Glossary

Last Updated: May 2017

app class

A class defined in the app configuration file that inherits from the TethysAppBase class provided by the Tethys Platform. For more details on the app class, see App Base Class API.

app configuration file

A file located in the app package and called app.py by convention. This file contains the app class that is used to configure apps. For more details on the app configuration file, see App Base Class API.

app harvester

An instance of the SingletonAppHarvester class. The app harvester collects information about each app and uses it to load Tethys apps.

app instance
app instances

An instance of an app class.

app package
app packages

A Python namespace package of a Tethys app project that contains all of the source code for an app. The app package is named the same as the app by convention. Refer to Figure 1 of App Project Structure for more information.

app project

All of the source code for a Tethys app including the release package and the app package.

dataset
datasets

A dataset is a container for one or more resources that are stored in a dataset service.

dataset service
dataset services

A dataset service is a web service external to Tethys Platform that can be used to store and publish file-based datasets (e.g.: text files, Excel files, zip archives, other model files). See the Dataset Services API for more information.

Debian

Debian is a type of Linux operating system and many Linux distributions are based on it including Ubuntu. See Linux Distributions for more information.

Gizmo
Gizmos

Reusable view elements that can be inserted into a template using a single line of code. Examples include common GUI elements like buttons, toggle switches, and input fields as well as more complex elements like maps and plots. For more information on Gizmos, see Template Gizmos API.

Model View Controller

The development pattern used to develop Tethys apps. The Model represents the data of the app, the View is composed of the representation of the data, and the Controller consists of the logic needed to prepare the data from the Model for the View and any other logic your app needs.

persistent store
persistent stores

A persistent store is a database that can be automatically created for an app. See the Persistent Stores API for more information about persistent stores.

release package

The top level Python namespace package of an app project. The release package contains the setup script and all the source for an app including the app package. Refer to Figure 1 of App Project Structure for more information.

resource
resources

A resource is a file or other object and the associated metadata that is stored in a dataset service.

setup script

A file located in the release package and called setup.py by convention. The setup script is used to automate the installation of apps.

spatial dataset
spatial datasets

A spatial dataset is a file-based dataset that stores spatial data (e.g.: shapefiles, GeoTiff, ArcGrid, GRASS ASCII Grid).

virtual environment
Python conda environment

An isolated Python installation. Many operating systems use the system Python installation to perform maintenance operations. Installing Tethys Platform in a conda environment prevents potential dependency conflicts. It also make it easier to install dependencies that have non-python dependencies (e.g. netCDF4, GDAL, arcgis)

wps service
wps services

A WPS Service provides processes/geoprocesses as web services using the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Processing Service (WPS) standard.