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tptools — Tools to export data from TournamentSoftware

tptools is a collection of Python tools to facilitate working with TournamentSoftware.

Note

While TournamentSoftware seems to handle a variety of sports, tptools was developed in the context of squash, and squash only. Therefore, it is likely highly squash-specific. That said, patches to make it usable across other sports are welcome!

Under the hood, TournamentSoftware is a Microsoft Access Database (MDB). The mostpart of tptools is a collection of classes to make sense of the stored data, and provide usable data structures. These classes are arguably kept simple, and they cover only a small part of the functionality of TournamentSoftware, but they are test-covered, and hopefully make it possible to work with the data in ways better than trying to make sense of the actual data structures stored in the MDB file.

Important

The TournamentSoftware database is password-protected, and it is up to you to decide whether you want to obtain this password to be able to read the data, and where to get it. tptools does not include this password, nor will we disclose it, and none of the tools here will work without it.

In addition to simple Python classes, tptools also comprises a number of command-line utilities (using these classes) that are mainly designed to provide the data to other tools:

  • squoresrv — a simple web server to provide so-called "matches" and "players" feeds in the format expected by Squore;

  • tpwatcher — a worker that submits planned matches to a server, such as provided by tcboard.

Preparation

To use tptools, you must prepare your Windows machine running TournamentSoftware as follows:

Installing Python for Windows

tptools is written in Python, and thus you need to get Python running on Windows first. We need Python 3.11 or higher. The official installer can be downloaded from Python.org or installed via the Microsoft Store.

If installing from Python.org, please ensure to add Python.exe to the PATH:

Screenshot of Python Installer

Subsequently, please verify that you have a working Python installation, by opening the Command Prompt or PowerShell to run:

> python -c "print('It seems to work')"
It seems to work

Finally, you almost certainly need to upgrade pip, the "Package installer for Python", another good way to verify your installation is working:

> python.exe -m pip install --upgrade pip
[…]
> pip --version
pip 25.0.1 from C:\Users\martin\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python313\Lib\site-packages\pip (python 3.13)

Installing the Microsoft Access Database Engine

I know way too little about Microsoft Windows or all their other stuff to make sense of how things are supposed to work, nor do I care. I run Windows in a virtual machine on top of Linux, with the sole purpose to run TournamentSoftware. I do not have Microsoft Office installed, and I think I read somewhere that the following is only necessary if you also do not have this software locally available.

To test whether you need to install the Microsoft Access Database Engine haha (sorry, I crack up every time someone mentions Microsoft and "database" in the same sentence), you can run the following:

> pip install pyodbc
> python -c "import pyodbc; print('No, I am fine' if 'Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)' in pyodbc.drivers() else 'Yes, I need to install the engine')"

If you get a "Yes", please download and install the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable.

Installing (and upgrading) tptools

tptools is under development and not yet published as an officially available Python software. To install tptools, please run the following command:

> pip install https://github.com/madduck/tptools/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

If you run this command again, it will download the latest version and upgrade any previously installed. Thus, please also use this command regularly to upgrade your installation of tptools.

To verify that tptools are working, you may now run e.g.

> tpwatcher --help
Usage: tpwatcher [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -u, --url TEXT          URL to send events to (stdout if not provided)
  -i, --tpfile PATH       TP file to watch and read
  -U, --tpuser TEXT       User name to use for TP file  [default: Admin]
  -P, --tppasswd TEXT     Password to use for TP file
  -p, --pollsecs INTEGER  Frequency in seconds to poll TP file in the absence
                          of inotify
  -v, --verbose           Increase verbosity of log output
  -q, --quiet             Output as little information as possible
  -t, --test              Use test data for this run
  --help                  Show this message and exit.

[to be continued]