The Open Spectral Database: an open platform for sharing and searching spectral data.

Area of Science:

• Chemistry
• Data Science
• Scientific Informatics

Background:

• Existing spectral data resources are fragmented and difficult to reuse.
• JCAMP-DX files can be compressed, hindering data accessibility.
• A unified, open-access platform for spectral data is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Open Spectral Database (OSDB) as a solution for spectral data management.
• To detail the OSDB's development, architecture, and features.
• To promote open access and community contribution to chemical spectral data.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web-based platform using open-source tools.
• Implementation of a Representational State Transfer (REST) Application Programming Interface (API).
• Utilizing a combination of PHPStorm, CakePHP, MySQL, and GitHub for development.

Main Results:

• The OSDB website launched in November 2015.
• A GitHub repository was established for collaborative development.
• The OSDB supports data submission, multiple export formats, and chemical identifier searching.

Conclusions:

• The OSDB offers a robust solution for ingesting, curating, and exposing open chemical data.
• The chosen software stack facilitates the development of REST-based data platforms.
• The project aims to increase the availability of chemical data for both human and computer access.