[ckan-discuss] "Permanence" of the data: how can CKAN help me ?

[Sean Hammond]

> Let say you have a data provider that update its data every month:
> - what is the best way in CKAN to keep track of the old versions of the data ?
> - how can I define in CKAN different versions of the same dataset ?

CKAN keeps track of dataset "revisions", you click on the "History" tab
on a dataset's page to see it, here's an example (CKAN 1.8):

http://datahub.io/dataset/history/1855spanishrailways

In CKAN 2.0 datasets (and groups) have an "activity stream" tab instead
of the history tab, examples:

http://publicdata.eu/dataset/activity/-municipal-waste-generation-in-england-from-2000-01-to-2009-10

http://publicdata.eu/group/activity/agriculture

> - how can I inform the consumer that there is a new version of the
> data, that the data structure or interface has changed ? Does CKAN
> provide here some standard processes ?

Logged-in users can click on the "follow" button on a dataset's page to
follow that dataset. In CKAN 2.0 you can also follow groups. Then when
you login to CKAN, you get an "activity stream" on your dashboard
showing activities from everything you're following. In CKAN 2.0, users
can also turn on email notifications and get an email when they have new
activities on their dashboard.