HydroLang: An open-source web-based programming framework for hydrological sciences

Abstract

This paper presents HydroLang, an open-source and integrated community-driven computational web framework to support research and education in hydrology and water resources. HydroLang uses client-side web technologies and standards to perform different routines which aim towards the acquisition, management, transformation, analysis and visualization of hydrological datasets. HydroLang is comprised of four main high-cohesion low-coupling modules for: (1) retrieving, manipulating, and transforming raw hydrological data, (2) statistical operations, hydrological analysis, and creating models, (3) generating graphical and tabular data representations, and (4) mapping and geospatial data visualization. Two extensive case studies (i.e., evaluation of lumped models and development of a rainfall disaggregation model) have been presented to demonstrate the framework’s capabilities, portability, and interoperability. HydroLang’s unique modular architecture and open-source nature allow it to be easily tailored into any use case and web framework and promote iterative enhancements with community involvement to establish the comprehensive next-generation hydrological software toolkit.