Introducing GS1 Resolver Community Edition v2.1

[ni...@lansley.com]

Dear fellow GS1 Resolver Developers

Exciting news - the many updates and improvements applied to the GS1 Resolver residing at id.gs1.org have now been carried forward into the Community Edition, enough to update its version minor from 2.0 to 2.1

Key new features of v2.1

1. UI Upload page can now read Excel spreadsheets as well as CSV files. The project includes the 'official GS1 Resolver spreadsheet in 'Example files to Upload' folder. The UI's upload page is able to spot this file and sets all the column presets for you to save time. You can use your own XLSX spreadsheet files too.
2. Code includes a validateEntries() function which can be used optionally for you to add your own validation of uploaded entries before Resolver publishes them. By default all uploaded data is marked as valid, but you can add your own validation step based on your needs. For example, maybe you need entries checked with an external data source, so you can add an API call to the source from validateEntries() and program what to do based on the response.
3. Comprehensive API with an synchronous 'batch upload' facility for fast upload of large amounts of data. Upload a batch of data and the API now holds your data and gives you a batch Id immediately in response. You then poll the API with the batch Id until it tells you saving to the database and validation have/not been successful. You can upload more data while you're waiting for the previous batch to finish processing!
4. Lots of optimisations, enhancements and security improvements all using the Node v14 V8 engine with TurboFan allowing the service to run leaner and lighter in your infrastructure yet deliver huge performance benefits, particular at its resolving front end.
5. Inclusion of a Python Accounts Administration script program to help you set up accounts and get your Resolver on the air. (python3.7+ and 'pip install dotmap' required).

The next step is to have  good read of the README.md page to see the differences and find out how to upgrade your v2.0 Resolver. 

If you are as much of a Kubernetes fan as I am, you'll be delighted to learn that Resolver v2.1's container images are now hosted on Docker Hub, so you can get your Resolver up and running without even having to build the project first. Please just read and understand the disclaimer first in the Kubernetes section of the README.md page. You do need a good grasp of Kubernetes to manage cost particularly in a cloud environment. If you have Docker Desktop for Windows you can switch on the Kubernetes cluster built in and run it on your own computer. MiniKube for Mac and Linux is readily available too so you can enjoy your own mini cloud Resolver on your own machine.

I'm back from vacation now so I'm happy to help if you have any questions or issues.

Enjoy v2.1!

Cheers

Nick