Pipeline 2—Frequently Asked Questions

What is DAISY Pipeline 2?

The DAISY Pipeline 2 is an ongoing project to develop an open source, cross platform framework for automated production of accessible material.

What is the difference between  the DAISY Pipeline 1 and DAISY Pipeline 2 projects?

As its name implies, the Pipeline 2 is the follow-up of the original DAISY Pipeline 1 project. Although they both share the same goal to build an automated production tool, Pipeline 2 intends to provide a totally redesigned next generation framework that better leverages new standards and technologies.

Why a new project ?

While DAISY Pipeline 1, first released in 2008, has so far been a successful answer to the needs of the DAISY community, it does not make economic sense to maintain our own version of the Pipeline 1 core engine since standards with the same scope are now available. The adoption of existing standards (and off-the-shelf implementations of those standards) at the heart of the Pipeline framework will allow us to fulfil our objectives at a lesser long-term cost.

What will happen to the DAISY Pipeline 1 project ?

The DAISY Pipeline 1 has been in maintenance mode for some time, which means that it is no longer actively developed by the DAISY Consortium. Maintenance releases will however keep on being published to fix known bugs and integrate any third party contributions.

Who is working on DAISY Pipeline 2?

The Pipeline 2 is a collaborative project hosted by the DAISY Consortium, with numerous organizations participating and contributing to the development (including Dedicon, NIMAS/CAST, NLB, RNIB, SBS).

What are the high-level objectives?

The Pipeline 2 project aims at developing a new framework to:

• minimize the development and maintenance cost
• lower the framework learning curve
• increase the interoperability with the heterogeneous automated production workflows
• to provide early support for the ongoing DAISY and EPUB standard revisions.

Is the Pipeline 2 open source software?

Absolutely. As usual with software developed by the DAISY Consortium, the DAISY Pipeline 2 components have been released under a business-friendly open source license.

Can I contribute?

Of course! Any contribution is certainly most welcome. If you would like to join the DAISY open source community and contribute to the development of the Pipeline 2, please contact Romain Deltour (Project Lead) using the Contact Us Form.