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Using the webpage-template branch to develop a webpage

The webpage-template branch includes template code - files and functions - that are designed to make it easier for a contributor who is unfamiliar with web development to write a new page for the JWQL web application.

These template resources both 1) make up a kind of webpage-skeleton that can be used as a foundation and built upon and 2) contain example code that is hopefully useful.

The files and functions on the webpage-template branch that are designed to be edited are the following:

Template File/Function Description Location
HTML template file containing HTML used to render web page content (text, links, photos, tables, etc.) jwql/website/apps/jwql/templates/WEBPAGE_TEMPLATE.html
view function template python function that passes data to an HTML template website_template() in jwql/website/apps/jwql/views.py
URL entry template list item that maps a URL to a view jwql/website/apps/jwql/urls.py
data container function python function that manipulates data for the view function website_template_data() in jwql/website/apps/jwql/data_containers.py

To learn more about topics like HTML templates, views, and URLs, see the JWQL intro to web apps.

How to view the template content

  1. Make sure you have a fork of the jwql repo that points to spacetelescope/jwql as upstream. (See the contribution guide if you need to set this up.)

  2. Create a copy of the webpage-template branch and set it up to push to your fork:

    git checkout -b <your_desired_branch_name> upstream/webpage-template
git push -u origin <your_desired_branch_name>

  3. Activate your jwql virtual environment:

    source activate jwql

  4. Start a local server to run the web app:

    python jwql/website/manage.py runserver

  5. Open the template web page in your browser: http://127.0.0.1:8000/webpage_template

How to customize the template content

Even though we present these as separate steps here, don't take them as strictly chronological. It is often easiest to edit a webpage's HTML, view, and supporting functions all at the same time, so you can see how they affect one another.

1. Update urls.py to point to the desired URL

  • Change the string and the name= argument in the path() function to be the desired URL name.

  • If you want to make a nested URL, (e.g. miri/my_web_page), look at other URLs in urls.py for examples.

  • Be sure to check that the paths are ordered such that the URL dispatcher can find them all correctly. Reorder them if this is not the case!

2. Update the view and data container functions

  • Update the data_containers.webpage_template_data() function to be useful to you. Read in the contents of files, query the MAST archive, or use the functions in the jwql package! Be sure to return the data you need so that it is easily accessible with a function call.

  • Import this data in views.webpage_template(). Add any new entries to the context dictionary so your data will be passed to your HTML web page.

  • Change the data container function name in data_containers.py to a more descriptive name than webpage_template_data(), and be sure to change the import statement and function calls in views.py to match your new function name.

  • Change the view function name in views.py to a more descriptive name than webpage_template(), and be sure to change the entry in urls.py to match your new view name.

3. Update the HTML template

  • Play around with WEBPAGE_TEMPLATE.html to display the information that you have passed in from views.py. If you are confused about how to access your data and structure the template, take a look at the Jinja template documentation. Don't be afraid to add new text, links, buttons, or Bokeh plots. Use the local server that you set up above to see the changes you make in your browser.

  • Change the HTML template name to a more descriptive name than WEBPAGE_TEMPLATE.html. Be sure to change the template variable in your view to match your new template name.

4. Share your work!

  • When you are ready to share your new page to the JWQL team for review, follow the directions on our Contribution Guide to submit a pull request.

Helpful Resources for Web Development

If you have questions about any part of this guide, please contact lchambers@stsci.edu and bourque@stsci.edu.