[GRASS-dev] [SoC] <gsoc2014> <grass metadata> <week 6>

Thu Jul 3 09:22:11 PDT 2014

Hei Madi,

Thanks for your clarification.
Very interesting! I see I have to take a closer look on pycsw and it`s front-ends (as a possible alternative to GeoNetwork).
The pycsw documentation [1] says that also pycsw Metadata repositories are set up with a database backend (SQLite, PostgreSQL, and even PostGIS support). However, integration with data portal solutions like e.g. GeoNode or Open Data Catalogue is unfortunately “read-only” meaning that meta-data can be only queried [2].

Would be nice if metadata from GRASS could somehow go directly into a geodata portal (and that the other way around e.g. people, keywords … could be fetched from there)…  (BTW, in the proprietary world such a functionality requires yet another extension: https://www.geocat.net/bridge/)
For organization with a geodata portal solution it is maybe possible to just sync pycsw`s DB with a DB from e.g. GeoNode or so, if one wants to have that consistent…

If you allow me two more questions in this regard:
Will pycsw become a dependency for GRASS (with metadata support)?
And will it be necessary, that pycsw runs on the same computer as GRASS (meaning also one pycsw for each GRASS installation) or could that somehow be centralized (in other words that GRASS connects to a central pycsw)?

Cheers
Stefan

[1] http://docs.pycsw.org/en/1.8.3/administration.html#metadata-repository-setup
[2] http://docs.pycsw.org/en/1.8.3/geonode.html

From: Margherita Di Leo [mailto:dileomargherita at gmail.com]
Sent: 3. juli 2014 13:40
To: Blumentrath, Stefan
Cc: Matej Krejci; Martin Landa; GRASS-dev
Subject: Re: [GRASS-dev] [SoC] <gsoc2014> <grass metadata> <week 6>

Hi Stefan,
On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 9:46 AM, Blumentrath, Stefan <Stefan.Blumentrath at nina.no<mailto:Stefan.Blumentrath at nina.no>> wrote:
>
> Hi Matej,
>
>
>
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> Metadata is a current topic I my organization at the moment, so your work comes exactly at the right time for me. Here in NINA people are using many different kinds of GIS software and we are considering introducing GeoNetwork as a central metadata storage solution, which makes metadata management to some extend independent from the GIS software used. Among public and environmental organisations, GeoNetwork is quite popular for metadata management (amongst others Mapping authorities from Netherlands, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries are using it, see also: http://geonetwork-opensource.org/gallery/gallery.html).
>
>
>
> I have no real personal experience with GeoNetwor (yet), but from what I read in the documentation I could imagine two ways how GRASS metadata could make their way into such a central metadata catalogue:
>
> 1)      XML import (+ this option is in place when GRASS metadata is written to XML, - import requires manual labor)
>
> 2)      Metadata harvesting (GeoNetwork can “harvest” metadata from other CSWs, so maybe pycsw already provides automatic an interface in that direction(?). That would be great!)

pycsw is a CSW server that allows to harvest information from other OGC services, as well as Geonetwork. This latter offers also the editor, while pycsw doesn't, but is used internally by other applications which offer full metadata management (and a GUI), such as CKAN, GeoNode, etc. and the idea is to add GRASS to this list as well :-)
If you want to stick with geonetwork, you can harvest the metadata from the pycsw, there's no need of manual work.

>
>
>
> When it comes to consistent metadata, I guess e.g. lists with values for metadata fields will in practice have to be more or less dynamic (as new staff member are being employed, new topics for spatial analysis arise (requiring new keywords), new types of data being developed and so on). Not sure if manipulating the templates is convenient enough for average users (seems to be mainly suitable for users with some degree of programming experience). However, good to know that providing a custom set of values is already possible through the templates.
>
> If you start working on a DB for metadata related content, feel free to let me know if I can support you by any means (yet I will be on leave for almost the rest of the year, which means I can spend only a limited amount of time).

The idea is to allow user to generate a custom template using the gui, that can be reused for any metadata generated afterwards. Your idea of a database deserves consideration as well

Thanks
Madi

>
> However, I had a second look on GeoNetwork in this regard, and GeoNetwork is (naturally) using a database for metadata management (one option here is PostgreSQL). If it would be possible to just connect to that same DB (e.g. for fetching and storing key words, data on contact persons…), that would be really, really great, as this ensures that metadata produced in GRASS are 100% compliant to metadata standards used in GeoNetwork (if GRASS users also use GeoNetwork).
>
>
>
> Anyway, Rome was not built in a day and I am 100% sure that your work will be very, very useful already from what you planned for GSoC.
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Stefan
>
>
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--
Best regards,

Dr. Margherita DI LEO
Scientific / technical project officer

European Commission - DG JRC
Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES)
Via Fermi, 2749
I-21027 Ispra (VA) - Italy - TP 261

Tel. +39 0332 78 3600
margherita.di-leo at jrc.ec.europa.eu<mailto:margherita.di-leo at jrc.ec.europa.eu>

Disclaimer: The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstance be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.
Hi Matej,

Thanks for your reply.
Metadata is a current topic I my organization at the moment, so your work comes exactly at the right time for me. Here in NINA people are using many different kinds of GIS software and we are considering introducing GeoNetwork as a central metadata storage solution, which makes metadata management to some extend independent from the GIS software used. Among public and environmental organisations, GeoNetwork is quite popular for metadata management (amongst others Mapping authorities from Netherlands, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries are using it, see also: http://geonetwork-opensource.org/gallery/gallery.html).

I have no real personal experience with GeoNetwor (yet), but from what I read in the documentation I could imagine two ways how GRASS metadata could make their way into such a central metadata catalogue:

1)      XML import (+ this option is in place when GRASS metadata is written to XML, - import requires manual labor)

2)      Metadata harvesting (GeoNetwork can “harvest” metadata from other CSWs, so maybe pycsw already provides automatic an interface in that direction(?). That would be great!)

When it comes to consistent metadata, I guess e.g. lists with values for metadata fields will in practice have to be more or less dynamic (as new staff member are being employed, new topics for spatial analysis arise (requiring new keywords), new types of data being developed and so on). Not sure if manipulating the templates is convenient enough for average users (seems to be mainly suitable for users with some degree of programming experience). However, good to know that providing a custom set of values is already possible through the templates.
If you start working on a DB for metadata related content, feel free to let me know if I can support you by any means (yet I will be on leave for almost the rest of the year, which means I can spend only a limited amount of time).
However, I had a second look on GeoNetwork in this regard, and GeoNetwork is (naturally) using a database for metadata management (one option here is PostgreSQL). If it would be possible to just connect to that same DB (e.g. for fetching and storing key words, data on contact persons…), that would be really, really great, as this ensures that metadata produced in GRASS are 100% compliant to metadata standards used in GeoNetwork (if GRASS users also use GeoNetwork).

Anyway, Rome was not built in a day and I am 100% sure that your work will be very, very useful already from what you planned for GSoC.

All the best,
Stefan

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