NexusLIMS taxonomyΒΆ

Oftentimes, it can be a bit confusing when speaking about the different portions of the back-end codebase, so this short page defines the terms frequently used by the NexusLIMS development team and what is meant by them:

  • Harvester:

    • The harvesters (implemented in the nexusLIMS.harvesters package) are the portions of the code that connect to external data sources, such as the SharePoint calendar. Currently, the calendar harvester is the only one implemented, but eventually there will likely be at least an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) harvester as well.

  • Extractor:

    • The extractors (implemented in the nexusLIMS.extractors package) are the modules that inspect the data files collected during an Experiment and pull out the relevant metadata contained within for inclusion in the record. The preview image generation is also considered an extractor.

  • Record Builder:

    • The record builder (implemented in the nexusLIMS.builder.record_builder module) is the heart of the NexusLIMS back-end, and is the portion of the library that orchestrates the creation of a new record and its insertion into the NexusLIMS CDCS instance. Further details are provided on the record building documentation page.

  • Session Logger:

    • The session logger (deprecated) was the portable Windows application that runs on the individual microscope PCs, which logs simple information to the NexusLIMS database about when an Experiment has occurred. See the associated documentation page for more details.