Custom Input Data Providers

A custom data provider is a python module that provides data to Prescient throughout its run. It is an alternative to the standard CSV input file format typically used by Prescient.

The custom data provider python module must have a function called get_data_provider(). This function must return an object that implements the prescient.data.DataProvider abstract base class.

Internally, Prescient stores data in the Egret format. Each function in the prescient.data.DataProvider abstract base class generates or manipulates an Egret model. Prescient will call these methods to acquire initial data, and to request updates to data for specific time periods.

For an example or a custom data provider, see the example in the source code, or examine one of the standard data providers.

To use a custom data provider, set the –data-provider configuration option to the custom provider’s python module.