---
title: "Get Started with bcdata"
output: rmarkdown::html_vignette
vignette: >
%\VignetteIndexEntry{Get Started with bcdata}
%\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown}
%\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8}
---
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The `bcdata` [R](https://www.r-project.org/) package contains functions for searching & retrieving data from the [B.C. Data Catalogue]( https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca).
The [B.C. Data Catalogue](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=79B5224167334667A44C9E8B5143D0C5) is the place to find British Columbia Government data, applications and web services. Much of the data are released under the [Open Government Licence --- British Columbia](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/data/policy-standards/open-data/open-government-licence-bc), as well as numerous other [licences](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset?download_audience=Public).
You can install `bcdata` directly from CRAN:
``` r
install.packages("bcdata")
library(bcdata)
```
### `bcdc_browse()`
`bcdata::bcdc_browse()` let's you access the [B.C. Data Catalogue web interface](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca) directly from R---opening the catalogue search page in your default browser:
``` r
## Take me to the B.C. Data Catalogue home page
bcdc_browse()
```
If you know the catalogue "human-readable" record name or permanent ID you can open directly to the record web page:
``` r
## Take me to the B.C. Winery Locations catalogue record using the record name
bcdc_browse("bc-winery-locations")
## Take me to the B.C. Winery Locations catalogue record using the record permanent ID
bcdc_browse("1d21922b-ec4f-42e5-8f6b-bf320a286157")
```
### `bcdc_search()`
`bcdc_search()` let's you search records in the B.C. Data Catalogue, returning the search results in your R session.
Let's search the catalogue for records that contain the word "recycling":
``` r
## Give me the catalogue search results for 'recycling'
bcdc_search("recycling")
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 4
#> Titles:
#> 1: Tire Stewardship BC Tire Recycling Data (csv)
#> ID: f791329b-c2dc-4f82-9993-209780f2a1c6
#> Name: tire-stewardship-bc-tire-recycling-data
#> 2: BC FIRST Tire Recycling Data 1991-2006 (csv)
#> ID: a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686
#> Name: bc-first-tire-recycling-data-1991-2006
#> 3: Environmental Protection Information Resources e-Library (other)
#> ID: dae0f2c3-b4f4-4d16-a96d-d7fe7c1581f3
#> Name: environmental-protection-information-resources-e-library
#> 4: Cross-linked Information Resources (CLIR) (other)
#> ID: 6f8576bc-1585-429c-97f9-e94b059fa455
#> Name: cross-linked-information-resources-clir
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
```
You can set the number of records to be returned from the search and/or you can customize your search using the catalogue search _facets_ `license_id`, `download_audience`, `res_format`, `sector`, `organization`, and `groups`:
``` r
## Give me the first catalogue search result for 'recycling'
bcdc_search("recycling", n = 1)
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 1
#> Titles:
#> 1: Tire Stewardship BC Tire Recycling Data (csv)
#> ID: f791329b-c2dc-4f82-9993-209780f2a1c6
#> Name: tire-stewardship-bc-tire-recycling-data
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
## Give me the catalogue search results for 'recycling' where the
## data is licenced under Open Government Licence – British Columbia
bcdc_search("recycling", license_id = "2")
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 1
#> Titles:
#> 1: BC FIRST Tire Recycling Data 1991-2006 (csv)
#> ID: a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686
#> Name: bc-first-tire-recycling-data-1991-2006
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
```
You can see all valid values for the catalogue search facets using `bcdata::bcdc_search_facets()`:
``` r
## Valid values for search facet 'license_id'
bcdc_search_facets(facet = "license_id")
#> facet name display_name
#> 1 license_id 21 Statistics Canada Open Licence
#> 2 license_id 53 Open Licence - University of Northern British Columbia
#> 3 license_id 48 Open Government Licence – TransLink
#> 4 license_id 44 Open Government Licence – Municipality of North Cowichan
#> 5 license_id 50 Open Government Licence - SkilledTradesBC
#> 6 license_id 43 Open Government Licence - Destination BC
#> 7 license_id 24 Open Government Licence - Canada
#> 8 license_id 2 Open Government Licence - British Columbia
#> 9 license_id 47 Open Government Licence - BC Assessment
#> 10 license_id 49 Open Data Licence for ICBC Information
#> 11 license_id 52 Open Data Licence - Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia
#> 12 license_id 45 Open Data Commons - Public Domain Dedication and Licence
#> 13 license_id 25 King's Printer Licence - British Columbia
#> 14 license_id 42 Elections BC Open Data Licence
#> 15 license_id 22 Access Only
#> count
#> 1 70
#> 2 2
#> 3 12
#> 4 13
#> 5 5
#> 6 3
#> 7 61
#> 8 1638
#> 9 2
#> 10 5
#> 11 1
#> 12 2
#> 13 1
#> 14 18
#> 15 1642
```
Finally, you can retrieve the _metadata_ for a single catalogue record by using the record name or permanent ID with `bcdc_get_record()`. It is advised to use the permanent ID rather than the human-readable name in non-interactive situations---like scripts---to guard against future name changes of a record:
``` r
## Give me the catalogue record metadata for `bc-first-tire-recycling-data-1991-2006`
bcdc_get_record("a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686")
#> B.C. Data Catalogue Record: BC FIRST Tire Recycling Data 1991-2006
#> Name: bc-first-tire-recycling-data-1991-2006 (ID: a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686)
#> Permalink: https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686
#> Licence: Open Government Licence - British Columbia
#> Description: Financial Incentives for Recycling Scrap Tires (FIRST) collection and
#> recycling data (tonnes) from 1991 to 2006. In 2007 [Tire Stewardship
#> BC](http://www.tsbc.ca/), a not for profit society, launched the new scrap tire
#> recycling program replacing the government-run program that had been in place since
#> 1991. Tire Stewardship BC collection and recycling data is available
#> [here](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/f791329b-c2dc-4f82-9993-209780f2a1c6).
#> Available Resources (1):
#> 1. BC FIRST Tire Recycling Data 1991-2006 (csv)
#> Access the full 'Resources' data frame using:
#> bcdc_tidy_resources('a29ad492-29a2-44b9-8693-d27a8cc8e686')
```
### `bcdc_get_data()`
Once you have located the B.C. Data Catalogue record with the data you want, you can use `bcdata::bcdc_get_data()` to download and read the data from the record. You can use the record name, permanent ID or the result from `bcdc_get_record()`. Let's look at the B.C. Highway Web Cameras data:
``` r
## Get the data resource for the `bc-highway-cams` catalogue record
bcdc_get_data("bc-highway-cams")
#> # A tibble: 1,007 × 13
#> links_bchighwaycam links_imageDisplay links_imageThumbnail links_replayTheDay id
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <dbl>
#> 1 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 2
#> 2 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 5
#> 3 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 6
#> 4 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 7
#> 5 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 8
#> 6 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 9
#> 7 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 10
#> 8 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 11
#> 9 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 12
#> 10 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 13
#> # ℹ 997 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: highway_number <chr>, highway_locationDescription <chr>, camName <chr>,
#> # caption <chr>, credit <chr>, orientation <chr>, latitude <dbl>, longitude <dbl>
## OR use the permanent ID, which is better for scripts or non-interactive use
bcdc_get_data("6b39a910-6c77-476f-ac96-7b4f18849b1c")
#> # A tibble: 1,007 × 13
#> links_bchighwaycam links_imageDisplay links_imageThumbnail links_replayTheDay id
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <dbl>
#> 1 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 2
#> 2 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 5
#> 3 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 6
#> 4 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 7
#> 5 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 8
#> 6 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 9
#> 7 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 10
#> 8 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 11
#> 9 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 12
#> 10 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 13
#> # ℹ 997 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: highway_number <chr>, highway_locationDescription <chr>, camName <chr>,
#> # caption <chr>, credit <chr>, orientation <chr>, latitude <dbl>, longitude <dbl>
## OR use the result from bcdc_get_record()
my_record <- bcdc_get_record("6b39a910-6c77-476f-ac96-7b4f18849b1c")
bcdc_get_data(my_record)
#> # A tibble: 1,007 × 13
#> links_bchighwaycam links_imageDisplay links_imageThumbnail links_replayTheDay id
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <dbl>
#> 1 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 2
#> 2 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 5
#> 3 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 6
#> 4 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 7
#> 5 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 8
#> 6 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 9
#> 7 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 10
#> 8 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 11
#> 9 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 12
#> 10 https://images.drivebc.ca/bchig… https://images.dr… https://images.driv… https://images.dr… 13
#> # ℹ 997 more rows
#> # ℹ 8 more variables: highway_number <chr>, highway_locationDescription <chr>, camName <chr>,
#> # caption <chr>, credit <chr>, orientation <chr>, latitude <dbl>, longitude <dbl>
```
A catalogue record can have one or multiple data files---or "resources". If there is only one resource, `bcdc_get_data()` will return that resource by default, as in the above `bc-highway-cams` example. If there are multiple data resources you will need to specify which resource you want. Let's look at a catalogue record that contains multiple data resources---BC Schools - Programs Offered in Schools:
``` r
## Get the record ID for the `bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools` catalogue record
bcdc_search("school programs", n = 1)
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 1
#> Titles:
#> 1: BC Schools - Programs Offered in Schools (txt, xlsx)
#> ID: b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524
#> Name: bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
## Get the metadata for the `bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools` catalogue record
bcdc_get_record("b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524")
#> B.C. Data Catalogue Record: BC Schools - Programs Offered in Schools
#> Name: bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools (ID: b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524)
#> Permalink: https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524
#> Licence: Open Government Licence - British Columbia
#> Description: BC Schools English Language Learners, French Immersion, Francophone, Career
#> Preparation, Aboriginal Support Services, Aboriginal Language and Culture, Continuing
#> Education and Career Technical Programs offered in BC schools up to 2013/2014.
#> Available Resources (2):
#> 1. ProgramsOfferedinSchools.txt (txt)
#> 2. ProgramsOfferedinSchools.xlsx (xlsx)
#> Access the full 'Resources' data frame using:
#> bcdc_tidy_resources('b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524')
```
We see there are two data files or resources available in this record, so we need to tell `bcdc_get_data()` which one we want. When used interactively, `bcdc_get_data()` will prompt you with the list of available resources through `bcdata` and ask you to select the resource you want. The resource ID for each data set is available _in_ the metadata record â˜ï¸:
``` r
## Get the txt data resource from the `bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools`
## catalogue record
bcdc_get_data("b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524", resource = 'a393f8cf-51ec-42c6-8449-4cea4c75385c')
#> # A tibble: 16,152 × 24
#> `Data Level` `School Year` `Facility Type` `Public Or Independent` `District Number`
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 SCHOOL LEVEL 2005/2006 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 2 SCHOOL LEVEL 2006/2007 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 3 SCHOOL LEVEL 2007/2008 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 4 SCHOOL LEVEL 2005/2006 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 5 SCHOOL LEVEL 2006/2007 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 6 SCHOOL LEVEL 2007/2008 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 7 SCHOOL LEVEL 2008/2009 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 8 SCHOOL LEVEL 2009/2010 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 9 SCHOOL LEVEL 2010/2011 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> 10 SCHOOL LEVEL 2011/2012 STANDARD BC Public School 005
#> # ℹ 16,142 more rows
#> # ℹ 19 more variables: `District Name` <chr>, `School Number` <chr>, `School Name` <chr>,
#> # `Has Eng Lang Learner Prog` <lgl>, `Has Core French` <lgl>, `Has Early French Immersion` <lgl>,
#> # `Has Late French Immersion` <lgl>, `Has Prog Francophone` <lgl>,
#> # `Has Any French Immersion Prog` <lgl>, `Has Any French Prog` <lgl>,
#> # `Has Aborig Supp Services` <lgl>, `Has Other Appr Aborig Prog` <lgl>,
#> # `Has Aborig Lang And Cult` <lgl>, `Has Continuing Ed Prog` <lgl>, …
```
Alternatively, you can retrieve the full details of the available resources for a given record as a data frame using `bcdc_tidy_resources()`:
``` r
## Get a data frame of data resources for the `bc-schools-programs-offered-in-schools`
## catalogue record
bcdc_tidy_resources("b1f27d1c-244a-410e-a361-931fac62a524")
#> # A tibble: 2 × 9
#> name url id format ext package_id location wfs_available bcdata_available
#> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <chr> <lgl> <lgl>
#> 1 ProgramsOfferedinScho… http… a393… txt txt b1f27d1c-… catalog… FALSE TRUE
#> 2 ProgramsOfferedinScho… http… 1e34… xlsx xlsx b1f27d1c-… catalog… FALSE TRUE
```
`bcdc_get_data()` will also detect if the data resource is a geospatial file, and automatically reads and returns it as an [`sf` object](https://r-spatial.github.io/sf/) in your R session.
Let's get the air zones for British Columbia:
``` r
## Find the B.C. Air Zones catalogue record
bcdc_search("air zones", res_format = "geojson")
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 1
#> Titles:
#> 1: British Columbia Air Zones (shp, kml, geojson)
#> ID: e8eeefc4-2826-47bc-8430-85703d328516
#> Name: british-columbia-air-zones
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
## Get the metadata for the B.C. Air Zones catalogue record
bc_az_metadata <- bcdc_get_record("e8eeefc4-2826-47bc-8430-85703d328516")
## Get the B.C. Air Zone geospatial data
bc_az <- bcdc_get_data(bc_az_metadata, resource = "c495d082-b586-4df0-9e06-bd6b66a8acd9")
## Plot the B.C. Air Zone geospatial data with ggplot()
bc_az %>%
ggplot() +
geom_sf() +
theme_minimal()
```
<div class="figure">
<img src="vignette-fig-air_zones-1.png" alt="plot of chunk air_zones" width="100%" />
<p class="caption">plot of chunk air_zones</p>
</div>
**Note:** The `bcdata` package supports downloading _most_ file types, including zip archives. It will do its best to identify and read data from
zip files, however if there are multiple data files in the zip, or data files that `bcdata` doesn't know how to import, it will fail.
### `bcdc_query_geodata()`
Many geospatial data sets in the B.C. Data Catalogue are available through a [Web Feature Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Feature_Service). While `bcdc_get_data()` will retrieve the geospatial data for you, sometimes the geospatial file is very large---and slow to download---and/or you may only want _some_ of the data. `bcdc_query_geodata()` let's you query catalogue geospatial data available as a Web Feature Service using `select` and `filter` functions (just like in [`dplyr`](https://dplyr.tidyverse.org/). The `bcdc::collect()` function returns the `bcdc_query_geodata()` query results as an [`sf` object](https://r-spatial.github.io/sf/) in your R session.
Let's get the Capital Regional District boundary from the [B.C. Regional Districts geospatial data](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/d1aff64e-dbfe-45a6-af97-582b7f6418b9)---the whole file takes 30-60 seconds to download and I only need the one polygon, so why not save some time:
``` r
## Find the B.C. Regional Districts catalogue record
bcdc_search("regional districts administrative areas", res_format = "wms", n = 1)
#> List of B.C. Data Catalogue Records
#> Number of records: 1
#> Titles:
#> 1: Regional Districts - Legally Defined Administrative Areas of BC (multiple, xlsx, wms,
#> kml)
#> ID: d1aff64e-dbfe-45a6-af97-582b7f6418b9
#> Name: regional-districts-legally-defined-administrative-areas-of-bc
#>
#> Access a single record by calling `bcdc_get_record(ID)` with the ID from the desired
#> record.
## Get the metadata for the B.C. Regional Districts catalogue record
bc_regional_districts_metadata <- bcdc_get_record("d1aff64e-dbfe-45a6-af97-582b7f6418b9")
## We can see in the search results, and in the metadata record, that this record has a `"wms"`
## resource format, indicating that it is available as a Web Feature Service and thus
## we can query it using `bcdc_query_geodata()`
## Have a quick look at the geospatial columns to help with filter or select
bcdc_describe_feature(bc_regional_districts_metadata)
#> # A tibble: 21 × 5
#> col_name sticky remote_col_type local_col_type column_comments
#> <chr> <lgl> <chr> <chr> <chr>
#> 1 id TRUE xsd:string character <NA>
#> 2 LGL_ADMIN_AREA_ID TRUE xsd:decimal numeric "An operationally-generated uniqu…
#> 3 ADMIN_AREA_NAME FALSE xsd:string character "The authoritative, officially ap…
#> 4 ADMIN_AREA_ABBREVIATION FALSE xsd:string character "A short form or commonly-known a…
#> 5 ADMIN_AREA_BOUNDARY_TYPE FALSE xsd:string character "BOUNDARY TYPE is a high-level gr…
#> 6 ADMIN_AREA_GROUP_NAME FALSE xsd:string character "The name given to the larger adm…
#> 7 CHANGE_REQUESTED_ORG FALSE xsd:string character "The government acronym of the Mi…
#> 8 UPDATE_TYPE FALSE xsd:string character "A short description of the lates…
#> 9 WHEN_UPDATED FALSE xsd:date date "The date and time the record was…
#> 10 MAP_STATUS FALSE xsd:string character "That the digital map has been ap…
#> # ℹ 11 more rows
## Get the Capital Regional District polygon from the B.C. Regional
## Districts geospatial data
my_regional_district <- bcdc_query_geodata(bc_regional_districts_metadata) %>%
filter(ADMIN_AREA_NAME == "Capital Regional District") %>%
collect()
## Plot the Capital Regional District polygon with ggplot()
my_regional_district %>%
ggplot() +
geom_sf() +
theme_minimal()
```
<div class="figure">
<img src="vignette-fig-regional_districts-1.png" alt="plot of chunk regional_districts" width="100%" />
<p class="caption">plot of chunk regional_districts</p>
</div>
The vignette [Querying Spatial Data with bcdata](https://bcgov.github.io/bcdata/articles/efficiently-query-spatial-data-in-the-bc-data-catalogue.html) provides a full demonstration on how to use `bcdata::bcdc_query_geodata()` to fine tune a [Web Feature Service](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=95D78D544B244F34B89223EF069DF74E) request for geospatial data from the B.C. Data Catalogue.