JSON project definition format
This document describes the structure of a JSON project definition file that can be uploaded to a DSP server
with the create command.
A project on a DSP server is like a container for data. It defines some basic metadata, the data model(s) and optionally the user(s) who will be able to access the data. After the creation of a project, data can be uploaded that conforms with the data model(s).
This documentation is divided into the following parts:
- Overview of the project description file (this page)
- The "ontologies" section explained in detail
- Some caveats to have in mind
A short overview
A complete project definition looks like this:
{
"prefixes": {
"foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/",
"dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
},
"$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dasch-swiss/dsp-tools/main/src/dsp_tools/resources/schema/project.json",
"project": {
"shortcode": "0123",
"shortname": "BiZ",
"longname": "Bildung in Zahlen",
"descriptions": {
"en": "This is a simple example project",
"de": "Dies ist ein einfaches Beispielprojekt"
},
"keywords": [
"example",
"simple"
],
"groups": [
...
],
"users": [
...
],
"lists": [
...
],
"ontologies": [
...
]
}
}
prefixes object
(optional)
"prefixes": { "prefix": "<iri>", ...}
The prefixes object contains the prefixes of external ontologies that are used in the current file. All prefixes
are composed of the prefix and a URI. The prefix is used as namespace so one does not have to write the
fully qualified name of the referenced object each time it is used. Instead of writing a property called "familyName"
as http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/familyName one can simply write foaf:familyName.
{
"prefixes": {
"foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/",
"dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
}
}
It is not necessary to define prefixes for the ontologies that are defined in the same file. Ontologies in the same file can be referenced by their name. See this section for more information about referencing ontologies.
"$schema" object
(required)
The $schema object refers to the JSON schema for DSP data model definitions and is mandatory.
"$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dasch-swiss/dsp-tools/main/src/dsp_tools/resources/schema/project.json"
"project" object
(required)
"project": {"key": "<value>", ...}
The project object contains the basic metadata about the project. The following fields are required:
- shortcode
- shortname
- longname
- keywords
- ontologies
The following fields are optional (if one or more of these fields are not used, they should be omitted):
- descriptions
- lists
- groups
- users
"project" object in detail
In the following section, all fields of the project object are explained in detail.
Shortcode
(required)
"shortcode": "<4-hex-characters>"
The shortcode has to be unique and is represented by a 4 digit hexadecimal string. The shortcode has to be provided by the DaSCH.
Shortname
(required)
"shortname": "<string>"
The shortname has to be unique. It should be in the form of a xsd:NCNAME.
This means a string without blanks or special characters but - and _ are allowed (although not as first character).
Longname
(required)
"longname": "<string>"
The longname is a string that provides the full name of the project.
Descriptions
(required)
"descriptions": {"<lang>": "<string>", ...}
The description is represented as a collection of strings with language tags (currently, "en", "de", "fr", "it", and "rm" are supported).
Keywords
(required)
"keywords": ["<string>", "<string>", ...]
Keywords are represented as an array of strings and are used to describe and/or tag the project.
Groups
(optional)
"groups": [<group-definition>, <group-definition>,...]
The groups object contains project specific group definitions. As opposed to the
built-in groups, the membership of the users to the project specific groups
can be freely chosen by the ProjectAdmin. A project may define several groups such as "student-assistant",
"editors", etc. in order to provide their members specific permissions.
The groups that were created here are then available in the XML file in the
<permissions> element.
A project specific group definition has the following elements:
- name (mandatory): name of the group
- descriptions (mandatory): description of the group with language tags in the form
"descriptions": {"<lang>": "<string>", ...}(currently, "en", "de", "fr", "it", and "rm" are supported) - selfjoin (optional): true if users are allowed to join the group themselves,
false (default) if a
ProjectAdminhas to add them - status (optional): true (default) if the group is active, false if the group is inactive
Example:
{
"groups": [
{
"name": "biz-editors",
"descriptions": {"en" : "Editors for the BiZ project"},
"selfjoin": false,
"status": true
}
]
}
Users
(optional)
"users": [<user-definition>, <user-definition>,...]
This object contains user definitions. A user has the following elements:
- username: username used for login
- email: email that identifies the user, has to be unique within DSP
- givenName: first name of the user
- familyName: surname of the user
- password: password of the user
- lang: the default language of the user: "en", "de", "fr", "it", "rm" (optional, default: "en")
- groups (optional): List of groups the user belongs to. The group names must be provided in one of the following forms:
other_project_shortname:groupname:groupname(for groups defined in the current JSON project file)SystemAdmin(the most powerful group, built-in into DSP)
- projects (optional): List of projects the user belongs to. The project name has to be followed by a
:and eithermemberoradmin. This indicates if the new user has admin rights in the given project or is an ordinary user.myproject:adminwould add the user as admin to the projectmyproject. The project defined in the same JSON project file can be omitted, so only:adminor:memberis enough. Note that in order to give a user:adminrights, he also needs to be a:memberof the project.- If projects is omitted, the user won't be part in any project.
- status (optional): true (default) if the user is active, false if the user is deleted/inactive
Example:
{
"users": [
{
"username": "bizedit",
"email": "bizedit@test.org",
"givenName": "biz-given",
"familyName": "biz-family",
"password": "biz1234",
"lang": "en",
"groups": [
":biz-editors",
"SystemAdmin"
],
"projects": [
":admin",
"otherProject:member"
],
"status": true
}
]
}
The users element is optional. If not used, it should be omitted.
Lists
(optional)
"lists": [<list-definition>,<list-definition>,...]
Lists can be used to provide controlled vocabularies. They can be flat or hierarchical. One advantage of the use of hierarchical lists is that it allows a user to sub-categorize objects. This helps in the formulation of specific search requests. If there is a list node "Vocal music" and sub-nodes "Song" and "Opera", a search for "Vocal Music" would return objects classified as "Song" and "Opera". But a search for "Song" would only return objects classified as "Song".
The "lists" section is an array of list definitions. A list definition has one root node whose name is used to identify the list. The children of the root node are the list nodes. If the list is hierarchical, the list nodes can have children, and these children can again have children, etc.
When a project defines a list, resources can use the list values by defining a list property, e.g. a property with object "ListValue".
A node of a list may have the following elements:
name(mandatory): Name of the node. Has to be unique within the entire "lists" section.labels(mandatory): Label with language tags in the form{"<lang>": "<label>", "<lang>": "<label>", ... }. At least one language needs to be specified. Currently, "de", "en", "fr", "it", and "rm" are supported.comments(mandatory for root node, optional for all other nodes): Comment with language tags in the form{"<lang>": "<comment>", "<lang>": "<comment>", ... }. Currently, "de", "en", "fr", "it", and "rm" are supported.nodes(optional): Array of sub-nodes.
Example of a "lists" section that contains the two lists "color" and "category":
{
"lists": [
{
"name": "color",
"labels": {
"de": "Farbe",
"en": "Color"
},
"comments": {
"de": "Eine Liste mit einigen Farben",
"en": "A list with some colors"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "red",
"labels": {
"de": "rot",
"en": "red"
}
},
{
"name": "yellow",
"labels": {
"de": "gelb",
"en": "yellow"
}
},
{
"name": "blue",
"labels": {
"de": "blau",
"en": "blue"
}
},
{
"name": "green",
"labels": {
"de": "grün",
"en": "green"
}
}
]
},
{
"name": "category",
"labels": {
"de": "Kategorie",
"en": "category"
},
"comments": {
"de": "Eine Liste mit Kategorien",
"en": "A list with categories"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "artwork",
"labels": {
"de": "Kunstwerk",
"en": "artwork"
}
},
{
"name": "vehicles",
"labels": {
"de": "Fahrzeuge",
"en": "vehicles"
}
},
{
"name": "nature",
"labels": {
"de": "Natur",
"en": "nature"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "humanes",
"labels": {
"de": "Menschen",
"en": "Humanes"
}
},
{
"name": "animals",
"labels": {
"de": "Tiere",
"en": "Animals"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "mammals",
"labels": {
"de": "Säugetiere",
"en": "Mammals"
}
},
{
"name": "insects",
"labels": {
"de": "Insekten",
"en": "Insects"
}
},
{
"name": "birds",
"labels": {
"de": "Vögel",
"en": "Birds"
}
},
{
"name": "amphibians",
"labels": {
"de": "Ambhibien",
"en": "Amphibians"
}
},
{
"name": "reptiles",
"labels": {
"de": "Reptilien",
"en": "Reptiles"
}
}
]
},
{
"name": "plants",
"labels": {
"de": "Pflanzen",
"en": "Plants"
}
},
{
"name": "weather",
"labels": {
"de": "Wetter",
"en": "Weather"
}
},
{
"name": "physics",
"labels": {
"de": "Physik",
"en": "Physics"
}
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
Lists from Excel
Instead of being described in JSON, a list can be imported from one or several Excel files. In this case, the
nodes element of the root node consists of {"folder": "<path-to-folder-containing-the-excel-files>"}. In the above
example, the list "color" could be imported as follows:
{
"lists": [
{
"name": "color",
"labels": {
"de": "Farbe",
"en": "Color"
},
"comments": {
"de": "Eine Liste mit einigen Farben",
"en": "A list with some colors"
},
"nodes": {
"folder": "path-to-folder"
}
},
{
"name": "category",
"labels": {
"de": "Kategorie",
"en": "category"
},
"comments": {
"de": "Eine Liste mit Kategorien",
"en": "A list with categories"
},
"nodes": [
"..."
]
}
]
}
To do so, it would be necessary to place the following two files into the folder "path-to-folder":
The expected format of the Excel files is documented here. The only difference to the explanations there is that column A of the Excel worksheet is not interpreted as list name (root node), but as node name of the first children level below the root node.
Ontologies
(required)
"ontologies": [<ontology-definition>, <ontology-definition>, ...]
Inside the ontologies array, a project may have multiple ontology definitions.
An ontology definition consists of the following fields:
namelabelpropertiesresources
The ontologies array is documented here
Fully fleshed out example of a JSON project file
DaSCH provides you with two example repositories that contain everything which is necessary to create a project and upload data. Both of them also contain a JSON project definition file. You can find them here:
- https://github.com/dasch-swiss/00A1-import-scripts
- https://github.com/dasch-swiss/082E-rosetta-scripts
In addition, there is another complete example of a JSON project file here:
{
"prefixes": {
"foaf": "http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/",
"dcterms": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
},
"$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dasch-swiss/dsp-tools/main/src/dsp_tools/resources/schema/project.json",
"project": {
"shortcode": "0170",
"shortname": "teimp",
"longname": "Test Import",
"descriptions": {
"en": "This is a project for testing the creation of ontologies and data",
"de": "Dies ist ein Projekt, um die Erstellung von Ontologien und Datenimport zu testen"
},
"keywords": [
"test",
"import"
],
"lists": [
{
"name": "orgtype",
"labels": {
"en": "Organization Type",
"de": "Organisationsart"
},
"comments": {
"en": "List of different organization types",
"de": "Liste unterschiedlicher Organisationstypen"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "business",
"labels": {
"en": "Commerce",
"de": "Handel"
},
"nodes": [
{
"name": "transport",
"labels": {
"en": "Transportation",
"de": "Transport"
}
},
{
"name": "finances",
"labels": {
"en": "Finances",
"de": "Finanzen"
}
}
]
},
{
"name": "society",
"labels": {
"en": "Society",
"de": "Gesellschaft"
}
}
]
}
],
"ontologies": [
{
"name": "teimp",
"label": "Test import ontology",
"properties": [
{
"name": "firstname",
"super": [
"hasValue",
"foaf:givenName"
],
"object": "TextValue",
"labels": {
"en": "Firstname",
"de": "Vorname"
},
"gui_element": "SimpleText",
"gui_attributes": {
"size": 24,
"maxlength": 32
}
},
{
"name": "lastname",
"super": [
"hasValue",
"foaf:familyName"
],
"object": "TextValue",
"labels": {
"en": "Lastname",
"de": "Nachname"
},
"gui_element": "SimpleText",
"gui_attributes": {
"size": 24,
"maxlength": 64
}
},
{
"name": "member",
"super": [
"hasLinkTo"
],
"object": ":organization",
"labels": {
"en": "member of",
"de": "Mitglied von"
},
"gui_element": "Searchbox"
},
{
"name": "name",
"super": [
"hasValue"
],
"object": "TextValue",
"labels": {
"en": "Name",
"de": "Name"
},
"gui_element": "SimpleText",
"gui_attributes": {
"size": 64,
"maxlength": 64
}
},
{
"name": "orgtype",
"super": [
"hasValue"
],
"object": "ListValue",
"labels": {
"en": "Organization type",
"de": "Organisationstyp"
},
"comments": {
"en": "Type of organization",
"de": "Art der Organisation"
},
"gui_element": "List",
"gui_attributes": {
"hlist": "orgtype"
}
}
],
"resources": [
{
"name": "person",
"super": "Resource",
"labels": {
"en": "Person",
"de": "Person"
},
"comments": {
"en": "Represents a human being",
"de": "Repräsentiert eine Person/Menschen"
},
"cardinalities": [
{
"propname": ":firstname",
"gui_order": 1,
"cardinality": "1"
},
{
"propname": ":lastname",
"gui_order": 2,
"cardinality": "1"
},
{
"propname": ":member",
"gui_order": 3,
"cardinality": "0-n"
}
]
},
{
"name": "organization",
"super": "Resource",
"labels": {
"en": "Organization",
"de": "Organisation"
},
"comments": {
"en": "Denotes an organizational unit",
"de": "Eine Institution oder Trägerschaft"
},
"cardinalities": [
{
"propname": ":name",
"gui_order": 1,
"cardinality": "1-n"
},
{
"propname": ":orgtype",
"gui_order": 2,
"cardinality": "1-n"
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
}