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Legacy EcoSpecies Survey

Scope

This repository is primarily an archive of the legacy EcoSpecies system and its source materials. The current contents are sufficient to begin a structured migration plan and an initial replacement implementation.

Repository Inventory

  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/EcoSpecies_2012_0807_onCurly: legacy ASP.NET MVC application source.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/EcoSpeciesSql_new: SQL Server database creation and lookup-population scripts.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/InputFiles - TXT: 92 source species life history text files.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/OutputFiles - RTF: 95 generated report outputs.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/ecospecies-2/species-life-histories: 95 paired .txt and .sql files representing a later export snapshot.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/slh-mod-txt2sql: Python parsing scripts and hand-edited SQL/text files used to ingest SLH content.
  • 01-legacy-code-and-data/TextFilesAboutFLELMR_EcoSpecies: manuals, contract/report artifacts, information architecture, and historical background.
  • 02-docs: project notes, species outlines, import notes, and spreadsheets.

Legacy Capabilities Confirmed

The legacy ASP.NET MVC application exposes these core workflows:

  • Public species list with taxonomic sorting and fielded search.
  • Per-species detail pages.
  • Heading and subheading navigation for life-history content.
  • Report generation to rtf, txt, and "web only" output modes.
  • Public/private visibility controls via tbl_Slh.PublicView.
  • XML-template-driven report assembly.

Evidence:

  • HomeController.cs provides Home, About, Glossary, and Manual.
  • OrganismController.cs implements listing, filtering, details, node/subnode views, and CRUD.
  • ReportController.cs implements report generation and batch export.

Legacy Architecture Summary

Application layer

  • ASP.NET MVC 3-era application.
  • Entity Framework database-first model (EcoSpecies.edmx and generated context/models).
  • Razor views with jQuery/jQuery UI assets.

Data layer

  • SQL Server database Eco_Species.
  • 31 SQL scripts in EcoSpeciesSql_new for database creation, schema population, lookup tables, admin user creation, and XML template support.

Content pipeline

  • Species Life History text files are semi-structured and heading-driven.
  • Legacy Python parsing scripts (slhparse.py, slhparse_2012_0801.py) contain domain-specific cleanup and tag recognition logic.
  • Generated outputs include SQL inserts and RTF/text reports.

Important Migration Observations

What is reusable

  • Raw SLH text corpus.
  • SQL schema as a source of domain concepts and relationship mapping.
  • Parsing logic and tag dictionaries as institutional knowledge.
  • Glossary/manual/about content for continuity.
  • Existing report outputs for regression comparison.

What should not be copied forward directly

  • SQL Server-specific operational assumptions.
  • Legacy publish/deploy practices.
  • MVC 3 / EF database-first scaffolding.
  • Generated binaries and obj artifacts.

Data-model implications

The archive suggests the modern system needs first-class support for:

  • species and taxonomic metadata
  • one or more source documents per species
  • hierarchical sections/headings/subheadings
  • citations/references and authoring metadata
  • visibility/publication state
  • report/export templates
  • ecological linkages suitable for graph-style visualization

Risks and Gaps

  • The source text format is inconsistent and sometimes noisy; ingest must tolerate malformed headings and spacing.
  • The legacy system notes that some outlines used 4-5 levels while the implemented site handled only 3 levels.
  • The current repository does not include a clean, already-normalized database dump for direct import.
  • Image/assets provenance and usage permissions need review during migration.

Acknowledgements To Preserve

The replacement app should preserve credit to:

  • Dr. Peter Rubec for FLELMR-derived source material and species life history content.
  • Dr. Diane Blackwood for the original EcoSpecies web application and architecture work.
  • Dr. Welsbery R. Elsberry for consultation and Python programming support.
  • Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and related public-agency context described in the project materials.

Immediate Migration Recommendation

Use the SLH text corpus as the initial authoritative ingest source, not the legacy MVC app. Treat the SQL schema and parser scripts as reference material for a modern normalized model and for ingest validation.