Using the metadata API

Introduction

The IHEC Data Portal metadata API allows users to extract datasets metadata from the portal, for either a particular dataset, an IHEC Data Portal session ID, or an assembly. The document it returns follows the IHEC Data Hub specification, as explained here.

Please note that this API is currently being improved, and that many additional features will be added in the future.

Obtaining metadata

Fetching metadata for a dataset

Select that dataset in the IHEC Data Portal grid, and consult the dataset table at the bottom of the grid. A "metadata" link at the rightmost of the table will link to a JSON document for this specific dataset.

Fetching metadata for a grid selection

Select datasets in the Data Grid, and click on the "Get metadata" button at the bottom of the grid. The resulting JSON document will contain metadata for all selected datasets.

Fetching metadata for a data release

It is possible to fetch all datasets that are part of one data release. The list of available data releases on the IHEC Data Portal can be obtained in JSON format from here:

/cgi-bin/getReleases.py

You can then obtain all the datasets for this data release by using a query such as this one:

/cgi-bin/api/getReleases.py