Prototyping Python Dashboards for Scientists and Engineers

Create interactive and data-driven dashboards using Python. This hands-on guide is a practical resource for those (with modest programming skills) in scientific and engineering fields looking to leverage Python's power for data visualization and analysis in a user-friendly dashboard format.

You’ll begin by gaining a fundamental understanding of Python programming, including data types, lists, dictionaries, and data structures. The book then delves into the world of reactive programming with Plotly and Dash, offering a hands-on approach to building interactive web-based dashboards. Next, you’ll see how to work with online data, how to scrape and clean datasets, and keep files up-to-date.

The book also guides you through planning a dashboard prototype, outlining project tasks, trends, forecasts, spectra, and other design considerations. It concludes with a discussion of how the dashboard can be used for data visualization of real data, explaining the usefulness of tools such as spectra.

By providing detailed examples for download and customization, Prototyping Python Dashboards for Scientists and Engineers will equip you with the skills needed to jumpstart your own development efforts.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

* Design a dashboard with Python
* Convert and filter Excel formatted files to produce CSV files
* Create browser-served graphics with PLOTLY
* Generate polynomial trend lines for forecasting
* Build a Unix service to share your dashboard

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

Scientists, engineers, students, programmers, and data enthusiasts who aspire to harness Python's potential for data visualization and analysis through the creation of interactive dashboards. Many will be pragmatic programmers with modest skills and limited resources who mainly want to see a working solution they could emulate.

Padraig Houlahan has a diverse career, spanning research, teaching, and I.T. management. He has worn multiple hats over the years, functioning as a scientist, software developer, college professor, flight instructor, and I.T. director. Throughout his journey, he has maintained an enduring fascination with the art of uncovering patterns within data. His Ph.D. research introduced an innovative pattern recognition approach for dissecting the structure of astronomical nebulae. In parallel, his M.A. endeavor involved the endeavor of identifying gravitational waves within Lunar Laser Ranging data.In recent times, his focus has pivoted toward aviation-centric software projects. These ventures involve real-time tracking and visualization of aircraft to aid in traffic flow analysis. Furthermore, he has played a pivotal role in rendering extensive datasets accessible to both students and faculty, benefiting airline and airport operators alike. Teaching has always held a special place in his heart, driven by the joy of witnessing students derive satisfaction from acquiring new knowledge and insights.

PROTOTYPING PYTHON DASHBOARDS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

CHAPTER 1 WORKING WITH PYTHON

* Coding design, Python, and OOD
* Python Data Types
* Sets
* Lists
* Dictionaries
* Series
* Dataframes

CHAPTER 2 REACTIVE PROGRAMMING WITH PLOTLY AND DASH

* Getting Started with PLOTLY
* Getting Started with DASH

CHAPTER 3 WORKING WITH ONLINE DATA

* About the ATADS dataset
* Screen-scraping
* Converting Excel to CSV with Data Cleanup
* Managing and keeping our files up to date

CHAPTER 4 PLANNING THE DASHBOARD PROTOTYPE

* Overview
* Project Tasks
* Trends and Forecasts
* Other Design Considerations

CHAPTER 5 OUR FIRST DASHBOARD

* The atads.py file
* The atads_layout Class
* The atads_figures Class
* Fine Tuning with CSS

CHAPTER 6 DASHBOARD ENHANCEMENTS

* Adding the banner and the instruction panels
* Monthly and Weekday Histogram panels
* The Spectrum Panel
* The final ads dashboard

CHAPTER 7 HOSTING THE PROTOTYPE ON A UNIX SERVER

* Creating the Python environment
* Running a Flask service
* Adding Nginx
* Using GUNICORN
* Creating a system service
* Securing your server with Fail2Ban

CHAPTER 8 CREATING A WEB PORTAL

* Installing MYSQL
* Working with WordPress

CHAPTER 9 WORKING WITH OTHER DATASETS