			// must have grabbed DVD and VHS nonfic first
			elseif (preg_match('/ J[0-9]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/JBIO/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^BRAILLE J/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jnonfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group Jfic
			elseif (preg_match('/^J[A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			// grab CDs and Cassettes
			// can't use just '/ J[A-Z]+'/ because
			// it grabs from all genres and callnos
			elseif (preg_match('/(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|L\.P\.|TALKBOOK) J[A-Z]+/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($jfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group YA
			elseif (preg_match('/^YA /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($ya, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/ YA /', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($ya, $listarr[$key]);}

			// officially do nothing for these, so $detritus will work
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?BIO/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}

			// officially do nothing for these, so $detritus will work
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD|VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK) [A-Z]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD|VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}

			// officially do nothing for these, so $detritus will work
			elseif (preg_match('/^((L\.P\.|N\.R\.|VF) )?[A-Z]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VF) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}

			// things not grouped elsewhere
			else
			{array_push($detritus, $listarr[$key]);}
		}
	}
else // ($dept == 'adultserv')
	{
		foreach ($listarr as $key => $value)
		{

			// CD left out:
			// must test for CD JAZZ first
			if (preg_match('/^((CASSETTE|DVD|VIDEO|L\.P\.|SOFTWARE|DIGITAL|BRAILLE) )?(E|J|YA)/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/^SNUGGLE/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}

			// grab adult nonfic and bio
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?BIO/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($anonfic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($anonfic, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group adult CDs, CASSETTES, DVDs
			// grab CD JAZZ first b/c later range skips it
			// must have seen E, J, and Y first and exited if/then
			elseif (preg_match('/^CD JAZZ/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/CD (J|YA)/', $listarr[$key]))
			{}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD) [A-Z]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(CD|CASSETTE|DIGITAL|DVD) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($av, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group adult VHS, SOFTWARE, TALKBOOK, V.F.
			// must have seen E, J, and Y first and exited if/then
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK|VF) [A-D]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($avhs, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK|VF) [F-I]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($avhs, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK|VF) [K-X]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($avhs, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^(VIDEO|SOFTWARE|TALKBOOK|VF) (\*)?[0-9]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($avhs, $listarr[$key]);}

			// group adult fiction, genre, L.P., N.R.
			// must have seen E, J, and Y first and exited if/then
			elseif (preg_match('/^((L\.P\.|N\.R\.) )?[A-D]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($afic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^((L\.P\.|N\.R\.) )?[F-I]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($afic, $listarr[$key]);}
			elseif (preg_match('/^((L\.P\.|N\.R\.) )?[K-X]/', $listarr[$key]))
			{array_push($afic, $listarr[$key]);}	

			// things not grouped elsewhere
			else
			{array_push($detritus, $listarr[$key]);}
		}
	}
// end removals

// clean up detritus so later if/then will work
$detritus = implode("<br /><br />", $detritus);
$detritus = trim($detritus);

	if ($dept == 'youthserv')
	{
		print "<p>HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Media</strong><br />\n";
		print implode("<br /><br />", $jmedia);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Easies</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $easies);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>JFiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $jfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>JNonfiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $jnonfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>YA</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $ya);
		print "</p>";
	}
	elseif ($dept == 'adultserv')
	{
		print "<p>HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Nonfiction</strong><br />\n";
		print implode("<br /><br />", $anonfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>A/V</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $av);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Fiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $afic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>VHS</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $avhs);
		print "</p>";
	}
	else // branch
	{
		print "<p>HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>E/J Media</strong><br />\n";
		print implode("<br /><br />", $jmedia);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Easies</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $easies);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>JFiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $jfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>JNonfiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $jnonfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>YA</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $ya);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Nonfiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $anonfic);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>A/V</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $av);
		print "\n<br /><br />HOLDS " . $produced . " // <strong>Fiction</strong>";
		print "<br />" . implode("<br /><br />", $afic);
		print "</p>";
	}

if ((!empty($detritus)) && ($detritus != "<br /><br />"))
	{
		print "\n<p><strong>Entries that didn't get grouped:</strong>";
		print "\n<br />The following items were on the holds list but couldn't be placed.";
		print "\n<br />If you're seeing this message it's because there is a bug in the program.";
		print "\n<br /><br />Please copy everything below this line and ";
		print "<a href='mailto:";
print "/* YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS GOES HERE */";
print "?subject=HOLDS " . $produced . " for ";
		if (($dept == 'youthserv') || ($dept == 'adultserv'))
			{print $dept;}
		else {print "branch";}
		print "'>email it to "
print "/* YOUR NAME GOES HERE */"
print "</a>.  Thank you!";
		if (($dept == 'youthserv') || ($dept == 'adultserv'))
			{
			print "<br /><br />\n<em>These items may or may not be part of your list:</em>";
			}
		print "<br />" . $detritus . "</p>";
	}
print "</body>\n</html>";

Big thanks to AskMe for their help in figuring out how to approach this project.

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