Large dependency footprint without explanation or optional grouping

[Asif-rehman012]

Description

Installing WeatherRoutingTool pulls in a very large number of dependencies,
including heavy scientific and geospatial libraries such as:

• geopandas
• cartopy
• netcdf4
• dask
• boto3

Currently, it is not clear which dependencies are:

• required for core functionality
• optional (e.g. visualization, data download, notebooks)

Impact

• Long installation time
• Higher chance of installation failures on some systems
• Difficult onboarding for new users and contributors

Suggested Improvements

• Group non-core dependencies as optional extras (e.g. extras_require)
• Document which features require which dependency groups
• Provide a minimal installation path for core usage

Environment

• OS: Windows 10
• Python: 3.x
• Installation method: pip inside a virtual environment

Additional Context

Improving dependency organization would significantly enhance developer
experience and make the project more approachable for first-time users.

[Asif-rehman012]

Hi, I’d be happy to work on this issue if you think it’s a useful improvement.

[Rama542]

Hi Asif,

Separate core and optional dependencies to reduce installation footprint
This PR reorganizes project dependencies by separating core requirements from optional feature-based packages.

What was changed

• Moved heavy and non-essential libraries (geopandas, cartopy, netcdf4, dask, boto3) into optional dependency groups
• Added extras for visualization, data handling, and full installations
• Updated documentation with clear installation instructions

Why this is needed
Currently, installing the project pulls in many large dependencies even when they are not required. This causes longer install times and makes onboarding harder for new users. This change allows users to install only what they need.

Result

• Faster and lighter default installation
• Improved developer experience
• No breaking changes

Feedback is welcome!