dataposter

Dataposter is a generic term used to describe a system, library, or component that publishes data to a destination such as a data portal, an application programming interface, a messaging system, or a file repository. It focuses on the act of posting data rather than collecting or ingesting it, and it can be realized as a standalone tool, a client library, or a server-side service. Implementations vary by domain but share common responsibilities around formatting, validation, and transfer.

Typical features include support for common data formats (JSON, CSV, XML, Parquet), schema validation, and metadata capture to record provenance, licensing, and descriptive tags. Access is controlled by authentication and authorization mechanisms (API keys, OAuth), and posting can be scheduled or triggered by events. Robust dataposters implement retry with backoff, idempotent operations, logging, and error reporting, to handle transient failures and maintain data integrity.

Common use cases include publishing open data to portals or repositories, distributing research outputs, transmitting telemetry from Internet of Things devices, integrating data between enterprise systems, and delivering data-driven content for journalism and dashboards.

Architecturally, dataposter components may be implemented as a client library embedded in applications, a command-line tool, or a dedicated service that delivers data to a target endpoint. Connections typically rely on HTTP(S), REST or GraphQL APIs, or file-based transfers, and they may incorporate validation, transformation, and packaging steps to ensure consistent data delivery.

Because the term is generic, it may be used by different projects with varying scopes and licenses; some ecosystems include open-source dataposter tools, while others refer to proprietary solutions. See related concepts such as data publishing, data ingestion, data provenance, and data governance.