[OSGeodata] a talk about open source geo, metadata and INSPIRE

Stefan F. Keller sfkeller at gmail.com
Mon Dec 11 19:31:23 EST 2006


Jo,

I agree with your contribution. Thank you also for your former mail to me:
I'm rather stuffed with work these days. I'll come back to this.

My only remark to the talk is that information models - either adapted or
suplemental - as well as "best practices" will play a crucial role in
"implementing rules". With best practices I mean human and machine readable
modeling languages (which do you know?) which allow to discuss and define
requirements on a higher level than formats.

Regards,
Stefan

2006/12/9, Jo Walsh <jo at frot.org>:
>
> dear all,
>
> On Tuesday I am giving a talk at a conference organised by the
> Romanian Space Agency which forms part of their preparation for the
> INSPIRE directive after Romania joins the EU next January.
> http://portal.rosa.ro/conferinte/2006_12_event/index.php?page=infoday-inspire
>
>
> The talk is catchily titled "An Open Source, Geospatial Web approach
> to implementing INSPIRE" and is part open source geospatial plug, part
> rant about neogeo specifications, part metadata + GeoNetwork
> obsessing, part open data propaganda. I am not sure if i will have
> time to cover it all, or really what my fellow attendees are likely to
> expect, so my tune might change before then. Nonetheless i include my
> notes for it below this email and any feedback would be appreciated.
>
> Perhaps i will run into the full text of the elusive final INSPIRE
> directive while i am there. It feels odd to be talking about it when
> it doesn't publically exist yet - but "search services" will be mandated
> and free of cost for sure, so metadata is solid ground.
>
> cheers,
>
>
> jo
>
> ===============================================================
> An Open Source, Geospatial Web approach to implementing INSPIRE
> ===============================================================
>
> Jo Walsh - OSGeo - 12-12-2006
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Now a compromise has been reached that will allow the INSPIRE Directive
> establishing a framework for European spatial data infrastructure to
> become
> law. Within 2 or 3 years its "implementing rules" governing the
> publication of
> geospatial data and metadata, by state agencies that collect it. Now all
> across
> Europe, public sector information providers will be asking, "How can we do
> this
> as cheaply as possible?" and "How can we generate the most value from this
> data?".
>
> I think the answer to the first question is contained in Open Source
> software and open standards for information exchange. The answer to the
> second
> question is contained there too, but in a less obvious way. The
> perspective I
> hold is biased by the fact that I am serving on the Board of the Open
> Source
> Geospatial Foundation; but this in turn I am doing because of a conviction
> that
> open source offers the best platform and the best model for the
> maintenance of
> a civic information infrastructure.
>
> The products comprised by OSGeo form a "stack"; data manipulation
> libraries
> GDAL and GeoTools underpin web services interfaces Mapserver and
> GeoServer,
> with GRASS and OSSIM providing heavyweight analysis and processing tools,
> and
> Mapbender, Mapbuilder and OpenLayers offering a variety of web mapping
> client
> functions, all oriented towards open standards; and MapGuide Open Source,
> the
> more "all in one" open source geospatial project originating with
> Autodesk, and
> most recently FAO GeoNetwork, the geospatial metadata catalogue service.
>
> [picture of stack]
>
> (These projects have a variety of backgrounds, from academic institutions
> to
> "dot.org" social enterprises to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation,
> private consultancies and community cycling groups. They have many things
> in
> common; their source code is openly published and once "incubated" from
> the
> Foundation, guaranteed free of copyright and patent constraints, and
> available
> for re-use without restriction. Developments in each project are overseen
> by an
> active Project Steering Committee and subject to extensive peer review.
>
> Open source projects are heavily involved in the open standards
> development
> process as "reference implementations".) Also community involvement in
> standards which hit the open source domain first, driven very directly by
> needs
> of developers and immediate end-users, solving problems faster.  Strongly
> to
> open source benefit to be 'interoperable' to have common interfaces.
> Emergent specifications focused on making it easier to contribute and
> redistribute geospatial data.
>
> Examples:
>
> WMS --> TMS
>
> [OpenLayers screenshot]
> [GeoNetwork screenshot]
>
> [redundant distribution - lessening infrastructure investment - 'bleeding
> edge' comes up with budget constrained things that work.]
>
> GML --> GeoRSS
> "long tail", 90% of applications, etc.
> [Maybe a Mapbuilder/WFS-T/Geoserver screenshot?]
>
> WFS --> WFS-Simple?
>
> ISO19915/FGDC --> ?
>
> [uDig catalog screenshot]
> [FAO GeoNetwork screenshot]
>
> GeoRSS / WFS Simple etc advantages - ease of implementation + support.
> "Lego
> model" No need for heavy lifting backend systems initially.
> Webserver orientation = low overhead, easy to distribute.
> When needed easy to build on more complex interfaces lego-wise.
> Adaptability of component-style software architecture: start w/ PostGIS,
> add
> GeoServer later.
>
> I want to talk about GeoNetwork a lot more because it is relatively unique
> and
> represents an area where open source definitely has the edge on
> proprietary
> software offerings when it comes to SDI implementation. Metadata
> collection,
> management; registry + search of OWS services...
>
> Metadata on both the bottom and the top of the open source geospatial
> stack.
> Essential for managing any kind of repository as well as publishing.
> Metadata
> is at the core of the INSPIRE directive and metadata access and search is
> the
> only service that INSPIRE rules dictate must be offered to the public free
> of
> cost.
>
> Metadata extends a lot further than data about descriptions of geospatial
> features. 80% of information collected by government has a spatial
> component.
> Metadata is the main area in which "translation" and "transformation"
> problems
> will arise, attempting to map between different taxonomies and cadastral
> models
> used within each of the European member states. It is helpful to think of
> INSPIRE as a building block for a more generalised data infrastructure. As
>
> such, connection with related information exchange standards and
> interfaces is
> of benefit. Idea of a "geospatial web" using existing frameworks,
> particularly
> RSS, RDF and the semantic web, to publish data and metadata, achieving the
> same
> ends as the web services comprising a Spatial Data Infrastructure.
>
> Architectures of participation... ease of participation. Registering
> source
> with resource like GeoNetwork. Filesystem feeder application, encouraging
> "organic growth" of better information about data, more componentisation.
>
> [screenshots]
>
> Easy syndication of updates - RSS feeds or access to an OAI-PMH repository
> holding references to data. Publish metadata it will get indexed, metadata
>
> search services crawlers. Find other people doing your job for you. Become
> node
> on GeoNetwork. Data on web more likely it will get used. Metadata is
> byproduct
> of own internal systems management - needed to do job better - fact it is
> available on web a sideeffect. But to really get value / knowledge from it
> this
> way has to be in open.
>
> Open data = similar ideas of collab data production. "Many eyes shallow
> bugs".
> Contribution federated nearer to where data collection happens. Increased
> timeliness through distribution. Prospect of interesting connections to
> location-enabled services.
>
> Openstreetmap example. Commercial operators admit it is viable. Local
> councils
> start contributing data to it. Business value in exploitation of data.
>
> [screenshot of Timisoara Free Map in progress in JOSM.]
> [something from mapnik/OSMarender]
>
> Business value in exploitation of data. Public data generation exponential
> more
> value in general if open at the point of collection + initial
> distribution. See
> table from Weiss paper.
>
> (Here in the UK the Office of Public Sector Information is working on RDF
> project for publishing metadata about civic information. 'click-use'
> license -
> 'atomisation' whereby metadata attached to smaller items of information.
> Ease
> of entry and encouragement of reuse both by other public sector bodies and
> by
> small commercial enterprises. Making data available raw - with consistent
> identifiers - and an open license. Machine-negotiable click-use licenses
> planned. Big difference Ordnance Survey stance. General trend
> availability.
> Look at GeoConnections - they also fund OSGeo projects.
>
> The trend in legislation and infrastructure is going to be to more open,
> so more open now saves time later.
>
>
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