Powered by Node.JS and using the ldbs-json module, the OwlBoard API provides up to date train departure information for any station in the UK.
Whilst the application is open source, the webservice (owlboard.fb-infra.uk) is not openly available. National Rail Enquiries have limits on API access so to use this software yourself, you'll need to run your own instance after obtaining your own API key.
The app is designed to be run within Kubernetes or within a Docker container, as such configuration is provided with environment variables. See the variable name and default options below. If a required configuration is not present the program will exit when that feature is initialised.
In the case that OWL_GIT_ISSUEBOT is not available, the 'Report Issue' page will not be able to POST data.
## Database Layout
The OwlBoard application will build the database if required at startup. All it needs is authentication details for a MongoDB server.
### Collections
|Collection|Contents|Purpose|
|:--------:|:------:|:-----:|
|corpus|Raw CORPUS data with blank keys removed|Code lookups|
|stations|Cleaned CORPUS Data, any objects with blank 3ALPHA & STANOX fields are removed|Validation before fetching Arr/Dep boards|
|meta|Lists the update time of corpus and station data|Will be used to update after a predetermined time period|
Note that even after removing all objects from the CORPUS with a blank 3ALPHA & STANOX, many items remain which are not stations and will not have a board available. Going forwards methods to remove non-stations from this data will be introduced.