| Welcome to the GovHack toolkit. This page provides all the information you need to prepare hackfest entries. | #GovHack Toolkit |
| These tools can be used to make entries like: mobile apps, web apps, data visualisations/infographics | Welcome to the GovHack toolkit. This page provides all the information you need to prepare hackfest entries. |
| These tools can be used to make entries like mobile apps, web apps and data visualisations/infographics. | |
| - govhack toolkit!!!! | The text of this toolkit is open for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution licence and improvements are encouraged via Git http://github.com/maxious/govhack-tools or via email patches to govhack@lambdacomplex.org |
| - key datasets, directory.gov.au gazetter/AEC electorates/suburbs/postcodes/LGAs | |
| # How to register and submit your entry | |
| - definitions, open licence reuse permissive hacker hack data journalism data bis UCX etc. | ## Registering your team |
| - what do govhack entries look like? | Coming Soon: how to use the website "Hacker Space" to register and find teams. |
| - roles; coder, designer UX/graphics | |
| ## Preparing your submission | |
| server admin / technical tools | |
| many projects will require some kind of internet presence, webpage etc. | You should record a 3 minute speech and mix images/text to accompany. |
| video tools, youtube slideshow, FOSS video editing tools | http://www.screenr.com/ and other screencasting tools allow you to demo apps. |
| - http://ubuntu-tutorials.com/2008/11/11/relaying-postfix-smtp-via-smtpgmailcom/ | To mix together clips, you can use youtube video editor http://www.youtube.com/editor or local software like http://www.videolan.org/vlmc/ or http://www.lwks.com/ |
| - amon | |
| You also need to submit your "source material". For an application this may be source code, for another work it might be your notes or prototypes. | |
| geo | The key thing here is that your source material demonstrates to the judges that some of the end result was your own work and that it is possible for another person to replicate that work. |
| - http://converter.mygeodata.eu/vector kml exporter for shp | |
| - http://bost.ocks.org/mike/map/ | |
| # General References {#general-data-hacking-and-programming-references} | |
| R | |
| - http://blog.yhathq.com/posts/10-R-packages-I-wish-I-knew-about-earlier.html | |
| - excel -> R/rattle/ deducer? http://www.r-bloggers.com/updates-to-the-deducer-family-of-packages/ | ## The basics of being a data scientist |
| d3 | * Have a hypothesis - even if you're making a tool/api that helps people with their questions too, remember what the objective of that is. |
| - http://datadrivenjournalism.net/resources/data_driven_documents_defined | * Find the people and tools you need to prove/show/find. This rest of this page will help with the latter. |
| - http://www.benmcmahen.com/blog/posts/50eb57d55a94d35262000001 d3 svg | * Analyse and present results - were they what you expected? Do they help explain to others what you have found out? |
| Can present as a interactive data visualisation or a web/mobile application or just a infographic/motion graphics video that tells a story. | |
| API | |
| - howto.gov api tutorial | [](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m6a65720f.gif)</dt> |
| - http://shancarter.com/data_converter/ | Illustration from Data Journalism Handbook, CC BY-SA 3.0</dd> |
| - http://training.sunlightfoundation.com/module/data-visualizations-google-docs/ | |
| - api documentation | The best high level reference is the 'Understanding Data' and 'Delivering Data' chapters of the Data Journalism Handbook which is available online for free at |
| - WSDL or http://swagger.wordnik.com/ or https://github.com/mashery/iodocs | [datajournalismhandbook.org](http://datajournalismhandbook.org/) |
| - http://symfony.com/ https://github.com/FriendsOfSymfony/FOSRestBundle http://williamdurand.fr/2012/08/02/rest-apis-with-symfony2-the-right-way/ https://github.com/nelmio/NelmioApiDocBundle better apis https://github.com/liip/LiipHelloBundle | |
| - https://github.com/elc/rapi_doc https://github.com/Pajk/apipie-rails | You can learn the technical skills from scratch in Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics by Nathan Yau or for more advanced |
| - | practical advice check out Data Analysis with Open Source Tools by Philipp K. Janert |
| - tools.disclo.gs - how to use data | For further reading in this space |
| - https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet#wiki-images reference style images? | [http://flowingdata.com/2012/04/27/data-and-visualization-blogs-worth-following/](http://flowingdata.com/2012/04/27/data-and-visualization-blogs-worth-following/) |
| - developer tools inc. linked data | |
| - gephi -> neo4j | |
| - neo4j lets you build on, do massive queries of who is friends with who | **Statistics** |
| - don't use network viz if what you actually have is a tree/hierarchy with no interconnections http://www.randelshofer.ch/treeviz/ http://thejit.org/demos/ http://mbostock.github.com/protovis/ex/treemap.html http://blog.pixelingene.com/2011/07/building-a-tree-diagram-in-d3-js/ | |
| - http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ex/pack.html http://mbostock.github.com/d3/ex/tree.html | A great guide to statistics is |
| - postgis/quantum gis | [Think Stats](http://greenteapress.com/thinkstats/html/index.html) |
| - (google earth is alright but many limitations) NASA World Wind? | |
| - ABS statistical areas | **Programming** |
| - http://irs.gis-lab.info/ wms or http://www.gdal.org/frmt_wms_openstreetmap_tms.xml | |
| - can do nearest/isin/union queries - personal geocoder | Programming is valuable skill for manipulating and displaying data. |
| - cloudmade geocoder, google maps my maps | Basic tutorials for a variety of languages are available for free online or you can learn interactively with websites like [Codecademy for JavaScript](http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0), [Learn Python](http://www.learnpython.org/) or [Try Ruby](http://tryruby.org/) |
| - base layers like agri or nearmap | |
| - scraperwiki with new pytemplate libraries | For web applications and visualisations, you'll need a basic understanding of JavaScript in order to configure pre made libraries like jQuery. A good source for Javascript information is the [Mozilla Development Network Javascript Page](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript) |
| - makes an API for your data to get in sqlite/json/csv | |
| - three.js with cables vis? Overviewer from AP? | **Accessibility/User Experience** |
| - govhack library | |
| - http://hpneo.github.com/gmaps/examples.html | Following accessibility guidelines not only make a application accessible but make it a better experience for all users! Even if not making an app, good to consider these things to do and not do when designing for humans: [http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/](http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/) |
| - android datviz | |
| - http://code.google.com/p/afreechart/ http://code.google.com/p/snowdon/ http://code.google.com/p/chartdroid/ http://androidplot.com/ http://code.google.com/p/achartengine/ | |
| - https://graphics.stanford.edu/wikis/cs448b-12-fall/ data viz theory | |
| - https://mixpanel.com/education/understanding-the-first-five-minutes | # Developer Tools For Your Computer {#developer-tools-for-your-computer} |
| - http://drawingbynumbers.org/toolsandresources | No matter what kind of application you have for the data, there are many tools you can use to better collaborate and manage your project. |
| - http://wmbriggs.com/blog/?p=6465 | |
| - http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449339739/k_00000002.html list of d3 alternatives | ### Source Control |
| - http://craigkerstiens.com/2012/10/01/understanding-postgres-performance/ | Using a version control system like Git or Subversion allows you to keep many different versions of what you have been working on so you can collaborate with others or simply back up your files so you don't lose them! |
| - https://github.com/clips/pattern for easy NLP/network analysis/data mining | |
| - https://github.com/theodi/open-data-tech-review/wiki othr cleanup/linked data toola | [](http://progit.org/book/) |
| - http://www.opentripplanner.org/apidoc/rest.plan.html | |
| - http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools catalog | There are [tutorials on git](http://progit.org/book/) and [GUIs to help you](http://code.google.com/p/tortoisegit/) |
| - http://www.slideshare.net/OReillyStrata/visualizing-networks-beyond-the-hairball | There is also a [manual for Subversion](http://svnbook.red-bean.com/) and a [similar GUI for Subversion](http://tortoisesvn.net/) |
| - http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-554179-622011.html SNA tools catalog | |
| - https://github.com/jacomyal/osdc2012-sigmajs-demo sigmajs filtering/searching | |
| - manipulating data - grep/find replace/sed/regex | ### Task Tracking |
| - d3 tools and tutorial http://enjalot.com/ http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4608440 | |
| - Why d3 is the way it is and how to make charts http://bost.ocks.org/mike/chart/ | Issue/task trackers allow you to outline the tasks required for your project and assign them to people to do. |
| - how to make an xkcd chart http://bl.ocks.org/3914862 | |
| - http://blog.josephwilk.net/ruby/latent-semantic-analysis-in-ruby.html similar terms usually found together | [Trello](https://trello.com/) and [Workflowy](https://workflowy.com/) are free, lightweight project management tools suitable for a rapid project! |
| - data viz | |
| - http://k2company.com/blog/2012/09/06/toolbox-for-learning-machine-learning-and-data-science/ | ## Hosted Developer Tools {#hosted-developer-tools} |
| - http://williamparry.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/putting-data-into-google-fusion-tables.html google fusion tutorial | |
| - andrewharvey4.wordpress.com postgis/asgs tutorial | Can get many tools (source control, issue tracking) combined into one service cloud hosted so there's no setup required. |
| - http://www.slideshare.net/maxdemarzi/etl-into-neo4j | |
| - http://www.twotorials.com/ for R | ### Github |
| - http://www.r-bloggers.com/gradient-word-clouds/ http://www.rstudio.com/shiny/ http://blog.ouseful.info/2012/11/28/quick-shiny-demo-exploring-nhs-winter-sit-rep-data/ https://github.com/timelyportfolio/shiny-d3-plot https://github.com/trestletech/shiny-sandbox/tree/master/grn | Git obviously but svn/hg interfaces are also available. Provide their own GUI for Windows/OSX or use a variety of Git capable tools |
| - http://is-r.tumblr.com/post/38240018815/making-prettier-network-graphs-with-sna-and-igraph | |
| - http://www.r-bloggers.com/video-simpler-tricks-and-tools-help-debugging-git-latex-and-workflow-with-r-by-prof-rob-hyndman/ | |
| - http://yihui.name/knitr/ makes reports including google widgets/charts/maps via http://www.r-bloggers.com/googlevis-0-3-2-is-released-better-integration-with-knitr/ | |
| - http://chartsnthings.tumblr.com/post/36978271916/r-tutorial-simple-charts http://flowingdata.com/2012/12/17/getting-started-with-charts-in-r/ | |
| - http://dydra.com/ | |
| - http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools list | |
| - http://nodexl.codeplex.com/ network graphs for excel | |
| - http://sunfoundation.tumblr.com/ | |
| - css framework like bootstrap or zurb foundation | |
| - analysing - linked data tools | |
| - http://govcampau.wikispaces.com/useful+tools | |
| - http://linkeddata.org/home | |
| - analysing - unstructured/nlp incl overviewer, opennlp/nltk, lucene/solr | |
| - http://www.r-bloggers.com/simple-text-mining-with-r/ | |
| # Hosted Developer Tools {#hosted-developer-tools} | |
| ### Sourceforge | ### Sourceforge |
| Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, CVS, issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. | Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, CVS, issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. |
| You can create your own Sourceforge project at [http://sourceforge.net/](http://sourceforge.net/) | You can create your own Sourceforge project at [http://sourceforge.net/](http://sourceforge.net/) |
| ### Google Code Project Hosting | ### Google Code Project Hosting |
| Git, Mercurial, and Subversion code. Issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. | Git, Mercurial, and Subversion code. Issue tracker, wiki, release file downloads. Unlimited free use for open source projects. |
| You can host your Google Code project and get access to developer tools, APIs and documentation at [http://code.google.com/](http://code.google.com/) | You can host your Google Code project and get access to developer tools, APIs and documentation at [http://code.google.com/](http://code.google.com/) |
| # Applications of data hacking | |
| # The basics of being a data scientist | |
| ## API Development {#api-development} | |
| * Find the people and tools you need to prove/show/find. This rest of this page will help with the latter. | |
| So an API isn't just an XML file  | |
| Please note, there are a combination of Analysis and Visualisation tools in each of the major categories below. | |
| # API Development {#api-development} | |
| So an API isn’t just an XML file  | |
| A good web based data API: | A good web based data API: |
| * Is logically organised | * Is logically organised |
| * Can filter returned data | * Can filter returned data |
| * Can return results in different open formats (CSV/JSON etc.) | * Can return results in different open formats (CSV/JSON etc.) |
| * Is efficient and responsive by using caching and databases appropriately | * Is efficient and responsive by using caching and databases appropriately |
| * Handles errors gracefully | * Handles errors gracefully |
| * Monitors and controls access (to show benefit realised of API and prevent abuse) | * Monitors and controls access (to show benefit realised of API and prevent abuse) |
| * Provides appropriate documentation with examples | * Provides appropriate documentation with examples |
| Some people like sensis [http://](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[developers.sensis.com.<wbr>au</wbr>](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[/](http://developers.sensis.com.au/) use a provider like[http://](http://mashery.com/)[mashery.com](http://mashery.com/)[/](http://mashery.com/) or [https](https://apigee.com/)[://](https://apigee.com/)[apigee.com](https://apigee.com/) or [http://](http://apiaxle.com/)[apiaxle.com](http://apiaxle.com/)[/](http://apiaxle.com/) or [http://www.3scale.net/](http://www.3scale.net/) which handles making a good API for them. | Some people like sensis [http://](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[developers.sensis.com.<wbr>au</wbr>](http://developers.sensis.com.au/)[/](http://developers.sensis.com.au/) use a provider like[http://](http://mashery.com/)[mashery.com](http://mashery.com/)[/](http://mashery.com/) or [https](https://apigee.com/)[://](https://apigee.com/)[apigee.com](https://apigee.com/) or [http://](http://apiaxle.com/)[apiaxle.com](http://apiaxle.com/)[/](http://apiaxle.com/) or [http://www.3scale.net/](http://www.3scale.net/) which handles making a good API for them. |
| Atlassian have a great page on what makes a good API [https](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[://](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[developer.atlassian.<wbr>com</wbr>](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[/display/REST/](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[Atlassian](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1)[+<wbr>REST+API+Design+Guidelines+<wbr>version+1</wbr></wbr>](https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1) | Atlassian have a great page on what makes a good API https://developer.atlassian.com/display/REST/Atlassian+REST+API+Design+Guidelines+version+1) |
| HowTo.gov has a bunch of api resources about choosing SOAP vs. REST etc. http://www.howto.gov/mobile/apis-in-government | |
| API documentation is important too! Traditionally for SOAP APIs, you use WSDL but for REST try [Swagger](http://swagger.wordnik.com/) or [iodocs](https://github.com/mashery/iodocs) | |
| Many web app frameworks can generate the documentation for you. For example Symfony for PHP http://symfony.com/ https://github.com/FriendsOfSymfony/FOSRestBundle http://williamdurand.fr/2012/08/02/rest-apis-with-symfony2-the-right-way/ https://github.com/nelmio/NelmioApiDocBundle | |
| # Data Visualisation {#data-visualisation} | Or for Ruby on Rails there is is https://github.com/elc/rapi_doc https://github.com/Pajk/apipie-rails |
| better apis https://github.com/liip/LiipHelloBundle | |
| http://amberonrails.com/building-stripes-api/ | |
| example WeatherTree weather API | |
| ## Infographics and Data Visualisation {#data-visualisation} | |
| Infographics try to contextualise charts and graphs to tell a story. Data vis builds on this to find new ways to design insight. | |
| Most of the categories to follow have visualisation tools specific to their purpose. | Most of the categories to follow have visualisation tools specific to their purpose. |
| You can find some data visualisation “essential”\. tools below: | You can find some data visualisation tools below: |
| [http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/](http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/) | [Essential Colletion](http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/part-6-the-essential-collection-of-visualisation-resources/) |
| [Drawing By Numbers Tools and Resources](http://drawingbynumbers.org/toolsandresources) | |
| - http://selection.datavisualization.ch/ data viz tools catalog | |
| Also check out [http://thejit.org](http://thejit.org/) & [http://www.senchalabs.org/<wbr>philogl/</wbr>](http://www.senchalabs.org/philogl/) (contributed by Matt Adcock) | Also check out [http://thejit.org](http://thejit.org/) & [http://www.senchalabs.org/<wbr>philogl/</wbr>](http://www.senchalabs.org/philogl/) (contributed by Matt Adcock) |
| A good infographic should use visual art concepts and [good color schemes](http://www.r-bloggers.com/the-paul-tol-21-color-salute/) | |
| For more information on the theory of data visualisation check out the (Stanford CS448B notes)[https://graphics.stanford.edu/wikis/cs448b-12-fall/] | |
| Some examples of data visualisation can be seen on [the Sunlight Foundation tumblr](http://sunfoundation.tumblr.com/) or at the GovHack alumn [The Open Budget](http://www/.theopenbudget.org) | |
| ## Web Applications | |
| With the rise of HTML5 technologies it is easier than ever to make a web application for engaging use of data. | |
| - css framework like bootstrap or zurb foundation | |
| - css gauges http://www.larentis.eu/donuts/ | |
| - bootstrap themes, web fonts, css sprites, icon fonts | |
| - http://designmodo.com/flat-free/ http://designmodo.github.com/Flat-UI/ | |
| ### Examples | |
| #### PlanningAlerts | |
| [](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_2f0199ff1.png)Description: Planning Alerts takes data from local government development applications and sends alerts to users based on what applications are lodged in their area. | |
| Programming Language: Ruby | |
| Source Control: [Git](https://github.com/openaustralia/planningalerts-app) | |
| Issue Tracking: [Atlassian JIRA](http://tickets.openaustraliafoundation.org.au/browse/PA/) | |
| #### LobbyLens | |
| [](img/129-Screenshot-LobbyClue_-_Chromium.png) | |
| Description: Displays connections between government contracts, business details, politician responsibilities, lobbyists, clients of lobbyists, political donors and the location of these entities. | |
| Programing Language: PHP | |
| Source Control: SVN (Subversion) | |
| Issue Tracking: A whiteboard | |
| #### bus.lambdacomplex.org | |
| [](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_3789acae.jpg) | |
| Description: Online Canberra Bus Timetables and Trip Planner. | |
| Programing Language: PHP/Ruby | |
| Source Control: Git | |
| Issue Tracking: Github | |
| ## Mobile | |
| Frameworks, http://www.sencha.com/products/touch http://phonegap.com/ http://cordova.apache.org/ | |
| html5 jquery mobile like directory.gov.au | |
| For data visualisation, there are a variety of graph widgets http://code.google.com/p/afreechart/ http://code.google.com/p/snowdon/ http://code.google.com/p/chartdroid/ http://androidplot.com/ http://code.google.com/p/achartengine/ | |
| Backend frameworks http://helios.io/ https://www.parse.com/ | |
| ### Examples | |
| Bureau of Meteorology Water Storage App http://icelab.com.au/work/bureau-of-meteorology/ | |
| NZ Gov budget http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/app | |
| # Geographical Data Tools {#geographical-data-tools} | # Geographical Data Tools {#geographical-data-tools} |
| Check out the[ GeoRabble Boundary Mapper’s Cookbook](http://georabble.org/2012/05/31/the-boundary-mappers-cookbook/) to see how you can tie all these things together! | Check out the [GeoRabble Boundary Mapper's Cookbook](http://georabble.org/2012/05/31/the-boundary-mappers-cookbook/) to see how you can tie all these things together! |
| GeoDjango TileMill | |
| ## Key datasets | |
| base layers like agri http://agri.openstreetmap.org/, http://irs.gis-lab.info/ wms or http://www.gdal.org/frmt_wms_openstreetmap_tms.xml | |
| ASGS from ABS including suburbs/postcodes andrewharvey4.wordpress.com postgis/asgs tutorial | |
| You can also get KML layers for various statistical measures on the ABS TableBuilder tool. | |
| ## Wrangling | |
| ### Converting | |
| There are many spatial data formats and often the one your tool requires is not the one the dataset is provided in | |
| Online | |
| - http://converter.mygeodata.eu/vector kml exporter for shp | |
| or locally using GDAL (better for many megabyte datasets) | |
| ### Geocoding | |
| Google Maps APIs allow you to convert an address to map co-ordinates (geocoding) but you must display on a Google Map. The easiest way to do is with a Google Spreadsheet/Fusion Table http://williamparry.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/putting-data-into-google-fusion-tables.htm http://support.google.com/fusiontables/answer/1012281?hl=en&ref_topic=2592806 | |
| If you need geocoding for more than display (working out the distance between points etc) or you don't want to use Google Maps, Cloudmade offers free OpenStreetMap based geocoding http://developers.cloudmade.com/projects/show/geocoding-http-api | |
| ## Analysis | ## Analysis |
| ### PostGIS | ### PostGIS |
| [](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/postgisexample.jpg)PostGIS is an extension for the PostgreSQL database server that allows you to store and manipulate geospatial data on a large scale. For example finding which points are in an area or what points are closest . It is also very useful for storing geospatial data because it can convert between all major formats including ESRI Shape files and Google Earth/Maps KML. | [](img/postgisexample.jpg)PostGIS is an extension for the PostgreSQL database server that allows you to store and manipulate geospatial data on a large scale. For example finding which points are in an area or what points are closest . It is also very useful for storing geospatial data because it can convert between all major formats including ESRI Shape files and Google Earth/Maps KML. |
| ### Quantum GIS | ### Quantum GIS |
| [](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88.jpg)QGIS is a graphical desktop application that allows viewing and editing of geospatial data. Some good base maps are available by adding the WMS layer/server [http://irs.gis-lab.info/](http://irs.gis-lab.info/) | [](img/How-to-participate-in-GovHack_html_m50afbe88.jpg)QGIS is a graphical desktop application that allows viewing and editing of geospatial data. Some good base maps are available by adding the WMS layer/server [http://irs.gis-lab.info/](http://irs.gis-lab.info/) |
| ## Visualisation | ## Visualisation |
| ### Layar and other augmented reality tools | ### Layar and other augmented reality tools |
| ### Google Fusion Tables/ChartsBin/[OpenHeatMap](http://www.openheatmap.com/) | ### Google Fusion Tables/ChartsBin/[OpenHeatMap](http://www.openheatmap.com/) |
| [](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/fusiontablesscreenshot.jpg)Input a numerical values and areas to a spreadsheet and maps are produced | [](img/fusiontablesscreenshot.jpg)Input numerical values and areas to a spreadsheet and maps are produced where the areas are colored on a scale of the values |
| http://www.peteraldhous.com/CAR/Making_maps_with_Google_Fusion_Tables.pdf tutorial or http://support.google.com/fusiontables/topic/2592754?hl=en&ref_topic=27020 for google help files | |
| ### [Cartographer.js](http://cartographer.visualmotive.com/) | ### [Cartographer.js](http://cartographer.visualmotive.com/) |
| [](http://www.govhack.org/wp-content/uploads/cartographerj |