Acronyms and Jargon

“OMG! Its TLA time!”

“We thought we might establish the ground rules going forward and give a helicopter view of the value proposition.”

Alternatively we might just deal with some of the common acronyms and terms that will crop up today.

GIS – Geographical Information Systems

A system consisting of hardware, software. Importantly reliant on data and human input. Allows efficient management and sharing of

information, and strongly evidence based assessment of scenarios.

Increasingly mainstream in its application, and in its ability to integrate with other technologies.

It’s a tool, just a tool. Its what data we use in it, and what we do with it that matters.

GPS – Global Positioning Systems

More correctly now termed GNSS – Global Navigation Satellite System to cover the non-US military systems incl. Galileo & Glonass.

Increasingly ubiquitous, increasingly accurate, with increasing ease.

Enabling efficient field data access and capture.

Impacting on existing base-mapping from national mapping agencies and prompting remapping programmes and projection changes.

Web Services – in a GIS Context

Store data once, share often. Data stays with custodian. Avoid loss of control and currency. Consumer pulls data from multiple

‘federated’ data stores in a dynamic manner.

How to discover web services? Metadata catalogues.

How to consume or publish?Using standards compliant systems.

OGC – Open Geospatial Consortium A global consortium that develops standards for

web services that relate to geographical data. WFS – Web Feature Service. Delivers actual data

in a GML format. GML – Like a structured text file that can be

processed by software because it follows an agreed structure and format.

WMS – Web Feature Service. Delivers raster data (bitmap images) to a user’s software that ‘consumes’ the web service and displays it.

CSW – Catalogue Service for the Web. Publishes metadata (dataset descriptions) so services can be found.

Data models & Data schemas

There are many types of datamodels including conceptual, logical, physical but to simplify…

A way of describing the structure of a database – its tables, columns, pick-lists (domains), and how these relate to each other.

Relationships between data elements can be via unique IDs and/or spatially e.g. features are within a certain boundary area.

UML (Universal Modelling Language) is typically used as a structured way of recording and exchanging data model information. Microsoft Visio is one of the tools used to create data schemas in UML.

(c) Compass Informatics Limited 2008

(c) Compass Informatics Limited 2008

Legislation & Directives INSPIRE - The objective of the proposed INSPIRE Directive is to establish

and maintain an Infrastructure for Spatial Information within the European Community.

Re-Use of Public Sector Information (PSI) Directive - Applies to public sector bodies generally and sets out a framework within which public sector data from across the EU can be accessed.

Data infrastructures, eGovernment initiatives, freedom of information and re-use of public sector Directives are all closely connected.

All relate to the same asset - namely public sector information.

Legislation & Directives INSPIRE Directive and the PSI Directive selected common

elements: Promotion of access to data; Access to data location services (asset lists); Use of standard licences; Right to view data and information before use at no financial charge; The right of public sector bodies to charge for data.