Technology Stack

BRASS Digital Lab full technology stack โ€” R, Shiny, Quarto, SQLite, LaTeX, RBAC, MFA, and bilingual systems. Data-driven from YAML.

Technology # Engineering Credentials

Every technology in our stack is here because it is the right tool for regulated, institutional software. No trend-chasing. This page is rendered from data/tech.yml โ€” a single YAML file that is the authoritative source for everything on this page.

๐Ÿ’ป Languages ๐Ÿ”ง Frameworks ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ Data ๐Ÿ“„ Publishing ๐Ÿ”’ Security โš™๏ธ DevOps ๐ŸŒ i18n

Regulatory Certifications

OBF v11 โ€” MoHESR OBF Guidebook v11
UAE Ministry of Higher Education
100% Compliant

CAA โ€” CAA Standards
Commission for Academic Accreditation
Aligned

UAE PDPL โ€” UAE PDPL
UAE Federal Government
Compliant

๐Ÿ’ป Languages & Runtimes

Core programming languages powering all BRASS Digital Lab platforms.

R 4.x ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Statistical computing, data science, and Shiny application development.

In BRASS platforms: Primary application language across all platforms. 10,000+ lines of production R code in the OBF Compliance Platform alone. ยท docs โ†—

๐Ÿ”ง Frameworks & Libraries

Application frameworks and R packages used in production platforms.

R Shiny 1.8+ ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Reactive web application framework for R.

In BRASS platforms: Enterprise UI and server-side logic for all compliance platforms. Multi-role, multi-module architecture with custom JavaScript integrations. ยท docs โ†—

bslib 0.7+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Bootstrap-based theming and layout system for Shiny applications.

In BRASS platforms: Modern UI theming, card components, value boxes, and responsive layouts in all Shiny platforms. ยท docs โ†—

DT 0.31+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: DataTables JavaScript library interface for R.

In BRASS platforms: Interactive, filterable data tables in compliance dashboards. ยท docs โ†—

plotly 4.10+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Interactive data visualisation library.

In BRASS platforms: KPI trend charts, compliance gauges, and interactive analytics in dashboards. ยท docs โ†—

pool 1.0+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Database connection pool management for R.

In BRASS platforms: Production-grade connection pooling in all platforms, preventing connection exhaustion under concurrent load. ยท docs โ†—

forecast / auto.arima 8.21+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Time series forecasting package.

In BRASS platforms: KPI forecasting modules in the OBF Compliance Platform โ€” projects future KPI attainment from historical data. ยท docs โ†—

๐Ÿ—„๏ธ Data & Storage

Database and data management technologies.

SQLite 3.x ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Embedded relational database โ€” zero-configuration, serverless.

In BRASS platforms: Primary data persistence layer for all BRASS platforms. Parameterised queries, connection pooling, and indexed schemas across all deployments. ยท docs โ†—

DBI / RSQLite 2.3+ ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: R database interface and SQLite driver.

In BRASS platforms: Database abstraction layer enabling parameterised queries, preventing SQL injection. ยท docs โ†—

๐Ÿ“„ Publishing & Documentation

Tools for generating professional documents, reports, and this website.

Quarto โ‰ฅ 1.5 ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Open-source scientific and technical publishing system.

In BRASS platforms: This website. Also used for reproducible compliance reports, technical documentation, and data-driven publications. ยท docs โ†—

LaTeX TeX Live 2023+ ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Professional document typesetting system.

In BRASS platforms: Generation of regulatory PDF reports, architecture diagrams (TikZ), UML class diagrams, and Gantt charts for project documentation. ยท docs โ†—

R Markdown 2.x ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Dynamic document generation in R.

In BRASS platforms: Parameterised report templates and in-platform document generation. ยท docs โ†—

๐Ÿ”’ Security & Access

Security architecture components protecting all BRASS platforms.

RBAC Custom (R Shiny) ยท Core

Purpose: Role-Based Access Control โ€” restricts feature access by user role.

In BRASS platforms: All BRASS platforms implement multi-tier RBAC (Admin / Staff / Viewer / Read-only). Roles control visible modules, editable data, and exportable reports.

MFA TOTP-based ยท Core

Purpose: Multi-Factor Authentication โ€” adds a second verification step at login.

In BRASS platforms: Platform-wide MFA on all administrative accounts. Implemented using TOTP (Time-based One-Time Passwords) with QR code enrollment.

Parameterised Queries DBI standard ยท Core

Purpose: SQL injection prevention via prepared statements.

In BRASS platforms: All database interactions use DBI parameterised queries. No string interpolation in SQL. Hardened during OBF Platform security rewrite.

Environment Variables R Sys.getenv()

Purpose: Secrets management โ€” keeps credentials out of source code.

In BRASS platforms: All authentication credentials, API keys, and database connection strings managed via .Renviron. Never committed to Git.

โš™๏ธ DevOps & CI/CD

Deployment, version control, and automation infrastructure.

GitHub

ยท โ˜… Featured ยท Core ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Version control, collaboration, and CI/CD hosting.

In BRASS platforms: All BRASS source code under Git version control on GitHub. CI/CD pipelines for this website run on GitHub Actions. ยท docs โ†—

GitHub Actions

ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Automated CI/CD pipeline for build and deployment.

In BRASS platforms: Quarto website renders and deploys to GitHub Pages on every push to main. R chunk execution, SCSS compilation, and asset generation fully automated. ยท docs โ†—

renv 1.x ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: R package environment management and reproducibility.

In BRASS platforms: All BRASS R projects use renv for reproducible package environments. renv.lock committed to repo; restored in CI/CD pipeline. ยท docs โ†—

shinyapps.io

ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Managed Shiny application hosting (Posit).

In BRASS platforms: BRASS Shiny applications deployed to shinyapps.io for client access. Separate from this static Quarto website. ยท docs โ†—

๐ŸŒ Internationalisation

Multilingual and localisation capabilities across BRASS platforms.

Arabic (RTL) Cairo / Noto Sans Arabic ยท Core

Purpose: Right-to-left Arabic language support in UI and documents.

In BRASS platforms: Bilingual English/Arabic interfaces in the OBF Platform. Arabic typography on this website. Institutional stakeholders in UAE HE require Arabic-language capability.

Plausible Analytics

ยท docs โ†—

Purpose: Privacy-respecting web analytics platform.

In BRASS platforms: Site-wide visitor analytics for the BRASS website. GDPR and UAE PDPL compliant โ€” no cookies, no PII collection, EU-hosted. ยท docs โ†—

Development Environment

๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ IDE

All BRASS Digital Lab platforms are authored and maintained in:

  • RStudio (primary) โ€” project management, R Shiny development, Quarto authoring, database query development
  • Positron (secondary) โ€” next-generation IDE from Posit, used for complex debugging and data exploration

Both IDEs are configured with renv project environments ensuring exact package version reproducibility.

๐Ÿ” Workflow

Author .qmd / .R files
    โ†“
quarto preview (live reload)
    โ†“
git commit + push โ†’ main
    โ†“
GitHub Actions trigger
    โ†“
quarto render (CI environment)
    โ†“
Deploy to GitHub Pages

Every merge to main triggers a full Quarto render and deployment. The Quarto version is pinned in the Actions workflow to prevent breaking changes.

GitHub Repository

Source Code & Architecture Documentation

All BRASS Digital Lab public repositories, architecture diagrams, and technical documentation are available on GitHub.

๐Ÿ™ View on GitHub ๐Ÿค Work With Us

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