DigitalSEE (Digital South-Eastern Europe) data entry system

Research Institution: University of Sofia

Research group name: Digital Humanities. ICT Applications for History and Language

Main research area of the group: Digital Humanities

Leading researcher: Associate Professor Dr. Maria Baramova

This project is a Flask-based web application that allows users to generate, upload, and manage XML files containing metadata about historical or archaeological sites as part of the DigitalSEE initiative. Users can input data via a web form, which is saved as an XML file. The application also supports searching for uploaded files, and viewing them.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Configuration
• Running the Application
• Application Routes
• Usage
• Form Fields
• Error Handling
• Troubleshooting
• Dataset

Features

• XML File Generation: Users can fill out forms, and the application generates XML files based on the input.
• Search & View: Search through uploaded XML files based on keywords and metadata.
• File Management: List and view all uploaded XML files.

Requirements

• Python 3.11.7 or higher
• Flask 2.x
• Flask-WTF 1.x
• Werkzeug
• WTForms

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Bestroi150/DigitalSEE-DataEntrySystem.git
   cd DigitalSEE-DataEntrySystem
   

2. Create a virtual environment:

    python3 -m venv venv
    source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

• Upload Directory: The default upload directory is uploads/. Ensure this folder exists in the root of the project.
• Maximum Upload Size: The maximum upload size for XML files is set to 16 MB by default. This can be changed in the code.

Run the Flask application

1. Activate the virtual environment:

   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate`

2. Run the Flask application: python app.py

Application Routes

• / (GET): Homepage with a form to generate XML files.
• /submit (POST): Submit form data, generates XML, and stores it in the uploads/ directory.
• /view-uploads (GET, POST): View and search through uploaded XML files.

Usage

1. Generate XML Files

   • Navigate to the homepage (http://127.0.0.1:5000/).
   • Fill out the form with details about the historical or archaeological site.
   • Submit the form. The XML file will be generated and stored in the uploads/ folder.

2. View and Search Files

   • Go to http://127.0.0.1:5000/view-uploads.
   • Search through the uploaded XML files by entering keywords in the search box.

Form Fields

The form requires input of the following metadata fields:

• Filename: The name of the generated XML file.
• Author: Name of the author.
• Name (Source/Contemporary): Names from source and contemporary context.
• Description: Description of the site or object.
• Provenance: Geographic coordinates, links to GeoNames, Pleiades, etc.
• Dating Criteria: Criteria for dating the site or object.
• Date: Time period based on source and contemporary records.
• Categories/Subcategories: Select from a variety of categories like communication, religious sites, inscriptions, etc.
• Language: The original and publication language.
• Keywords: Keywords for the site or object.

Error Handling

• 404 Error: If a route is not found, a custom 404 error page will be displayed.
• 500 Error: If there's a server error, an error message will be shown, and the exception will be logged.

Troubleshooting

• File Not Saving: Verify the uploads folder exists and has write permissions.

Dataset

The XML metadata generated using this system has been compiled into a dataset, which can be accessed through the following repository: DigitalSEE. This dataset contains detailed records of historical and archaeological sites and is a key component of the DigitalSEE initiative.

License

• Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Funding statement

This study is financed by the European Union-NextGenerationEU, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, project No BG-RRP-2.004-0008