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arXiv Base

This project provides a base Flask application and base Docker image for arXiv-NG services.

Each component of this project must meet all the following criteria:

  1. It is likely that the component will be utilized in many or all arXiv services.
  2. Once stable, it is unlikely to change often.
  3. It is unlikely that implementing new features in specific services would require changes to the component.
  4. When a component does change, it must change in the same way for all the services that use it.

Base CSS and Templates for arXiv.org-NG

Templates are written in Jinja2 syntax. CSS framework is Bulma with arXiv-specific overrides for color and typography. While the .sass format has been used for override files, .scss files may also be imported and included.

These files set the default display styles and layout for all pages on arxiv-NG, and can be overridden as needed by submodules.

A template is included for rapid evaluation of display layer CSS within this repo, prepopulated with sample content. The styleguide.html template (route: /styleguide) shows error message samples, informational message boxes, and sample content from search.

Development server

This project includes a minimal Flask application for development verification/testing purposes. To run the dev server (assuming that you are working in the root of this repository):

<<<<<<< HEAD
poetry install
$ FLASK_APP=app.py FLASK_DEBUG=1 poetry run flask run
>>>>>>> master

You should be able to view the rendered styleguide.html at http://127.0.0.1:5000/styleguide.

Installing arxiv-base

To use the base package in a Flask application add it to your dependency manager. To use a specific version, for example, you would write:

arxiv-base = "==0.11.1rc5"

Or if you want to install a specific working branch (dev only) the line might read:

arxiv-base = {git = "https://github.com/arXiv/arxiv-base.git@task/ARXIVNG-1215"}

You can use pip from the command line to install a selected unpublished branch. First uninstall existing, then reinstall using pip syntax above. Example:

pip uninstall arxiv-base
pip install git+https://github.com/arXiv/arxiv-base.git@task/ARXIVNG-1010#egg=arxiv-base

Using arxiv-base with Flask

In your application factory, instantiate the Base component. This makes templates and static files available to you. For example, in your factory.py module:

from flask import Flask
from arxiv.base import Base

def create_web_app() -> Flask:
   app = Flask('mega_tool')
   app.config.from_pyfile('config.py')

   Base(app)   # Registers the base/UI blueprint.
   @app.route("/mega_tool")
   def mega_tool():
       # TODO use something from arxiv-base 
       return "<p>Mega_tool!</p>"

   return app

You can now extend base templates, e.g.:

{%- extends "base/base.html" %}

{% block content %}
Hello world!
{% endblock %}

And use static files in your templates, e.g.:

{{ url_for('base.static', filename='images/CUL-reduced-white-SMALL.svg') }}

Static files and paths

In order to serve static assets for multiple versions of the app at the same time, arxiv-base prefixes the app name and app version to asset urls. This is to allow gracefully upgrades with no broken links to css, js or images.

The Base component will automatically set your app's static_url_path using the name of the app and the value of APP VERSION in your config to /static/[app name]/[ app version ]. It will also rewrite blueprint static_url_path to /static/[app name]/[ app version ]/[ blueprint name].

Serving static files on S3

We use Flask-S3 to serve static files via S3. To deploy the assets for the current version:

pip install ./ AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=x
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=x+3RcGf1Oul66cwSJbZZcdZdEv0ZC9ax2
AWS_REGION=us-east-1 FLASKS3_BUCKET_NAME=arxiv-web-static1
python upload_static_assets.py

Be sure to initialize the integration after instantiating Base and registering your blueprints. For example:

# TODO just have a s3 script
# def create_web_app() -> Flask:
#     """Initialize and configure the application."""
# 
#     app = Flask('cool_app')
#     app.config.from_object(config)
#     Base(app)    # Gives us access to the base UI templates and resources.
#     app.register_blueprint(routes.blueprint)
#     s3.init_app(app)    # <- Down here!
#     return app

App tests

Some tests to check app configuration and pattern compliance are provided in arxiv.base.tests. See that module for usage. You can run them with the command pytest

Editing and compiling sass

The file arxivstyle.css should never be edited directly. It is compiled from arxivstyle.sass with this command from project directory root: sass arxiv/base/static/sass/arxivstyle.sass:arxiv/base/static/css/arxivstyle.css

or you can use the --watch option to autocompile on any changed file:

sass --watch arxiv/base/static/sass/arxivstyle.sass:arxiv/base/static/css/arxivstyle.css

Bulma source files are included in the static/sass directory so that variables can be overridden directly during compile. The arxivstyle.sass file has been written to do this; do not edit it.

Documentation for sass

Layout features, tips and tricks

Beta watermark

Adding class="beta" to the main content div will create a beta watermark at the top left of pages having this class.

Upload to pypi

pip install --upgrade setuptools wheel twine
python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
twine --upload dist/*  # Enter username and password from lastpass