OpenRefine Python Client Library

The OpenRefine Python Client Library provides an interface to communicating with an OpenRefine server.

Currently, the following API is supported:

• project creation/import, deletion, export
• facet computation
  • text
  • text filter
  • numeric
  • blank
  • starred & flagged
  • ... extensible class
• 'engine': managing multiple facets and their computation results
• sorting & reordering
• clustering
• transforms
• transposes
• single and mass edits
• annotation (star/flag)
• column
  • move
  • add
  • split
  • rename
  • reorder
  • remove
• reconciliation
  • reconciliation judgment facet
  • guessing column type
  • querying reconciliation services preferences
  • perform reconciliation

Configuration

By default the OpenRefine server URL is http://127.0.0.1:3333 The environment variables OPENREFINE_HOST and OPENREFINE_PORT enable overriding the host & port.

In order to run all tests, a live Refine server is needed. No existing projects are affected.

Installation

(Someone with more familiarity with python's byzantine collection of installation frameworks is very welcome to improve/"best practice" all this.)

1. Install dependencies, which currently is urllib2_file:

   sudo pip install -r requirements.txt

   (If you don't have pip visit pip-installer.org)

2. Ensure you have a Refine server running somewhere and, if necessary, set the environment vars as above.

3. Run tests, build, and install:

   python setup.py test # to do a subset, e.g., --test-suite tests.test_facet

   python setup.py build

   python setup.py install

There is a Makefile that will do this too, and more.

TODO

The API so far has been filled out from building a test suite to carry out the actions in David Huynh's Refine tutorial which while certainly showing off a wide range of Refine features doesn't cover the entire suite. Notable exceptions currently include:

• reconciliation support is useful but not complete
• undo/redo
• Freebase
• join columns
• columns from URL

Contribute

Pull requests with passing tests welcome! Source is at https://github.com/PaulMakepeace/refine-client-py

Useful Tools

One aspect of development is watching HTTP transactions. To that end, I found Fiddler on Windows and HTTPScoop invaluable. The latter won't URL-decode nor nicely format JSON but the Online JavaScript Beautifier will.

History

OpenRefine used to be called Google Refine, and this library used to be called the Google Refine Python Client Library.

Credits

Paul Makepeace, author, <paulm@paulm.com>

David Huynh, initial cut

Artfinder, inspiration

Some data used in the test suite has been used from publicly available sources,

• louisiana-elected-officials.csv: from http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/136/Default.aspx
• us_economic_assistance.csv: "The Green Book"
• eli-lilly.csv: ProPublica's "Docs for Dollars" leading to a Lilly Faculty PDF processed by David Huynh's ScraperWiki script