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Concept: Data API for visualisation

Open larsyencken opened this issue 2 years ago • 4 comments

Problem statement

We would like to design an API for internal and external use. The API should be sufficient to power grapher charts and explorers, meaning it must meet both their data and their metadata needs.

This cycle

  • [ ] Establish and document grapher's metadata requirements
  • [x] Write an API proposal that meets these requirements
  • [ ] Take feedback on the proposal until it is approved

Relevant problems

  • Metadata alignment between grapher and ETL
  • Addressing a specific variable without integer IDs
  • API versioning
  • Supporting selections or ranges (optional)

Out of scope

  • For this proposal, discoverability of data is not important
  • For this proposal, the exact mechanism powering the API is not important
  • For this proposal, the baking or otherwise serving of grapher configs is not important

Technical notes

It might be helpful to make a few small proposals rather than one big one. (Like small PRs are easier to review than large ones.)

larsyencken avatar May 19 '22 11:05 larsyencken

@larsyencken shouldn't this be called Concept: Data API for visualisation?

Marigold avatar May 23 '22 11:05 Marigold

It should! I reedited it several times trying to work out what the goal at the end of the cycle is.

larsyencken avatar May 24 '22 07:05 larsyencken

The first batch of notes https://www.notion.so/owid/API-for-Data-Metadata-for-Grapher-78045acf2f9c4bc9bdfc7edb8bf7911f, more coming tomorrow.

Marigold avatar May 24 '22 10:05 Marigold

Linking this question as to whether dataset or variable names need prettifying or not as part of backport: https://github.com/owid/etl/issues/167

larsyencken avatar Jun 07 '22 10:06 larsyencken