 | |
| Original author(s) | Open Knowledge Foundation |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2.10.0[1] / 15 February 2023 (2023-02-15) |
| Repository | |
| Written in | Python |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| License | AGPL |
| Website | ckan |
TheComprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN) is anopen-sourceopen data portal for the storage and distribution ofopen data. Initially inspired by thepackage management capabilities ofDebian Linux,[2] CKAN has developed into a powerful data catalogue system that is mainly used by public institutions seeking to share their data with the general public.
Since its inception, CKAN has evolved and is the leading[citation needed] open data platform software in the world, used by governments including the US and UK, to publish millions of public datasets.
Rufus Pollock developed its first version in 2005-2006. CKAN'scodebase is maintained by theOpen Knowledge Foundation.
The system is used both as a public platform onDatahub[3] and in variousgovernment data catalogues, such as the UK'sdata.gov.uk,[4] the Dutch National Data Register,[5] the United States government'sData.gov[6] and the Australian government's "Gov 2.0".[7] The state government ofSouth Australia also makes government data freely available to the public on the CKAN platform.[8] The Italian government makes available the open data of the Data & Analytics Framework on the CKAN platform.[9]
CKAN's back end, the part running on the Web server, is written mainly inPython. The web pages it offers to users browsers includeJavaScript. CKAN maintains information about the data sets to be offered to users inPostgreSQL databases. Searches are implemented bySolr. CKAN installations can be queried throughWeb APIs.[10]
The CKAN Stewardship proposal jointly put forward by Link Digital and Datopian received support from the Open Knowledge Foundation Board. In appointing joint stewardship put up jointly by Link Digital and Datopian, the Board felt there was a clear practical path with strong leadership and committed funding to see CKAN grow and prosper in the years to come.The Open Knowledge Foundation will remain the ‘purpose trustee’ to ensure the Stewards remain true to the purpose and ethos of the CKAN project.[11]