README
======

Spatial Temporal Oceanographic Query System (STOQS)
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STOQS is a geospatial database web application designed for providing efficient 
acccess to in situ oceanographic data across any dimension - e.g., retrieving
a common parameter from all measuring platforms in a specific area over a 
specific span of time.  STOQS complements other data management technologies
such as NetCDF and OPeNDAP by providing an ability to index data retrieval 
across parameter and spatial dimensions in addition to the a priori indexed
coordinate dimensions in NetCDF.  It also provides a functional bridge between 
NetCDF and Geographic Information Systems technologies.

After installation, data is loaded into STOQS from a variety of data sources,
including OPeNDAP data sets, other relational databases, and flat files.  
Products are delivered within the STOQS User Interface and in a variety of 
formats, including KML, via REST-style web requests.

Installing
----------
If you wish to install the system from scratch you will need the source code 
revision control software Mercurial which can be installed in CentOS with 
"yum -install mercurial" as root.  Then checkout the software from Google
Code with:

    cd ~/dev
    hg clone https://<your_google_account>@code.google.com/p/stoqs/ stoqshg

Note: The source checkout instructions on the Google Code site do not include the
last argument, in which case the software will be checked out into a 'stoqs' directory.
This can be confusing as there is another 'stoqs' directory in the tree.  For this
reason we check it out to a 'stoqshg' directory to indicate that it is a Mercurial
clone.  To continue with the installation follow the instructions starting in the
PREREQUISITES file which will be in your stoqshg directory.

Operation
---------
If you wish to load data into an already installed STOQS server you can start with
reading  the LOADING file for the instructions for creating a database, setting data
sources, and writing a loader script.


Further information is in these files:

    PREREQUISITES - System level requirements, e.g. Postgis, Django, Python modules
    INSTALL       - Steps to install the Django stoqs application
    DEVELOPMENT   - Instructions on running a development environment
    PRODUCTION    - Instructions on setting up a production environment
    LOADING       - Loading your data
    TIDBITS       - Miscellaneous tips, fixes, and examples for using STOQS
    LICENSE       - GNU General Public License text, how this software is licensed

The stoqs project web site has a wiki with links to presentations and periodic feature
updates.  The stoqs-discuss list in Google Groups is also a good place to post questions
or any sort of comments about STOQS.    

--
Mike McCann
MBARI 23 May 2013