lab-descriptor.org

Lab Descriptor

Introduction

Lab Descriptor is a json file that contains information about generation, and deployment of lab pages and related experiments.

Lab Descriptor Structure

Field	Sub Field	Type	Description
boradArea	name	String	Broad Area (Domain) name
	link	URL	Link to the page on vlab.co.in that
			lists all labs in the domain.
baseUrl		URL	A URL has host and url-path. baseUrl
			contains the host part of the lab.
lab		String	Lab name used in google analytics.
lab_display_name		String	Lab name as displayed on lab pages.
deployLab		Boolean	Should the lab be deployed?
phase		number	Virtual Labs Phase
collegeName		String	Name of authoring college.
introduction		String	Contents of the Introduction.html page.
experiments		List Experiment	List of Experiments. Each item in this list
			is an Experiment object. Experiment object
			is described here. This list is used for
			populating the List Of Experiments.html page
			and for deployment of experiments.
experiment-sections	sect-name	String	This is required when list of experiments is a
			nested list. (ex: Data Structures Lab). Otherwise
			just use experiments and ommit
			experiment-sections.
	experiments	List Experiment	List of experiments in a section.
targetAudience	UG	List String	List of UG degrees, that the lab is targeted
			towards.
	PG	List String	List of PG degrees that the lab is targeted
			towards.
objective [optional]		String	Content for Objective.html page. This field is
			optional. If this is omitted then Objective.html
			page is not generated.
courseAlignment	description	String	Content for Course Alignment.html page.
	universities	List String	Content for Course Alignment.html page.

Experiment

Each experiment record should contain the following information:

Field	Type	Source	Description
name	String	Hosting Request	Name of the Experiment as displayed on
			the Experiment pages.
short-name	String	Hosting Engineer	Unique short name for the experiment.
			Used in the url path for the experiment.
repo	URL	Hosting Request	URL of the remote repository for the
			experiment sources.
tag	String	Hosting Request	Tag of the repository to be used.
deploy	Boolean	Hosting Engineer	Should the experiment be deployed.

The information comes from two sources: Hosting Request and Hosting Engineer. The hosting engineer has to provide a unique short-name for the experiment which is used for the experiment deployment path. All other values should be taken from the Hosting Request.

Example

   {
       "name": "Performance Characteristics of Centrifugal Pump",
       "short-name": "centrifugal-pump",
       "repo": "http://vlabs.ac.in/gitlab/central-hosting/fluid/centrifugal-pump-nitk.git",
       "tag": "v1.0.1",
	 "deploy": true
   }

Empty Lab descriptor

Following is a lab descriptor file which has not been filled. Use this as a starting point to create the lab descriptor for your lab.

   {
       "broadArea": {
           "name": "",
           "link": ""
       },
	"lab": "",
	"lab_display_name": "",
       "deployLab": ,
	"phase": ,
	"collegeName": "",
       "baseUrl": "",
       "introduction": "",
       "experiments": [],
       "targetAudience": {
           "UG": [],
           "PG": []
       },
       "objective": "",
       "courseAlignment": {
           "description": "",
           "universities": []
       }
   }

Sample Lab Descriptor

Following lab descriptor is used for testing.

   {
       "broadArea": {
           "name": "Civil Engineering",
           "link": "http://vlab.co.in/broad-area-civil-engineering"
       },
       "lab": "Fluid Machinery",
	"lab_display_name": "Fluid Machinery",
	"deployLab":true,
       "phase": 3,
       "collegeName": "NITS",
       "baseUrl": "http://localhost",
       "introduction": "Welcome to fluid macninery lab!",
       "experiments": [
           {
               "name": "Performance Characteristics of Centrifugal Pump",
               "short-name": "centrifugal-pump",
               "repo": "http://vlabs.iitb.ac.in/gitlab/vlabs-dev-central-hosting/fluid-machinery-nitk/performance-characteristics-centrifugal-pump-nitk.git",
               "tag": "v1.0.0",
               "deploy": true
           },
           {
               "name": "Performance Characteristics of Hydraulic Ram",
               "short-name": "hydraulic-ram",
               "repo": "http://vlabs.iitb.ac.in/gitlab/vlabs-dev-central-hosting/fluid-machinery-nitk/performance-characteristics-hydraulic-ram-nitk.git",
               "tag": "v1.0.0",
               "deploy": true
           }
       ],
       "targetAudience": {
           "UG": [
               "B. Tech./ B.E in Civil Engineering"
           ],
           "PG": [
               "MS/Ph. D. Beginners in Civil Engineering and related topics"
           ]
       },
       "objective": "Hello World.",
       "courseAlignment": {
           "description": "course are listed here:",
           "universities": [
               "Visvesvaraya Technological University Karnataka",
               "National Institute of Technology Karnataka Karnataka",
               "Anna University Tamil Nadu",
               "SRM University Delhi - NCR Sonepat Haryana",
               "University of Kerala Kerala",
               "APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Kerala",
               "CUSAT Kerala"
           ]
       }
   }