Data.gov.uk releases open source code

The code is available for anyone to review, use or modify and allows content to be taken from the Comprehensive Knowledge Access Network (CKAN), the back end system used by Data.gov.uk to store information about all the data released by government. Code from CKAN can then be synced with Drupal, a system used to publish web content, and serves as Data.gov.uk's "front end". People can use it to find datasets and comment on them. "The code we are releasing is the Drupal module we have built to access/link the data with CKAN. CKAN is a registry of open knowledge package which makes it easy to find, share and re-use open content and data," a spokesperson for the Cabinet Office told GC News. She also said that the release of the code shows that "the government is serious about following open source principles". "Open source software is available in source code format under a special kind of licence to anyone who wants to use, study or build upon the code. The principles employed in this are that it is developed in a public or collaborative manner, with developers sharing the code they've changed or built back with the community," she added. The Data.gov.uk team said in a blog posted on 20 August 2010 that the code also includes comments in the files to assist users with the functionality. The release of the open source code follows recent design updates that have been carried out on the website to improve functionality for users.