Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML (ISO 8879).

XML is a `metalanguage' — that describes other languages—which lets you design your own customized markup languages for limitless different types of documents.

XML provides a facility to define tags and the structural relationships between them.

XML is playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere.

XML, the Semantic Web & Web Services

Semantic Web: the idea of having data on the web defined and linked in a way that it can be used by machines not just for display purposes, but for automation, integration and reuse of data across various applications.

Web Services (realizing the semantic web): self-contained, self-describing, modular applications that can be published, located, and invoked across the Web.

Web Services (cont.)

The technical schema for Web Services features the following:

XML: format for data exchange and description SOAP: protocol for calling Web Services WSDL: format for describing Web Services UDDI: central organization for registering, finding

and using Web Services

Ecological Metadata Language (EML)

Ecological Metadata Language (EML) is a metadata specification developed by the ecology discipline and for the ecology discipline.

It is based on prior work done by the Ecological Society of America and associated efforts (Michener et al., 1997). Being implemented The Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network.

EML is implemented as a series of XML document types that can by used in a modular and extensible manner to document ecological data.

In EML, the definition of a "Data Package" is the combination of both the data and metadata for a resource. So, data packages are built by using the <eml> wrapper, which will include all of the metadata, and optionally the data (or references to them).

EML (Continued..)

EML was designed with the following standards in mind:

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

(CSDGM) Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and , Biological Profile of the CSDGM (from the National Biological Information Infrastructure)

International Standards Organization's Geographic Information Standard (ISO 19115)

ISO 8601 Date and Time Standard OpenGIS Consortiums's Geography Markup

Language (GML) Scientific, Technical, and Medical Markup Language

(STMML) Extensible Scientific Interchange Language (XSIL).

SensorML (http://stromboli.nsstc.uah.edu/SensorML/)

SensorML provides the models and XML schema encoding for defining the geometric, dynamic, and observational characteristics of a sensor.

provide general sensor information in support of data discovery

support the processing and analysis of the sensor measurements

support the geolocation of the measured data. provide performance characteristics (e.g. accuracy,

threshold, etc.) archive fundamental properties and assumptions

regarding sensor

SensorML (http://stromboli.nsstc.uah.edu/SensorML/)

The goal is to make all types of Web-resident sensors, instruments, and imaging devices, and also repositories of sensor data, discoverable, accessible and, where applicable, controllable via the Web.

The creation of Web-based sensor networks Being developed by Open GIS Consortium including

these key partners: NASA, National Imaging and Mapping Agency and EPA.