d4c-api

A multi-language client for accessing Canadian data. This repository provides a unified interface to fetch:

• Statistical data processed by the d4c-datapkg-statistical repository.

Purpose

The goal of this project is to provide a consistent way to query metadata and raw data across different programming environments. As the connectivity and retrieval layer for the Data for Canada (d4c) project, this API facilitates access to a decentralized, cloud-native open data infrastructure for Canada.

Core Technologies

This service layer is built to interface with modern cloud-native formats while maintaining broad compatibility:

• FAIR Data Catalogue: For cataloging and discovering underlying datasets.
• GeoParquet: An efficient, columnar storage format for vector data, providing the high-performance backend for our services.
• GeoZarr: For multidimensional data processing and visualization.
• HTTP & P2P: For efficient, decentralized data retrieval and backend distribution.

Multi-Language Support

The core connectivity logic is written in Rust and exported to other languages. This ensures that API calls, authentication methods, and data handling remain identical across all platforms.

• Rust: The core crate for direct system-level access and performance-critical tasks.
• Python: Idiomatic bindings.
• R: Native wrappers.
• Other.

Repository Structure

We separate the shared core from the language-specific wrappers:

• core/: Rust source code handling HTTP requests, API authentication, and decentralized protocol logic.
• bindings/: Language-specific implementations for Python, R, and Other.
• labs/: Experimental area for testing new API endpoints or protocol implementations.

Contributing

New features or bug fixes for API connections should be implemented in the core/ directory. Enhancements to the user experience for a specific language should be made in the bindings/ folder.

All contributors must be verified via Vouch before their pull requests are reviewed.