Aircraft Data Hierarchy

The Aircraft Data Hierarchy (ADH) is a modern data definition standard for the aerospace vehicle design studies. The ADH enables engineers to exchange information (i.e. geometry, disciplinary tool inputs/outputs, requirements, etc.) between tools using a common data structure and a schema that can be validated. This structured system allows not only more efficient data transfer within an integrated workflow, but also improved collaboration between entities that utilize the ADH standard. The ADH is specifically architected to align the high-level needs of systems analysis (i.e., MDAO) and systems engineering (i.e., MBSE) including having a recursive structure. It includes modern programming features such as schema definition and validation using pydantic and support for JSON, YAML, and XML persistence files. Utility methods are being developed that will make the reading, writing, and manipulation of the ADH in python simple and straightforward.

To use the ADH you need to use Python 3.8 or higher and Pydantic v2.

The foundational structure of the ADH is provided by Pydantic v2 classes, ensuring a single source of data that is self-validating to manage the quality of the data. This approach makes the complexity of Aircraft Design in a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) environment more transparent and intuitive.

Documentation

TODO

Getting Started as a Developer

Cloning the Aircraft Data Hierarchy Repository

The sections Setting Up The Python Environment, Building The Aircraft Data Hierarchy Package, and Testing assume you have a local copy of the Aircraft Data Hierarchy repository. Begin by cloning the latest version of the package:

git clone https://github.com/Boeing/aircraft-data-hierarchy

By default the cloned project directory created will be named aircraft-data-hierarchy

Setting Up The Python Environment

To ensure a clean and isolated environment for running the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package, we recommend you create a new Anaconda environment. If you wish to skip creating an Anaconda environment continue to Step 5 of this section.

1. Open a command or Anaconda Prompt.

2. Create a new Anaconda environment:

conda create -n your-environment-name

Replacing your-environment-name with the desired name for your environment.

3. Activate the new environment:

conda activate your-environment-name

4. Navigate to the project directory:

cd aircraft-data-hierarchy

5. Install the required packages from the requirements.txt file.

In some cases pip will not be automatically installed when creating the new environment. If that is the case for you, install pip using conda.

conda install pip

Once you have pip, install the package dependencies.

pip install -r requirements.txt

Alternatively you can install the dependencies specified in the pyproject.yml file.

pip install .

This will install all the dependencies specified for the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package.

Building The Aircraft Data Hierarchy Package

To get started with the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the project directory:

cd aircraft-data-hierarchy

2. Build the package using Python build:

python -m build

This will create a dist directory containing the built distribution files.

3. Install the package using pip:

pip install dist/your-package-name-<version>.whl

Replace with the actual version number of the package wheel file from Step 3.

4. Now you can import and use the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package in your Python code:

from aircraft_data_hierarchy.common_base_model import Metadata, CommonBaseModel

Testing

You are encouraged to run the unit tests to ensure the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package is working correctly. Use the following steps to run the tests:

1. Navigate to the cloned project directory:

cd aircraft-data-hierarchy

2. Install the required testing packages:

Test dependencies are specified in the pyproject.yml file.

pip install .[test]

3. Run tests

pytest

This command will automatically discover and run all the tests in the project directory.

4. Review the test results

The pytest framework will provide detailed information about the tests that passed or failed. If the Aircraft Data Hierarchy package was installed correctly and everything works, you should see all tests pass.