[Project] Intergalactic Astronomical Union EDMC Plugin (Open Beta)

[Deleted member 240115]

Fellow explorers,

The Intergalactic Astronomical Union [IGAU] is proud to announce the open beta of our upcoming EDMC plugin. "ATEL-EDMC"

Our plugin will perform two very simple functions:

1.) Collect Codex Discovery data in order to build a simple, and PUBLIC discovery database for the use of all CMDR's.
2.) Provide a mechanism for CMDR's to send a public discovery announcement (Astronomical Telegram) for unique finds of significant value to the exploration community.

Our Codex Discovery database does not store CMDR details, and cannot be used to "stalk" individual CMDR's. We only store "timestamp", "discovery name", and "system".
The plugin is open source, and the code is available for full review on the IGAU GitHub Page: https://github.com/Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC/releases

If you are an explorer, and use EDMC/EDSM, please grab the beta release of our plugin.
Installation is simple (unpack a zip file in the EDMC plugins directory).
Together we can all build an amazing discovery database for our exploration community.

 

[Athum]

Could you please provide some screenshots and more info? I'm not clearly understand how exactly my EDMC plugin will look like after install yours and where my data will be shown

 

[Deleted member 240115]

Sure thing.

This is what the plugin looks like while waiting for a discovery ( I also run habzone plugin)

This is what EDMC's settings page looks like after install (I have another plugin I'm helping with, not ready for public release):

Here's what happens when a discovery is made:

And the corresponding entry in IGAU's database:

Sample database export file (csv) IGAU_Codex_Sample_0.csv

I'm going to be announcing the public API endpoint for querying the database soon. I may also try to work up a "journal import" utility that can take all codexEntry lines from the journal and import them to the IGAU database. Would be nice to get some "backfill" into the database from the past couple of years.

 

[recrudesce]

Why not report these discoveries to EDSM rather than running your own separate database ?

 

[marx]

Why not report these discoveries to EDSM rather than running your own separate database ?

Well, they are reported to EDSM too (this is an EDMC plugin, after all), and this is for the purpose of building a public downloadable database of Codex-related entries. Unfortunately, EDSM doesn't offer that, that's where this could help. It's not about building competing databases or anything, but about collaborating for the benefit of everyone.

Speaking of which, there'll also be the telegram function. It should be a handy system for explorers to easily and quickly announce if they found something they think is worth sharing. Then those are available to all, and anyone can look through them to see if they find something of interest to them too.

 

[recrudesce]

OK, I was worried that the information was being stored independently - don't want to start having to visit 13 different sites for information when 1 is enough.

I'm sure a Codex API is on the cards for EDSM, especially considering it's collecting the data.

 

[Deleted member 240115]

Yes. it's entirely possible that EDSM COULD start providing that data, since they do store discovery data.
That being said, so far it hasn't seemed likely to happen any time soon, possibly due to demands on EDSM's infrastructure.

We've reached out to EDSM since no matter which way this goes, they'd be an important partner in this endeavor.

 

[Deleted member 240115]

I've posted Beta 4 for download at https://github.com/Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC/releases
Already using ATEL-EDMC? It's easy to upgrade - Open EDMC -> Settings -> [ATEL] - Click Upgrade, then restart EDMC
(We'll be working on an auto-update feature soon!)

Discovery reporting is working perfectly, and our first release of the public Data Catalog is available here:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elite-IGAU/publications/master/IGAU_Codex.csv

We're currently testing the "ATEL" public discovery report function, and that has been going well.

The ATEL report function is designed to post a short bulletin about unique/interesting finds or to announce a discovery immediately.
We've modeled the reporting function to be similar to "real life" Astronomical Telegrams ( http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/ )
A few test entries are available to review at: https://elite-dangerous-iau.fandom.com/wiki/Category:GBET

If you'd like to help with development efforts, provide feedback, or report an issue, the project page is at:

GitHub - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC: A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com

A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

We will likely be announcing the full 1.0 release by month's end.

Lastly, explorers are more than welcome to stop by our discord and join our squadron [IGAU]
The Intergalactic Astronomical Union is always open to explorers, Aimless, Elite, or anything in between.

Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games

Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.

discord.gg

 

[Deleted member 240115]

.

 

[Deleted member 240115]

The ATEL-EDMC plugin is just about where we want it to be, so we're moving ahead with the 1.x release tree.
If you are running the plugin currently, open up EDMC, Settings -> [ATEL] -> [Upgrade] (restart EDMC)

If you aren't currently running the plugin, the latest release is here:

Releases · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

Latest discovery catalog update is available at: https://github.com/Elite-IGAU/publications

 

[Deleted member 240115]

Version 1.08 was released today. I updated some of the interface text to be more intuitive. Most people using 1.x releases will auto update upon EDMC startup.
If you happen to be on an older beta release, or want to help contribute data, the latest release is here:

Releases · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

 

[Deleted member 240115]

Hi Folks,

A quick update:

For those who don't write code, a bit of backstory. Elite Dangerous Market Connector plugins are written mostly in Python.
Over the past TEN years, the Python group has been trying to get everyone to migrate from Python 2.x to Python 3.x

As of Jan 1st 2020, Python 2.x is considered "dead". ( https://pythonclock.org/ )

What does this mean for us? Those of us running EDMC at some point will need to upgrade EDMC to a newer version.
You can see the current (python 2.7) release and a python 3 release candidate here:

Releases · EDCD/EDMarketConnector

Downloads commodity market and other station data from the game Elite: Dangerous for use with all popular online and offline trading tools. - EDCD/EDMarketConnector

github.com

Python 3 changes how many libraries work, as well as introducing syntax changes.
Plugin Authors have been hard at work updating their code to work with the new 3.5x versions of EDMC.

To that end, I have a release candidate ( 1.20 ) that should work with either version of EDMC.

ATEL-EDMC/ATEL/load.py at master · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

If you are on EDMC 3.4.3, and running our plugin, replace your current "load.py" file in the EDMC plugins "ATEL" directory with the one listed above

If you'd like to test EDMC 3.5, you can get it here: https://github.com/Marginal/EDMarketConnector/releases/tag/rel-350-0
A quick warning - if you are using several plugins, you should check for Python 3 compatibility with the author before installing EDMC 3.5

Same procedure for installing plugins on either version of EDMC

We at IGAU are happy to answer any question you may have about the plugin, and/or Python 3 compatibility. Hop on over to our Discord (link in sig block).

Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 240115]

A quick heads up that I've promoted version 1.20 to version 1.23, which supports EDMC 3.43 and 3.50:
Folks running version 1.09 should auto update to version 1.23 at next EDMC restart.

Releases · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

A simple EDMC plugin to automatically collect discovery data for publication by the Intergalactic Astronomical Union and EDAstro.com - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

 

[Deleted member 240115]

One more update. We've published the final 1.2x release for EDMC 3.43 at:

Release ATEL-EDMC Version 1.29 (Final) · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

NOTE: As of Feb 28th, 2020 this version is no longer being actively maintained. If possible, migrate to: EDMC 3.5 (https://github.com/Marginal/EDMarketConnector/releases/tag/rel-350-0) ATEL Version...

github.com

Our LATEST release of ATEL-EDMC, and the supported and maintained version moving forward is version 1.31 for EDMC 3.50 at:

Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

EDMC plugin which automatically collects "Codex" discovery data, and (optionally) posts public Astronomical Discovery "Telegram" style notices - Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

github.com

 

[Deleted member 240115]

Minor update from 1.31 to 1.32 for EDMC 3.50 beta.

Release ATEL-EDMC Version 1.32 (Latest Release) · Elite-IGAU/ATEL-EDMC

NOTE: As of Feb 1st, 2020, Version 1.3x is the ACTIVE development tree, built for EDMC 3.5x (https://github.com/Marginal/EDMarketConnector/releases/tag/rel-350-0) A simple EDMC plugin to automatica...

github.com

 

[Deleted member 240115]

As a quick aside, for those who don't use EDMC, you can also ship data to the IGAU through EDDiscovery, or Elite Observatory.

For those who are concerned with discovery sniping or being stalked we post updated database dumps monthly at:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Elite-IGAU/publications/master/IGAU_Codex.csv

We do NOT collect any CMDR data, or personally identifiable information (PII).

You do NOT have to send data to EDDN or EDSM to contribute data to the IGAU Codex Catalog. All you have to do is run our EDMC plugin, or enable the "send to IGAU" option in EDDiscovery, or Elite Observatory.