I run all my research as the API Evangelist on Github. I store all my data on Github as YAML, where I use it in my research and storytelling across my network of sites. I've been working on the best way to apply my Github and Jekyll approach to my Human Services Data Specification API work. This is the evolution of this work, trying to define a minimum viable human services implementation that runs 100% on Github.
This is a simple human services application modeled after Link-SF, which was developed by Zendesk, and who else? As part of a hackathon to make the implementation HSDS compliant, we disconnected the React application from the Firebase API backend. The team simply forward engineered the application to use a JSON file dump of the data which was on Github. I've just taken this data store and forward engineered the application to run 100% on Github using Jekyll, instead of React.
This site runs in a Github repository, where you can find the locations data store under /_data/locations.yaml, with the home page of the simple website running off this location data, generating the HTML using Liquid. There is a single administrative page for editing all the records in the YAML file, which allows for editing in an HTML user interface, and the allows for saving to the Github repository, using the Github API if you have a valid Github Oauth token, and have permissions to edit repository. Of course, you could simple edit the YAML directly in the Github interface, or locally on your desktop, but this provides an additional interface for the Github challenged.
In addition to the humn services website, and administrative editor driven from the central YAML data file, I added a simple developer area with API documentation, showing how you can access the data via a simple JSON API that is driven from the central YAML file. Mimicking a simple API, as well as the website, for the human services data. Ensuring that the human services application can be accessed by humans as well as other applications via the home page, editor, via the JSON or YAML data, or even using Github to fork, checkout, and even make commits against the micro human services data store.
I wanted an application that would be 100% forkable, and run for FREE as publicly available data driven project website on Github. While there is overhead learning about Github, Jekyll, Liquid, YAML, JSON, and handful of other technical concepts, this site is within reach of any developer or non-developer to fork and play with. Allowing anyone to implement a simple human services website and API within their community.