drgfreeman/yamldash

A simple, interactive, web based YAML validator

YAMLDash

A simple, interactive, web based YAML validator.

The application uses the following Python packages:

• Plotly Dash framework to generate the interactive web application.
• Dash Bootstrap Components for the layout and styling.
• PyYAML for parsing the YAML content.
• jsonschema for the schema validation.

The schema validation is performed by first loading both the YAML content and Schema (in YAML format) into Python dictionaries and then using the jsonschema package to validate the dictionary of the YAML content against that of the schema.

Usage

Online instance

An online instance is running at https://apps.urandom.xyz/yaml.

Execution from source

Clone or download the repository, then, from the root of the the repository, install the yamldash package using pip:

$ pip install .[server]

Launch the application server:

$ yamldash

A browser window should open to the application. In not, access the application at the URL indicated in the terminal (usually http://127.0.0.1:8080).

yamldash's Issues

String formats are not verified

By default, jsonschema does not verify string format specifiers (see the python jsonschema docs).

To enable verification of format specifiers, a format checker must be passed to the validator and jsonschema must be installed with the 'format' extra specifier.

Add CLI entry point with execution options

Add CLI entry point with parameters to set the following execution options:

• debug mode on/off
• host
• port

Add upload & download buttons for YAML and Schema text area contents

Add upload & download buttons for YAML and Schema text area contents.

A "copy to clipboard" button may also be useful.

YAML and Schema text areas are not persistent

The YAML and Schema text areas are not persistent and their content may be lost if a user refreshes their browser window.

Add session level persistence to ensure the contents of the text areas is not reset when reloading the window.

Restructure as a pip installable package

Add a setup.py file including install_requires, package_data and entry_point parameters to allow installation with pip and launching via a single command.

Browser window does not open on launch (Windows only)

When launching the application on Windows (yamldash.app.run function), no web browser window opens and the message You'll need a new app to open this 127.0.0.1 link is displayed.

Adding the http:// protocol in front of the 127.0.0.1 address in the webbrowser.open() call solves the issue.

YAMLDash/yamldash/app.py

Line 43 in 9ecacb0

webbrowser.open("127.0.0.1:8080", new=2)

Add waitress as optional web server

The application currently uses the Flask built-in server. For better performance, include the waitress wsgi server as an optional dependency. Use waitress if installed, otherwise revert to the Flask built-in server.

Add functional tests

YAML and Schema text areas can be too narrow

The default bootstrap container width is small and, in some cases, the YAML and Schema text areas are too narrow for their contents.

Using a fluid container would allow using the full window width.

Explore possibitlity of adding syntax highlighting to YAML and Schema text areas

Potential options for review:

• https://github.com/reasoned-ai/dash-ace
• https://github.com/quanteeai/dash-editor-components