QGIS Plugin Development is Not Scary: Lessons Learned from Literature Mapper
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FOSS4G 2021 Buenos Aires This is the story of how one QGIS plugin came to be and the lessons we learned along the way. The Literature Mapper QGIS Plugin was created to fill a need: academic journal articles are often about a specific location (this is common in fields such as ecology, archaeology, and history), but there was no method for connecting location data to a citation manager. We built the tool we needed from the idea stage (a paper map hand annotated in pencil), to prototype, to freely available code in the QGIS Plugin repository, to a tool that is steadily gaining users. In this talk, we will describe our experience developing the Literature Mapper QGIS plugin – all the ups and downs – to explain the process and encourage more people to try making their own plugin.
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QGIS Plugin Development is Not Scary: Lessons Learned from Literature Mapper
- 1. @MicheleTobias @aimandel QGIS Plugin Development Is Not Scary Lessons Learned from Literature Mapper Michele Tobias, PhD & Alex Mandel, Phd FOSS4G - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Sept. 27-Oct.2, 2021
- 2. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Who are we? Michele Tobias Geospatial Data Specialist University of California Davis’ DataLab Mastermind behind Literature Mapper Coding for text parsing Really bad a Python Frequent user of QGIS and R and SQL Alex Mandel Geospatial Engineer Development Seed Advises on feasibility Coding for interface functions Much better at Python Literature Mapper is NOT a product of UC Davis or Development Seed.
- 3. @MicheleTobias @aimandel What is Literature Mapper? An experimental Python QGIS Plugin, available in the plugin repository Connects Zotero (an open source citation manager) with QGIS Allows users to georeference their citations through QGIS Store location information inside the Zotero database to keep the spatial and non-spatial data together
- 5. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Literature Mapper’s Story Academic journal articles are often about a specific location Plants & Animals Geology Social Justice History … ALL of these happen in a location & location matters.
- 6. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Literature Mapper’s Story We might care about the spatial distribution of studies BUT There was no method for connecting location data to a citation manager We identified a need that had no available solution.
- 7. @MicheleTobias @aimandel The Building Process 1. Idea stage (a paper map hand annotated in pencil) 2. Prototype “proof of concept” 3. Code in the QGIS Plugin repository 4. A tool that is steadily gaining users
- 9. @MicheleTobias @aimandel What is the need/gap you want to fill? Be specific about what your tool SHOULD do. Be specific about what you tool WILL NOT do. Scope creep is real. Ideas are cheap. Keep a list of ideas to work on later. Ignore the ideas that aren’t your goal.
- 10. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Do your research. What tools/software/methods already exist? Do they solve your problem? If a tool already exists, does the world need another option? Should you contribute to existing projects instead?
- 11. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Pick a Name Carefully It’s hard to change the name once your tool is in use Consider a name that describes the tool’s function Avoid names that are similar to other tools Example: Literature Mapper vs. Journal Map - both developed independently about the same time, have similar goals, but do slightly different things (and yes, both teams talk now)
- 12. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Make It Happen
- 13. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Draw it! What is the workflow? What should the interface look like?
- 14. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Level Up Your Skills Plenty of FREE resources to learn what you need: ● Python ● PyQGIS ● QGIS Plugin Development Workflow ● GitHub (or other version control system) Specific to Literature Mapper: ● Zotero API
- 15. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Don’t get stuck in the preparation phase Learn the basics and move on. You’ll learn more as you develop your plugin. You don’t need to be good at Python to write useful code.
- 16. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Start Small & Add Incrementally Don’t try to code all the functions at once. Start with a blank plugin. Add a blank interface. Add a button. Make the button do something. Keep going.
- 18. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Let people see your code Tell people what you’re working on Make it Public
- 19. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Be Loud Write Documentation Post on social media Publish blog posts Meet with people developing related tools Talk at conferences Write journal articles (for academics)
- 20. @MicheleTobias @aimandel You can do it! Any questions?
- 21. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Resources PyQGIS Developer Cookbook: https://docs.qgis.org/3.16/en/docs/pyqgis_developer_cookbook/ (Especially section 16 “Developing Python Plugins”)
- 22. @MicheleTobias @aimandel Abstract - for reference This is the story of how one QGIS plugin came to be and the lessons we learned along the way. The Literature Mapper QGIS Plugin was created to fill a need: academic journal articles are often about a specific location (this is common in fields such as ecology, archaeology, and history), but there was no method for connecting location data to a citation manager. We built the tool we needed from the idea stage (a paper map hand annotated in pencil), to prototype, to freely available code in the QGIS Plugin repository, to a tool that is steadily gaining users. In this talk, we will describe our experience developing the Literature Mapper QGIS plugin – all the ups and downs – to explain the process and encourage more people to try making their own plugin.