Windows Application: Download the latest version of the validator

Download the latest zip file from the packages list.

For years, the industry has had two AGS checker applications that produce different results that have caused clients to specify that AGS files must pass multiple checkers before submitting data to them.

The AGS has been working with a team started by an individual from Fugro, Asitha Senanayake, to solve this problem for the industry.  Asitha was working on an open-source library to validate AGS 4.1 files. He linked up with Roger Chandler from Bentley and Tony Daly from Amageo Limited and the result is a development library that has been reviewed, tested and ported over to an AGS GitLab open-source repository.

The library provides validation against the AGS 4.0.3, 4.0.4 and 4.1 formats and can be used within open-source or commercial software, via the command line. The libraries and Desktop App can be downloaded and used free of charge.

The term “validator” has been used rather than “checker”, to clarify that the code only validates against the AGS data format, it does not “check” the accuracy of the data contained in the file.

Please note, the desktop application will not replace all the functionality of the current AGS checkers, in particular, it will not include the ability to edit or amend AGS files. This is considered to be out of scope and should be done using appropriate software and workflows.  It also does not support AGS 3.1 format files.

Please either use the form below to submit questions, bugs, wish list items etc.

Installation and running

This build of the software has been tested on Windows 10 only. It is a desktop-only application.

No installation is required for the beta version. The zip file should be extracted to a suitable folder on the system and the .exe file double-clicked. Python runtime libraries are included in the installation folder, Python does not need to be installed on the client PC. A readme.md file is included in the zip folder, this should be opened in a text editor, e.g. Notepad.

Known issues

1.  A warning may appear when the application is run for the first time. Please check with your IT section before proceeding.
2.  The validator should not be extracted to a shared drive, e.g. OneDrive.

Contributing to the validator

The AGS validator is an open source project. Developers from 5 countries have contributed their time and knowledge for free to this project and you can join them if you want to geek out with AGS data.

Here are the details you need.

The Library

Repository: https://gitlab.com/ags-data-format-wg/ags-python-library

pip installer: https://pypi.org/project/python-ags4/

Conda Installer: https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/python-ags4

Coders Wiki page:  https://gitlab.com/ags-data-format-wg/ags-python-library/-/wikis/home

Desktop Application

Repository: https://gitlab.com/ags-data-format-wg/ags-checker-desktop-app

Web Application & API

Live app: https://agsapi.bgs.ac.uk/

Code repository: https://github.com/BritishGeologicalSurvey/pyagsapi