DjangoCon Europe 2023 | Django for life (sciences)

Django for life (sciences) by Nicolas Noé

I develop software for biodiversity research. From cataloging butterflies to monitoring skies, I found Django to be an excellent fit for creating these small, but surprisingly long-lasting tools.

Biodiversity research has become increasingly data-intensive. I develop software tools in collaboration with researchers so they can better understand and protect our natural world, as well as explain it to the public. Some examples include an alert system for invasive species, a visualisation of bird migration picked up by weather radars, and a catalogue of all butterflies in Belgium.

While their technical requirements might differ, the development of these tools share similarities: small technical teams (often a single developer), one-time funding, built in close collaboration with the users, and used for a surprisingly long time with little to no maintenance.

I’ll show why Django and Python are remarkably well-suited for such projects, how you can make the best use of their features, and provide tips that can be applied to similar low-resource projects. I’ll conclude with some suggestions on how Django could be made even better for this purpose.

Date Added: September 19, 2024