How it works
============

Visual Viper works by abstracting the complex process of data visualization into four core components:

1. **DatasetBuilder**: Fetches and preprocesses data from various sources.
2. **NotationBuilder**: Generates a chart notation that specifies layouts and visual aesthetics.
3. **ChartRenderer**: Creates the visualization output, which can be either an image file or an in-memory file-like object.
4. **ChartDeployer**: Deploys the finalized visualizations to various platforms or services.


Requirements
============

The following the requirements to run from any machine:

- Ubuntu 20
- Python 3.10

.. note::

  These requirements are for the current version and are subject to change in future releases.


Installation
============

1. **Clone the Repository**

  .. code-block:: bash

    git clone https://gitlab.com/mtg-research-and-development-lab/visual-viper.git

2. **Install Dependencies**

  .. code-block:: bash

    make install

3. **Configure Environment Variables**

  Update the :file:`.env` file as described :ref:`below <Configuring .env>`.

  .. code-block:: bash

    cp .env.template .env

4. **Run Unit Tests**

  Ensure everything is set up correctly.

  .. code-block:: bash

    make test

5. **Development Mode**

  Spin up a test runner that watches the filesystem for you.

  .. code-block:: bash

    make dev

6. **Execute in Production**

  Run the application in a production environment.

  .. code-block:: bash

    make run


Configuring .env
================

The :file:`.env` file is used for configuring environment variables. Below is the list of environment variables you'll need to set:

- **MIRO_TOKEN**: This token is required for authenticating with the Miro API when using the Miro Deployer component of Visual Viper.

You can use :file:`.env.template` as a starting point for your :file:`.env` file.

.. literalinclude:: ../.env.template
   :language: bash