Overview

Teaching: 10 min
Exercises: 0 min

Questions

• How do I build a query using galah-python?

Objectives

• Understand the template for how to build query in galah-python

• Use this template to build more and more complex queries

What are the building blocks of a query in galah-python?

A query is a command, or line of code, used to get data from an atlas. We will be working in the Atlas of Living Australia, or the ALA.

To build a query, follow these steps:

1. Choose whether or not you are looking for a species
   • Look up species name
   • Ensure you have correct species
2. Choose how to filter the data
   • Look up all possible filters
   • Look up filters by a word or part of a word
3. Choose the values for the filters
   • Look up all possible values
   • If there are lots of values, search for values using a number or part of a word
4. Get counts, and eventually, occurrences

What does a query look like?

A query can be as simple as the following:

>>> galah.atlas_counts()

    totalRecords
0      150408171

This returns the total number of records in the Atlas of Living Australia. This will change weekly, so this number will likely be higher for you!

Example query

Now, we will build the following query step by step in the next lesson:

Download record counts and occurrence records of Peron’s tree frog since 2018 in New South Wales by FrogID

Key Points

• Builing queries in galah-python follow similar rules and building blocks

• Start with simple queries, then build your way up to more complex queries