Citadel on the Move

vous aide à tirer partie des Données Ouvertes pour créer des Applications Mobiles qui rendent votre ville plus "intelligente"

    Tutoriel 1 : Trouvez et préparez les données

    The first step on getting data displayed on your mobile app is actually to get the data, and make it compliant with the converter.

    How to find data ?

    This can be achieved in various ways : you may already have some data you'd like to put on a map (such as a spreadsheet or a list of places), or you can get existing files on data portals. All you need is data that contains a location or an address.

    How should the data look like ?

    Once you've got your data file, you need to check that it meet the (few) pre-requisites so you will be able to convert it. Note this is really the trickiest part of the process, as having the rest of the process is pretty straight-forward.

    Troubleshooting tips

    Character encoding

    Completeness of the file

    All of the fields required by the JSON schema must be filled in every row:

    Latitude and Longitude

    The coordinates in the original file must be in one of two ways:

    1. Latitude and longitude can be in two separate columns. In this case, the Citadel JSON format can be “created” by first dragging “Latitude”, then dragging “Custom text” and typing in a space, finally dragging “Longitude”.
    2. Otherwise the original file can already contain the correct formatting, namely latitude and longitude separated by a space. In this case you simply drag “Geographical Coordinates”.
    3. Any other formatting (ie separated by a comma, a semicolon or whatever) will not work since it is not recognized by the Citadel JSON schema.

      Coordinate values

      The coordinates can be without a sign or with a minus sign, and can range from -90 (or -90.0 or -90.00) until 90 (or 90.0 or 90.00) and, in a similar fashion, from -180 to 180, with any number of decimals. Note that coherence with these values is checked during validation (not during conversion) and if there is an error it is not possible to download (or upload) the file.



      Tutoriel 2 : Convertissez les données

      Converting process

      Use the Citadel table to JSON Converter tool to convert your CSV or XLS files into Citadel JSON that will be directly usable into your apps (see Converter tutorials, FAQ and How-tos)

      Watch a screencast that demonstrate how to use the converter (Quicktime required)

      Note : there are some less visible features or useful tips to make the most out of the converter. Here are a few common tips, but please refer to the Community forum and FAQ for detailed documentation and discussion.

      • The conversion process is a 2-step process : first step is the fields mapping, which associates the CSV columns to a list of fields used by the Citadel mobile application templates. The second step let's you complete the metadata fields (licence, author, etc.), and define in more details which fields should be used to display information on the mobile application. E.g.: This way you can use several field in marker popups by adding them to the Description field.
      • Geographical coordinates : if you have 2 separate "latitude" and "longitude" fields, you will need to "merge" them at step 2. To to that, drop the latitude field into the Geo coordinates, then drop the longitude field.

      Sample files

      These files all come from real life situations in each of the four pilot cities. Each file introduces something a little new so users can learn different functionalities one at a time.

      • 1. Sortir le soir à Issy: this is a classic demo file that converts smoothly, with geographical coordinates in one column
      • 2. Galleries in Athens: this file (that required a bit of reworking since the original is full of null values) has latitude and longitude in two separate columns so you put first one then the other into Geographical Coordinates when converting.
      • 3. Manchester libraries: this file is a CSV as published in the Manchester City Council website. It's missing a column with POI categories (a required field for the AGT), so you have to add it yourself; you simply drag "Custom text" over to "POI categories" and then manually type in "libraries".
      • 4. Sportcentres in Ghent: this is also a CSV from the Ghent open data hub. It has not only latitude and longitude (but we learned that with n. 2) but also street names and street numbers under separate colums. It will convert successfully if you only put "Straat" or even "Straat" followed by "nr" in the Address field, but the result is much better if you first put "Straat", then "Custom text" inserting a comma and space, and finally "nr".


      Tutoriel 3 : Utilisez AGT pour créer une application

      If you've got that far, this is the easiest part:

      1. Please log in to the platform. You can create an account in a minute if you don't have one yet.
      2. Use the Publish your Data menu to publish your converted file on the platform.
      3. Then click on Create an app, and fill the form :
        1. select your desired city
        2. select the dataset you want to display ; note you can select multiple datasets, and switch cities in the process to get datasets from various cities
        3. select the 2 main colors for your app interface
        4. find a nice icon to represent your app
        5. name and describe the app...
      4. Click on the submit button, and you're done ! It's that simple.

      You'll certainly want to repeat the process a few times to try different datasets, combine datasets, or get back to the first 2 steps to adjust your raw or converted data to your needs.



      Tutoriel 4 : Forkez et modifiez une application

      Once you've played with the Application Generation Tool, you might want to get a bit further and probably host the application on your own server. This is were the templates matter : they basically provide the same kind of applications as the AGT, but you will be able to download them, and put them where you want. Furthermore, templates are fully reusable, so you can tweak them to include your town or organization logo, change the styles, interface, etc.