Django IS Database Explorer

A searchable, robut and version-controlled Django backend designed to manage and index the ISFinder dataset (5,600+ IS elements). Note on Upstream Security: These Data are fetched from the official ISFinder database. Since that host uses a legacy HTTP protocol rather than HTTPS, please ensure your local environment is configured to allow a secure connection.

This project transforms flat biological data into a relational database and layers a full-text search engine on top using Haystack and Whoosh

Features

• Full-Text Search: Search across name, family, group, synonym, origins (Bacterial genus or species), and accession numbers without an SQL database, powered by django-haystack and an inverted index
• Relational Architecture: Data models separating ISElement, Family, Origin (Bacterial species), and Accession to prevent data duplication
• Data Undo: Audit logging and version control in the Django Admin panel using django-simple-history. Every edit is tracked and can be instantly reverted
• UI: Responsive data table interface for scanning high-density scientific results

Stack

• Backend: Python, Django
• Database: SQLite (development) / PostgreSQL (production)
• Search Engine: django-haystack, Whoosh
• Data Tracking: django-simple-history

Screenshots

Search Interface

Admin Interface

For a local Setup & Installation

Follow these steps to spin up the database and search engine on your local machine.

Clone and Install with conda (or mamba)

git clone https://github.com/LCrossman/ISdata.git
cd ISdata
conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate isdata_env

setup the database schema

python manage.py migrate

import the data with:

python manage.py import_csv IS_data.csv

generate the haystack index

python manage.py rebuild_index

start the development server

python manage.py runserver

The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:8000 Go to localhost: http://127.0.0.1:8000/index/ to view the application, or http://127.0.0.1:8000/search/ to query the ISFinder dataset

** Optional: Accessing the Admin Panel** To view the imported data (and edit) through the Django admin interface, you will need to create a superuser account:

python manage.py createsuperuser

Follow prompts to set an admin username and password and login at http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin/