Re: FishNet2 API & Source Code Access
Aaron Steele
> I've also given this key access to HerpNet.
Thanks for the fast turnaround. I did a quick test and API requests
are returning a response.
> Let us know if you find any bugs or have problems.
Sounds good. If there's a FishNet2 issue site, that would be great,
otherwise we'll just submit issues via email.
> I can't give you direct access to the subversion repository as it is
> internal and you would need VPN access with Tulane.
Well, hmm, we're all setup here with VPN, so getting access should be
pretty easy for Tulane. Maybe?
> I've copied Patrick and
> Dj, both developers on the project and they will gladly send any parts you
> are interested in looking at or working on. Just send them any changes you
> want to make and they will evaluate and incorporate.
So for us I think seeing the entire source repository is of interest
since it's hard understanding code when you only have partial access.
Does that make sense? For changes, let us know if you prefer SVN
patches or complete source code file updates.
> I would recommend
> starting with the frontend and going from there. One caveat: Some components
> (mostly on the back end where the db is concerned) may not be ready for
> "public release", in which case, they may want to clean some things up
> before sending it to you. We are in the process of generalizing and
> refactoring all the backend stuff, so it's probably worth waiting until this
> process is complete anyway.
Well, we definitely don't mind seeing code in a process of
refactoring. In fact, it's really good timing since we may be able to
share ideas on architecture stuff while changes are being made.
> Either way they can explain and answer any
> questions you have about how the whole system works. If you are serious
> about making significant contributions to the code rather than just wanting
> a peak at it, I'll see what we I can do about VPN access or moving to an
> alternative code hosting environment.
I can definitely see us making contributions, but I think we also want
a peak at the code. We're hoping to see where some overlap between
FishNet2 and VertNet architecture occurs, which will open the door to
possible code or spec reuse, especially WRT to APIs and client/server
interactions. Thoughts?
> Please ensure that any use of the FishNet source code or UI credits the
> FishNet2 project and Tulane University.
+1
> If you do make contributions (however small) to the source, I'd be happy to
> list you as one of the developers on the site as well. We are happy to share
> the code with you, but we don't want you to redistribute it to others
> (basically anyone outside of VertNet) without our approval. We would rather
> you forward them to us, so we can keep track of any contributions our code
> might make to other projects.
No problem.
> Aaron, I think it would be a good idea to add Dj & Patrick to the vertnet
> mailing lists.
Here's the link to the vertnet-developers list. I think they'll need
to subscribe themselves since Google Groups no longer supports adding
users directly.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/vertnet-developers
On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 7:45 AM, Nelson Rios <nel...@museum.tulane.edu> wrote:
> Aaron,
>
> Here is your API key for FishNet:
> >snip<
>
> I've also given this key access to HerpNet.
>
> Comments on use of API:
> You are free to use the API in any testing you want to do, but if you use
> the API in any production system you must adhere to the same data licensing
> restrictions as displayed on the FishNet2 portal. The big thing here is
> ensuring institutions receive credit for the data you provide. Other than
> that, there shouldn't be any problems. Hope to inspire someone to develop an
> iphone or other mobile app. Interested?
> Let us know if you find any bugs or have problems.
>
> I can't give you direct access to the subversion repository as it is
> internal and you would need VPN access with Tulane. I've copied Patrick and
> Dj, both developers on the project and they will gladly send any parts you
> are interested in looking at or working on. Just send them any changes you
> want to make and they will evaluate and incorporate. I would recommend
> starting with the frontend and going from there. One caveat: Some components
> (mostly on the back end where the db is concerned) may not be ready for
> "public release", in which case, they may want to clean some things up
> before sending it to you. We are in the process of generalizing and
> refactoring all the backend stuff, so it's probably worth waiting until this
> process is complete anyway. Either way they can explain and answer any
> questions you have about how the whole system works. If you are serious
> about making significant contributions to the code rather than just wanting
> a peak at it, I'll see what we I can do about VPN access or moving to an
> alternative code hosting environment. Please bear with us, as you are the
> first person to request source code access.
>
> Patrick, please prepare up the source code for the front end and send it to
> Aaron. Will get the rest to you as soon as the refactoring is done.
>
> Comments on use of Source Code:
> Please ensure that any use of the FishNet source code or UI credits the
> FishNet2 project and Tulane University.
> If you do make contributions (however small) to the source, I'd be happy to
> list you as one of the developers on the site as well. We are happy to share
> the code with you, but we don't want you to redistribute it to others
> (basically anyone outside of VertNet) without our approval. We would rather
> you forward them to us, so we can keep track of any contributions our code
> might make to other projects.
>
> Aaron, I think it would be a good idea to add Dj & Patrick to the vertnet
> mailing lists.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Nelson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vertnet...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:vertnet...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Aaron Steele
> Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 8:16 PM
> To: vertnet...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Re: [vertnet-project] More media on VN
>
>> hosting but this works well for our dev team. Just let us know, and I'll
> get
>> one of the devs to give you or whomever access. In fact we would welcome
>> any contributions you might have. The UI is really where the cool stuff is
>> and after we clean up a few things and add a couple more features, we were
>> going to add that code as a download from the site demoing how to use the
>> API.
>
> Access to the repo would be great! Any username/password is fine.
>
>> FYI: here is some documentation for the API
>> http://www.fishnet2.net/api/v1
>
> Excellent.
>
>> Replace fishnet2.net with herpnet2.org
>> to make api calls to herpnet.
>
> Right.
>
>> -no formal documentation on herpnet2 site, but same as for fishnet2.
>> If interested in using, let me know and I will send you an API Key.
>> The FishNet Portal also uses the API.
>
> API Key please. :)
>
>> I think these discussions are starting to lean a bit more toward the
> techie
>> side, so feel free to email me directly so as not to clog up peoples
> inboxes
>> with lots of boring details.
>
> Yeah, we can totally pop this discussion over to vertnet-developers instead?
>
>> Was not aware that NSF funding mandated Open Source?
>
> You know, I thought that was true, but maybe not? Dave, do you know?
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "VertNet-Project" group.
> To post to this group, send email to vertnet...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> vertnet-proje...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/vertnet-project?hl=en.
>
>
>
>
Aaron Steele
> evaluate the main search page, you'll want to focus on search.aspx,
> search.aspx.cs and search_JScript.js.
Perfect. So it looks like I'll need ASP.NET installed to run this
locally? What does your development environment look like? I'm running
Ubuntu Natty (11.04).
> The site is still under active development, in the sense that I have a good
> list I'm working through of enhancements to the core functionality we've
> already deployed. However, any feedback you can give us would be awesome.
> We don't have an issue site, so sending us an email is definitely the way to
> go.
Excellent. Is your list of enhancements available to see? It might
help us zero in on specific areas while looking through the code.
> If you have an questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Definitely.
Aaron Steele
> best bet to run this in a Linux environment. The Mono ASP.NET page
> (http://www.mono-project.com/ASP.NET) should have all the links you
> need, including the Mono mod for Apache (http://mono-project.com/Mod_mono)
> and the IDE (http://monodevelop.com/).
Perfect, thanks for the links.
> My highest priority revolves around helping users make more productive
> searches. This morning we deployed a little 'Institution Code hint'
> functionality (which is in the version you have), and I'm working on
> something that will help users with taxa. After that I'm looking at adding
> a little interface that will draw selected polygons for users. We plan to
> add polygons related to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, and then HUCs. We're
> also evaluating some sort of 'Did you mean...?' search hint in response to
> 'No Search Results'.
+1
> Further down on the list, we want to display search results as points on the
> map, as well as heatmaps corresponding to the full search set. Updating the
> Help page is also on the list.
Rad. What's your current thinking about design for getting points on the map?
> There are also some behind-the-scenes enhancements we want to do, including
> more efficient paging.
Yeah, we were working on VertNet paging stuff today. What database are
you guys using? Does it support cursors? On App Engine we ended up
using cursors (instead of integers) for the 'offset' parameter for
paging. Before the change, API requests required about 8 RPCs and a
few hundred milliseconds. Now we're seeing 4 RPCs max under 100
milliseconds.
> I think that covers it for higher-priority enhancements in the short term.
> If you think of anything else, please let us know.
Sounds good. Once I get the asp.net environment running, are there any
dependencies on the FishNet2 backend that would prevent the front-end
from spinning up?