Architecture¶

Conversion flow¶

The Transpiler-Mate host resolves the CWL source and provides software metadata in a TranspilerContext. The plugin maps that metadata to an OGCRecord, then serializes a single GeoJSON Feature to the configured output path. It does not serve an OGC API endpoint or publish the record to a catalog.

plugin.py owns the metadata mapping, defaults, and file output. ogc_record.py owns the record representation, typed metadata dictionaries, and PySTAC adapter. The plugin reference describes conversion-specific assumptions; these are separate from the more permissive Python record model.

Why reuse PySTAC?¶

OGCRecord subclasses pystac.Item to reuse links, assets, and Item-oriented extension APIs. Its default serialization is an OGC Record Feature. It initializes STACObject directly to avoid requiring a STAC datetime for every record. This dependency on PySTAC internals requires review when upgrading PySTAC.

OGC temporal extent and STAC datetime fields remain independent. Explicit to_stac_item() export requires a real datetime or start/end interval; it does not invent dates. See record behavior.

Why typed dictionaries?¶

The record keeps metadata in a live properties dictionary. Typed dictionaries provide named structures without changing JSON serialization or introducing conversion wrappers. Shared structures are reused, including contact link fields and required identifier values. Union aliases express the schema's name-or-media-type and name-or-organization alternatives.

Static typing and schema validation remain separate. The package preserves unknown metadata and exposes an explicit validator hook; it does not claim that every constructed dictionary satisfies the complete OGC schema.