Python ScienceBase Utilities

This Python module provides functionality for interacting with the USGS ScienceBase platform. https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/

ScienceBase is a Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The platform is developed and maintained by the USGS to provide shared, permission-controlled access to scientific data products and Bureau resources. Rather than serving merely as a generic online storage location, ScienceBase is designed to add value to digital data by exposing well-organized, documented datasets and scientific information over the web. Content within ScienceBase Catalog is stored within a standardized item model with consistent informational facets (e.g., title, abstract, keywords, etc.) and is accessible through both a web browser and an application programming interface (API). This enables powerful querying capabilities and makes it possible to integrate content into dynamic collections and connect ScienceBase-hosted data to external applications and workflows. For additional information, please visit:

https://www.sciencebase.gov/about/content/about-sciencebase

Data authorship is reserved for USGS employees and individuals or groups working in partnership or as collaborators with the USGS (partner efforts must have one or more USGS participants). View and download access for public items in the system are provided to both registered users and the general public, whereas private items have restricted access constraints. For questions about system access as a data contributor, please contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.

This software library provides API access to interact with ScienceBase via the Python programming language.

This code is also available at a public Department of Interior GitHub repository here: https://github.com/DOI-USGS/sciencebasepy where public users can submit issues or merge requests for issue resolution.

Recommended Citation / Credits

Long, J.L., Viger, R.J., Raja, K., Enns, K.D., Sheflin, J.R., Ignizio, D.A.,2023, sciencebasepy: A Python library for programmatic interaction with the USGS ScienceBase platform (Version): U.S. Geological Survey software release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9X4BIPR.

Earlier Versions: Earlier versions of this software were available on a provisional basis. If referencing an earlier version is critical to use, it can be referenced by the version tag.

Quick Start

sciencebasepy can be installed with pip:

`pip install sciencebasepy`

Otherwise, download the contents of this repository, and install the sciencebasepy libraries into your python installation by running python setup.py install. Example usage is contained in demo.py.

This library requires the 'requests' module to be installed, which can be found at http://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest/. If you get security errors also install requests[security].

As of version 2.0.0, Python 2.x is no longer supported.

There are several iPython notebooks in this repository with example code. For more in-depth information and examples on searching, see Searching ScienceBase with ScienceBasePy.ipynb. For batch processing, see Batch Processing.ipynb.

Module Contents

The SbSession class provides the following methods:

Login

login(username, password) Log into ScienceBase using the username and password. This function will add a cookie to the session to be used by subsequent calls. Valid user credentials are issued to USGS users through Department of Interior Active Directory (AD). Sponsored collaborators can be issued user credentials per request when working in coordination with USGS on science projects.
loginc(username) Log into ScienceBase using the given username, and prompt for the password. The password is not echoed to the console. Provided as a convenience for interactive scripts.
is_logged_in() Return whether the SbSession is logged in and active in ScienceBase
get_session_info() Return ScienceBase Josso session info
ping() Ping ScienceBase. A very low-cost operation to determine whether ScienceBase is available.
logout() Log out of ScienceBase

Create

Note: When uploading associated files, such as the various files making up a shapefile, or a raster and its associated Styled Layer Descriptor (SLD) file, be sure to upload them with a single call to upload_files_and_create_item. Otherwise, ScienceBase will not create the appropriate facets, and services will not be created.

create_item(item_dict) Create a new ScienceBase item. Documentation on the sbJSON format can be found at https://doimspp.sharepoint.com/sites/usgs-sdm-apps/ScienceBaseProjectDocumentation/SitePages/ScienceBase-Item-Core-Model.aspx This link is available to USGS users and external users who request access (email: sciencebase@usgs.gov). These resources will be made public at another documentation page in 2023.
create_items(item_dict_list) Create multiple new Items in ScienceBase. item_dict_list: list of item_dict objects representing the ScienceBase Catalog items to create.
create_hidden_property(item_id, item_dict) Create a new Hidden Property for a Sciencebase item : POST /catalog/item/<item_id>/hiddenProperties This function exposes advanced functionality for authenticated users or admins only. For additional documentation on this feature or cases that may motivate its use, please contact the ScienceBase team directly.
upload_file_and_create_item(parent_id, filename) Upload a file and create a ScienceBase item. Add the parameter scrape_file=False to bypass ScienceBase metadata processing.
upload_files_and_create_item(parent_id, [filename,...]) Upload a set of files and create a ScienceBase item. Add the parameter scrape_file=False to bypass ScienceBase metadata processing.

Read

get_item(id, params) Get the JSON for the ScienceBase item with the given ID.
params argument is optional and allows you to specify query params, so params={'fields':'title,ancestors'} is for ?fields=title,ancestors similar to find_items.
get_my_items_id() Get the ID of the logged in user's "My Items"
get_hidden_properties(item_id) List All Hidden Properties for a given Item: GET /catalog/item/<item_id>/hiddenProperties
get_hidden_property(item_id, hiddenpropertyid) Get a specific Hidden Property for a given Item : GET /catalog/item/<item_id>/hiddenProperties/
get_item_ids_by_hidden_property(hidden_property) Get the ScienceBase IDs of Items associated with the given hidden property. Hidden property JSON (for the hidden_property parameter) contains two fields, "type" and "value" both of which are optional.
get_child_ids(parent_id) Get the IDs of all immediate children of the ScienceBase item with the given ID (does not follow shortcuts).
get_ancestor_ids(parent_id) Get IDs of all descendants of given item excluding those which are linked in (short-cutted). (That is, this finds items by ancestorsExcludingLinks=<parent_id> and builds a list of their IDs).
get(url) Get the text response of the given URL.
get_json(url) Get the JSON response of the given URL.
get_item_files_zip(item_dict, destination) Get a zip of all files attached to the ScienceBase item and place it in the destination folder. Destination defaults to the current directory. If specified, the destination folder must exist. This creates the zip file server-side and then streams it to the client.
get_item_files(item_dict, destination) Download all files attached to the ScienceBase item and place them in the destination folder. Destination defaults to the current directory. If specified, the destination folder must exist. The files are streamed individually.
get_item_file_info(item_dict) Get information about all files attached to a ScienceBase item. Returns a list of dictionaries containing url, name and size of each file.
download_file(url, local_filename, destination) Download an individual file. Destination defaults to the current directory. If specified, the destination folder must exist.
generate_S3_download_links(itemid, filenames) Generates a list of tokenized S3 download links for files in the ScienceBase S3 standard bucket or public bucket (does not work for on-premise files).
download_cloud_files(filenames, download_links, destination) Downloads a list of ScienceBase S3 files using tokenized S3 download links. Destination defaults to the current directory. If specified, the destination folder must exist.

Update

Note: When uploading associated files, such as the various files making up a shapefile, or a raster and its associated SLD, be sure to upload them with a single call to one of the upload_files* methods. Otherwise, ScienceBase will not create the appropriate facets, and services will not be created.

update_item(item_dict) Updates an existing ScienceBase item.
update_items(item_dict_list) Update multiple Items in ScienceBase. item_dict_list: list of item_dict objects representing the ScienceBase Catalog items to update.
update_hidden_property(item_id, hiddenpropertyid, item_dict) Updates an existing ScienceBase Item's Hidden Property.
upload_file_to_item(item_dict, filename) Upload a file to an existing ScienceBase item. Add the parameter scrape_file=False to bypass ScienceBase metadata processing.
upload_s3_files(itemid, s3_path, filenames) Upload a list of files from an external S3 bucket to an existing Item in ScienceBase.
upload_cloud_file_to_item(item_id, filename) Upload a file to cloud storage on an existing Item in ScienceBase. NOTE: While the Item JSON is returned by this method, it does take some time to process files uploaded to cloud storage, so the return JSON may not include the new file. Additionally, automatic processing of shapefiles, TIFFs, XML metadata etc. does not currently occur on cloud files at this time. In order to utilize those features, use upload_file_to_item().
upload_files_and_update_item(item_dict, [filename,...]) Upload a set of files and update an existing ScienceBase item. Add the parameter scrape_file=False to bypass ScienceBase metadata processing.
upload_files_and_upsert_item(item_dict, [filename,...]) Upload multiple files and create or update a ScienceBase item. Add the parameter scrape_file=False to bypass ScienceBase metadata processing.
replace_file(filename, item_dict) Replace a file on a ScienceBase Item. This method will replace all files named the same as the new file, whether they are in the files list or in a facet.
upload_file(filename, mimetype) (Advanced usage) Upload a file to ScienceBase. The file will be staged in a temporary area. In order to attach it to an Item, the pathOnDisk must be added to an Item files entry, or one of a facet's file entries.
add_extent(item_id, feature_geojson) Add features to the item footprint from Feature or FeatureCollection geojson.
start_esri_service(item_id, filename) Creates a spatial service on a published ScienceBase service definition (.sd) file in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Server.
stop_esri_service(item_id, filename) Stops a spatial service that had been published on a ScienceBase service definition (.sd) file in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Server.
publish_array_to_public_bucket(item_id, filenames) Publish a list of files on an item to the public S3 publish bucket.
unpublish_array_from_public_bucket(item_id, filenames) Unpublish a list of files on an item from the public S3 publish bucket.

Item Permissions

get_permissions(item_id) Get permission JSON for the item identified by item_id.
set_permissions(item_id, acls) Set permissions for the item identified by item_id. WARNING: Advanced use only. ACL JSON must be created properly. Use one of the ACL helper methods if possible (below).
add_acl_user_read(user_name, item_id) Add a READ ACL for the given user on the specified item.
remove_acl_user_read(user_name, item_id) Remove the READ ACL for the given user on the specified item.
add_acl_user_write(user_name, item_id) Add a WRITE ACL for the given user on the specified item.
remove_acl_user_write(user_name, item_id) Remove a WRITE ACL for the given user on the specified item.
add_acl_role_read(role_name, item_id) Add a READ ACL for the given role on the specified item.
remove_acl_role_read(role_name, item_id) Remove a READ ACL for the given role on the specified item.
add_acl_role_write(role_name, item_id) Add a WRITE ACL for the given role on the specified item.
remove_acl_role_write(role_name, item_id) Remove a WRITE ACL for the given role on the specified item.
set_acls_inherit(read_write, item_id) Set the item to inherit ACLs from its parent item.
set_acls_inherit_read(item_id) Set the item to inherit READ ACLs from its parent item.
set_acls_inherit_write(item_id) Set the item to inherit WRITE ACLs from its parent item.
publish_item(item_id) Publish the item, adding PUBLIC read permisisons. User must be USGS or in the publisher role.
unpublish_item(item_id) Unpublish the item, removing PUBLIC read permisisons.
has_public_read(acls) Return whether the given ACLs include public READ permissions.
print_acls(acls) Pretty print the given ACL JSON.

Delete

delete_item(item_dict) Delete an existing ScienceBase item.
delete_items(item_ids) Delete multiple ScienceBase Items. This is much more efficient than using delete_item() for multiple deletions, as it performs the action server-side in one call to ScienceBase.
delete_file(sb_filename, item_dict) Delete a file on a ScienceBase Item. This method will delete all files with the provided name, whether they are in the files list or on a facet.
delete_cloud_files(item_id, filenames) Deletes a list of Cloud files on an item from the ScienceBase S3 content bucket and/or S3 publish bucket and updates the item JSON accordingly. Can handle deletion of a file from S3 to clean up backend when the item JSON is out of sync.
delete_hidden_property(item_id, hiddenpropertyid) Delete an existing Item's specific Hidden Property item.
undelete_item(item_id) Undelete a ScienceBase item.

Move

move_item(item_id, parent_id) Move the ScienceBase Item with the given item_id under the ScienceBase Item with the given parent_id.
move_items(item_ids, parent_id) Move all of the ScienceBase Items with the given item_ids under the ScienceBase Item with the given parent_id.

Search

For more in-depth search examples, see the Searching ScienceBase with sciencebasepy.ipynb notebook in this repo.

find_items_by_any_text(text) Find items containing the given text somewhere in the item.
find_items_by_title(text) Find items containing the given text in the title of the item.
find_items(params) Find items meeting the criteria in the specified search parameters. These are the same parameters that you pass to ScienceBase in an advanced search.
find_hidden_property(hidden_property) Find ScienceBase Items by hidden property value. hidden_property: ScienceBase Item Hidden Property JSON: {"type": ..., "value": ...}. Returns Item Hidden Property JSON containing the first page of matching ScienceBase Items. Use the next() method for subsequent pages.
find_items_by_filter_and_hidden_property(params, hidden_property) Find items meeting the criteria in the specified search parameters and hidden property JSON. Hidden property JSON contains two fields, "type" and "value" both of which are optional. Warning: Because of the way hidden property results must be joined to ScienceBase Catalog search results, this method returns all matching items. Queries returning too many items may be blocked by ScienceBase.
next(results) Get the next page of results, where results is the current search results.
previous(results) Get the previous page of results, where results is the current search results.

Shortcuts

get_shortcut_ids(item_id) Get the IDs of all ScienceBase Items shortcutted from a given item.
create_shortcut(item_id, parent_id) Create a shortcut on the ScienceBase Item with the id parent_id to another Item with id item_id.
remove_shortcut(item_id, parent_id) Remove a shortcut from the ScienceBase Item with the id parent_id to another Item with id item_id.

Relationships (ItemLinks)

get_item_link_types() Get ItemLink type JSON list from the vocabulary server.
get_item_link_type_by_name(link_type_name) Get ItemLink type JSON object from the vocabulary server for the given type.
get_item_links(item_id) Get ItemLink (relationship) JSON describing relationships involving the Item with the given ID.
create_item_link(from_item_id, to_item_id, link_type_id, reverse=False) Create an ItemLink between the two items of the specified type.
create_related_item_link(from_item_id, to_item_id) Create a 'related' ItemLink between the two items.

Helpers

get_directory_contact(party_id) Get the Directory Contact JSON for the contact with the given party ID.
get_sbcontact_from_directory_contact(directory_contact, sbcontact_type) Convert the given Directory Contact JSON into valid ScienceBase Item contact JSON.

Example Usage

    import sciencebasepy
    import getpass
    import os

    # Establish a session.
    sb = sciencebasepy.SbSession()

    # Get a public item.  No need to log in.
    item_json = sb.get_item('505bc673e4b08c986b32bf81')
    print ("Public Item: " + str(item_json))

    # Example for working with access-restricted item.  A user will need to log in first.
    username = getpass.getuser()
    sb.loginc(str(username))
    print ("You are now connected.")
    
    
    item_json = sb.get_item(sb.get_my_items_id())
    print ("My Items: " + str(item_json))

    # Create a new item.  The minimum required is a title for the new item, and the parent ID
    new_item = {'title': 'This is a new test item',
        'parentId': sb.get_my_items_id(),
        'provenance': {'annotation': 'Python ScienceBase REST test script'}}
    new_item = sb.create_item(new_item)
    print ("NEW ITEM: " + str(new_item))

    # Upload a file to the newly created item
    new_item = sb.upload_file_to_item(new_item, 'sciencebasepy.py')
    print ("FILE UPDATE: " + str(new_item))

    # List file info from the newly created item
    ret = sb.get_item_file_info(new_item)
    for fileinfo in ret:
        print ("File " + fileinfo["name"] + ", " + str(fileinfo["size"]) + "bytes, \
        download URL " + fileinfo["url"])

    # Download zip of files from the newly created item
    ret = sb.get_item_files_zip(new_item)
    print ("Downloaded zip file " + str(ret))

    # Download all files attached to the item as individual files, and place them in the
    # tmp directory under the current directory.
    path = "./tmp"
    if not os.path.exists(path):
        os.makedirs(path)
    ret = sb.get_item_files(new_item, path)
    print ("Downloaded files " + str(ret))

    # Delete the newly created item
    ret = sb.delete_item(new_item)
    print ("DELETE: " + str(ret))

    # Upload multiple files to create a new item
    ret = sb.upload_files_and_create_item(sb.get_my_items_id(), ['sciencebasepy.py','readme.md'])
    print (str(ret))

    # Search
    items = sb.find_items_by_any_text(username)
    while items and 'items' in items:
        for item in items['items']:
            print (item['title'])
        items = sb.next(items)

    # Logout
    sb.logout()