staticfdp-vp

A Static Virtual Platform — the third layer of the StaticFDP ecosystem (GitHub · Codeberg).

A Virtual Platform (VP) is a federated discovery hub that aggregates multiple FDP Indexes into a single browsable and machine-readable catalog. Data stays at its source; the VP only stores pointers. A CI pipeline rebuilds the aggregated federation graph on a schedule. No dedicated server required.

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Part of the StaticFDP Ecosystem

Repository	GitHub	Codeberg	Layer
staticfdp	github.com/StaticFDP/staticfdp	codeberg.org/StaticFDP/staticfdp	FAIR Data Point
staticfdp-index	github.com/StaticFDP/staticfdp-index	codeberg.org/StaticFDP/staticfdp-index	FDP Index
staticfdp-vp ← you are here	github.com/StaticFDP/staticfdp-vp	codeberg.org/StaticFDP/staticfdp-vp	Virtual Platform

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How it works

1. Register — an FDP Index operator opens a GitHub Issue or submits a PR adding a YAML file to registered-indexes/
2. Aggregate — a scheduled CI pipeline (scripts/build_vp.py) fetches index.ttl from every registered FDP Index, merges the catalogs, and resolves each FDP's own catalog.ttl
3. Publish — the pipeline writes docs/vp/federation.ttl (the full federation graph) and docs/index.html (HTML search + browse), then commits; GitHub / Codeberg Pages serves the result immediately

flowchart TD
    A["FDP Index A\ne.g. rare disease community"]
    B["FDP Index B\ne.g. genomics community"]
    C["FDP Index C\ne.g. clinical data community"]
    PY["scripts/build_vp.py\nscheduled CI pipeline"]
    TTL["docs/vp/federation.ttl\nfull graph"]
    JSONLD["docs/vp/federation.jsonld"]
    HTML["docs/index.html\nsearch + browse UI"]

    A -->|"harvest"| PY
    B -->|"harvest"| PY
    C -->|"harvest"| PY
    PY --> TTL
    PY --> JSONLD
    PY --> HTML

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Quick start

GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/StaticFDP/staticfdp-vp
cd staticfdp-vp
bash scripts/setup.sh          # configure GitHub / Codeberg / both

Codeberg:

git clone https://codeberg.org/StaticFDP/staticfdp-vp
cd staticfdp-vp
bash scripts/setup.sh

Then:

1. Set secrets (GITHUB_TOKEN for GitHub Actions, FORGEJO_TOKEN for Woodpecker)
2. Enable GitHub Pages (branch main, path /docs)
3. Register FDP Indexes by opening Register FDP Index Issues

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Registering an FDP Index

Open an Issue using the Register FDP Index template and provide:

• Index name
• Index catalog URL (must resolve to valid Turtle or JSON-LD)
• Contact / maintainer

The aggregation pipeline runs daily and on every new registration.

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Configuration (vp-config.yaml)

virtual_platform:
  title: "My Virtual Platform"
  base_url: https://OWNER.github.io/staticfdp-vp
  publisher_name: "My Organisation"
  publisher_url: https://example.org/

infrastructure:
  primary: github          # github | codeberg | both
  github:
    enabled: true
    repo: OWNER/staticfdp-vp
    pages_url: https://OWNER.github.io/staticfdp-vp
  codeberg:
    enabled: false
    repo: OWNER/staticfdp-vp
    base_url: https://codeberg.org
    pages_url: https://OWNER.codeberg.page/staticfdp-vp

aggregate:
  schedule: "40 4 * * *"
  timeout_seconds: 30
  soft_fail: true

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Relation to the ELIXIR / GA4GH Virtual Platform

The FAIR Data Point Virtual Platform concept originates from the ELIXIR and GA4GH communities. The reference implementation uses a Java/Spring Boot server with Blazegraph. staticfdp-vp is a fully static alternative — same DCAT-AP semantics, no server required.

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Secrets required

Secret	Purpose
GITHUB_TOKEN	Commit generated files (GitHub Actions)
FORGEJO_TOKEN	Commit generated files (Woodpecker / Codeberg)

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Authors

This work was envisioned and built by:

Name	ORCID
Rajaram Kaliyaperumal
Eric G. Prud'hommeaux
Egon Willighagen
Andra Waagmeester

Machine-readable citation metadata is available in CITATION.cff and codemeta.json.

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License

MIT.