PyRCS: an open-source tool for collecting railway codes used in different UK rail industry systems

PyRCS is an open-source Python package designed to simplify the collection and management of diverse codes used in different systems within the UK rail industry. It serves as a practical toolkit for researchers, practitioners, and individuals who frequently interact with the Railway Codes website and work extensively with railway codes in the UK. Leveraging the capabilities of the Python programming language, PyRCS enables efficient access to and manipulation of railway code data, enhancing productivity and effectiveness in working with these codes.

During installation, PyRCS includes a set of pre-packaged data. When users request data from a specific category listed on the Railway Codes website, PyRCS automatically loads the corresponding pre-packaged data for that category by default. Additionally, it provides functionality that enables direct access to the latest data from the data source website, ensuring users can stay updated with the most current information. Furthermore, PyRCS users can conveniently update the relevant pre-packaged data, keeping their data resources synchronized with the latest developments.

With PyRCS, users can leverage Python's power to streamline workflows and enhance productivity when working with railway codes in the UK rail industry.

 

This release:

0.3.7 (16 September 2023)

      Notable changes since 0.3.6:

• Enhanced the functions get_site_map() and parse_tr() in the parser module.
• Fixed potential bugs and made improvements to various classes.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.7 documentation.

 

Release history:

0.3.6 (10 June 2023)

      Notable changes since 0.3.5:

• Improved the following functions and classes with bug fixes:
  • parse_tr() in the module parser;
  • format_err_msg() in the module utils;
  • Stations in the module other_assets.station;
  • LocationIdentifiers in the module line_data.loc_id.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.6 documentation.

0.3.5 (26 February 2023)

      Notable changes since 0.3.4:

• Improved the following function and methods with bug fixes:
  • kilometer_to_yard() in the module utils;
  • LocationIdentifiers.collect_codes_by_initial();
  • ELRMileages.collect_mileage_file().

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.5 documentation.

0.3.4 (9 January 2023)

      Notable changes since 0.3.3:

• Improved the modules collector and _updater with a bug fix.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.4 documentation.

0.3.3 (15 November 2022)

      Notable changes since 0.3.2:

• Fixed a major bug in the function parse_tr() in the module parser.
• Improved the following classes with bug fixes: LocationIdentifiers, LOR and Stations.
• Transform the function parse_location_name() into a class method LocationIdentifiers.parse_location_name().

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.3 documentation.

0.3.2 (18 August 2022)

      Notable changes since 0.3.1:

• Fixed a few minor bugs.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.2 documentation.

0.3.1 (14 June 2022)

      Notable changes since 0.3.0:

• Updated import statements due to a major change in the dependency package PyHelpers.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.1 documentation.

0.3.0 (16 May 2022)

      Notable changes since 0.2.15:

• Split the module old utils into three new modules: utils, converter and parser.
• Made extensive modifications (with bug fixes).

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.3.0 documentation.

0.2.15 (27 March 2021)

      Notable changes since 0.2.14:

• Changed the dependency requirements for the package.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.15 documentation.

0.2.14 (22 March 2021)

      Notable changes since 0.2.13:

• Improved the following functions and class methods with bug fixes:
  • get_site_map() and get_catalogue() in the module utils;
  • LocationIdentifiers.collect_loc_codes_by_initial();
  • Stations.collect_station_data_by_initial().

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.14 documentation.

0.2.13 (9 January 2021)

      Notable changes since 0.2.12:

• Improved the following functions and classes/methods with bug fixes:
  • parse_tr() and parse_date() in the module utils;
  • Electrification.get_indep_line_names(), ELRMileage.collect_mileage_file() and LOR.collect_elr_lor_converter() in the sub-package line_data;
  • Depots.collect_four_digit_pre_tops_codes, Tunnels.parse_length() and Stations in the sub-package other_assets.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.13 documentation.

0.2.12 (11 November 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.11:

• Enabled an offline mode (when Internet connection is lost).
• Renamed the following:
  • class methods:
    • in the class SignalBoxes:
      • .collect_signal_box_prefix_codes() to .collect_prefix_codes();
      • .fetch_signal_box_prefix_codes() to .fetch_prefix_codes();
    • in the class Tunnels:
      • .collect_tunnel_lengths_by_page() to .collect_lengths_by_page();
    • in the class Viaducts:
      • .collect_railway_viaducts_by_page() to .collect_viaduct_codes_by_page();
      • .fetch_railway_viaducts() to .fetch_viaduct_codes();
  • functions in the module utils:
    • fetch_location_names_repl_dict() to fetch_loc_names_repl_dict();
    • update_location_name_repl_dict() to update_loc_names_repl_dict().
• Removed the functions collect_site_map() and fetch_site_map() from the module updater.
• Added the following:
  • a new module collector - combining two modules _line_data and _other_assets;
  • new functions print_connection_error(), print_conn_err(), is_internet_connected() and get_site_map() to the module utils;
  • a new method TrackDiagrams.get_track_diagrams_items() - adapted from the function get_track_diagrams_items() previously in the module utils.
• Enabled direct access to all classes from importing the package, without having to specifying the sub-modules in which they each reside.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.12 documentation.

0.2.11 (31 October 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.10:

• Renamed the following methods of the class Stations:
  • .collect_railway_station_data_by_initial() to .collect_station_data_by_initial();
  • .fetch_railway_station_data() to .fetch_station_data().

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.11 documentation.

0.2.10 (25 October 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.9:

• Renamed the following sub-modules (with minor modifications):
  • crs_nlc_tiploc_stanox to loc_id;
  • electrification to elec;
  • track_diagrams to trk_diagr;
  • tunnels to tunnel.
• Renamed the following modules (without modifications):
  • elrs_mileages to elr_mileage;
  • line_names to line_name;
  • lor_codes to lor_code;
  • depots to depot;
  • features to feature;
  • signal_boxes to sig_box;
  • stations to station;
  • viaducts to viaduct.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.10 documentation.

0.2.9 (13 September 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.8:

• Updated pre-packed data

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.9 documentation.

0.2.8 (13 September 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.7:

• Removed the function fake_requests_headers() from the module utils.
• Made modifications with bug fixes to:
  • the class ELRMileages in the sub-module elrs_mileages;
  • the function nr_mileage_num_to_str() in the module utils.
• Improved all sub-modules with any specified input data directory being validated.
• Added a new function fix_nr_mileage_str() to the module utils.

      For more information and detailed specifications, check out PyRCS 0.2.8 documentation.

0.2.7 (18 July 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.6:

• Renamed the sub-packages (with modifications to all of their sub-modules):
  • line_data_cls to line_data;
  • other_assets_cls to other_assets.
• Renamed the modules:
  • line_data to _line_data;
  • other_assets to _other_assets;
  • update to updater.
• Renamed the function update_pkg_metadata() to update_backup_data() in the module updater.
• Removed the module rc_psql.
• Improved the module utils with bug fixes.
• Added new functions:
  • collect_site_map() and fetch_site_map() to the module updater;
  • homepage_url() to the module utils.

0.2.6 (8 March 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.5:

• Added a new function fix_num_stanox() to the module utils.

0.2.5 (10 January 2020)

      Notable changes since 0.2.4:

• Renamed the function update_package_data() to update_pkg_metadata() in the module update.
• Improved the keys of the dict-type data for relevant methods of the two classes: ELRMileages and SignalBoxes.

0.2.4 (4 December 2019)

      Notable changes since 0.2.3:

• Removed the module settings.
• Updated import statements in some modules/sub-modules due to changes in their dependencies.
• Made some modifications to a few sub-modules due to changes in the corresponding web pages of the Railway Codes website.

0.2.3 (4 October 2019)

      Notable changes since 0.2.2:

• Fixed a few bugs in the module utils.

0.2.2 (27 September 2019)

      Notable changes since 0.2.1:

• Improved the methods .collect_mileage_file_by_elr() and .get_conn_mileages() of the class ELRMileages with bug fixes.

0.2.1 (18 September 2019)

      Notable changes since 0.2.0:

• Removed the function is_float() from the module utils.
• Added new functions:
  • is_str_float() to the module elrs_mileages;
  • fetch_location_names_repl_dict() and update_location_name_repl_dict() to the module utils.

0.2.0 (29 August 2019)

      This is a release of a brand-new version.

      Note that the initial releases (of early versions up to 0.1.28) had been permanently deleted.