The PLET does not currently have a fully supported API, however it is possible specify commands using solely the URL, by-passing the graphical interface and allowing for the automation of queries.

The base URL is:
dassh.ac.uk/plet/cgi-bin/get_form.py

Available parameters are:

abundance_dataset
- must be from the list of datasts in the Abundance Datasets drop-down
- only one dataset may be specified at a time, and can not be used if biomass_dataset is also used
- example: abundance_dataset=example%20abundance%20dataset
- %20 represents a space in HTML enconding, if you are typing into a browser then you can put regular spaces, if you are using a http library, then please check its specific formatting guidance.

biomass_dataset
- must be from the list in the Biomass Datasets drop-down
- only one dataset may be specified at a time, and can not be used if abundance_dataset is also used
- for example see above

format
- the format that the lifeform product will be returned in (abundance_datasets only)
- options are csv, json, pretty (print to screen)
- example: format=csv

north, south, east, west
- the respective edges of a bounding box that defines the desired geographical region
- if a WKT is supplied, that will take precedence and these values will be ignored
- example: north=62&south=55&west=-1&east=1

wkt
- The well-known text representation of the area to be returned
- only polygons or multipolygons are accepted
- example: wkt=POLYGON((30 10, 40 40, 20 40, 10 20, 30 10))

startdate, enddate
- the start and ending date for which to return results
- both are mandatory
- format YYYY-MM-DD
- example: startdate=2010-01-08&enddate=2012-05-23

raw
- return a link to the raw data alongside the lifeform product
- if this parameter is included with any value then this will be set to true
- example: raw=on, raw=true
- if you are automating lifeform product queries then you probably want to omit this option, as it will return a HTML page with links, rather than return a file

Example queries

Return results from the abundance dataset 'BE Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) - LW_VLIZ_zoo' between 2010-01-25 and 2012-05-23, inside the specified polygon, and return in csv format:
https://www.dassh.ac.uk/plet/cgi-bin/get_form.py?startdate=2010-01-25&enddate=2012-05-23&wkt=POLYGON%20((-23.027344%2045.924409,-23.027344%2062.656487,11.425781%2062.656487,11.425781%2045.924409,-23.027344%2045.924409))&abundance_dataset=BE%20Flanders%20Marine%20Institute%20(VLIZ)%20-%20LW_VLIZ_zoo&format=csv

Return results from the abundance dataset 'UK Marine Biological Association (MBA) - Continuous_Plankton_Recorder_dataset' for the years 2000-2003, inside the specified bounding box, and return in csv format:
https://www.dassh.ac.uk/plet/cgi-bin/get_form.py?startdate=2000-01-01&enddate=2003-12-31&north=59&south=57&west=-2&east=4.5&abundance_dataset=UK%20Marine%20Biological%20Association%20(MBA)%20-%20Continuous_Plankton_Recorder_dataset&format=csv

There are many tools and libraries that can allow the scripting of HTTP queries. For example in a Linux environment you can use the 'curl' command:
curl 'https://www.dassh.ac.uk/plet/cgi-bin/get_form.py?startdate=2000-01-01&enddate=2003-12-31&north=59&south=57&west=-2&east=4.5&abundance_dataset=UK%20Marine%20Biological%20Association%20(MBA)%20-%20Continuous_Plankton_Recorder_dataset&format=csv'

Please note, if you provide incorrect parameters you may receive an error message from 'get_lifeforms.py'. This is the underlying script that is performing the query. The arguments it refers to should NOT be used as a reference, as these will be different from the parameters that need to be provided from the command line. For example, the script requires the argument 'lat_min', however the parameter that is supplied is actually 'south'.