Re: [Geonetwork-devel] Metadata creation on the fly

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As suggested by Chris, let me move/copy this discussion to the =20
OpenSDI list as well as I feel it touches with the GDAL Java bindings =20=

discussion there too.

I'll put up an idea that may be (it actually is) absolutely ignorant =20
of what the Java bindings to GDAL actually are :-) , but link the two =20=

topics discussed in some way.

What if the GDAL/OGR utilities gdalinfo and ogrinfo would be used to =20
generate part of the metadata automatically? They can deal with a =20
great number of formats and would provide essential information for =20
both a catalog as well as for the creation of map services on =20
GeoServer and MapServer as discussed below. A scheduled process can =20
scan the directory structure and generate the necessary information =20
in an ISO19115 formatted XML file (updating an existing one, creating =20=

a new one when none exists).

The only "worry" would be the mixing of java and C technologies that =20
require specific installers for the different platforms, but as a =20
"feature" to enable automatic metadata generation it may be a solution!?

Ciao,
Jeroen

On 25 Sep 2005, at 01:08, michael gould wrote:

> Luis, Jeroen, all,
>
> Yes indeed, we MUST semi-automate the MD collection process! This =20
> would
> (will) be a big step forward. I am writing this development into all
> possible proposals and we should get lucky with one of them...So in =20=

> the near
> term I expect to have one full-time person (in addition to Miguel =20
> Manso I
> hope) working on it and I will feed him/her the ideas I have. Ideas =20=

> such as
> embedding content description (meta)data IN the data, and leaving =20
> discovery
> metadata outside...
>
> Also, have you read Gilberto Camara's geodata commons paper, where he
> discusses a sort of interview-based metadata (invisible) creation =20
> process,
> and also the idea of merging and inheriting metadata during data =20
> fusion?
> Good ideas to contemplate.
>
> http://www.dpi.inpe.br/gilberto/papers/commons_giscience2004.pdf
>
> cheers,
>
> -----------
> Michael Gould
> Department of Information Systems (LSI)
> Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castell=F3n Spain
> E-mail: gould (at) lsi.uji.es
> http://www.mgould.com
> http://www.geoinfo.uji.es
>
>
> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Luis Sevilla [mailto:cre...@gm...]
> Enviado el: s=E1bado, 24 de septiembre de 2005 21:01
> Para: Jeroen Ticheler
> CC: Jorge Piera; geo...@li...; Michael =20
> Gould;
> Miguel Angel Manso
> Asunto: Re: [Geonetwork-devel] Metadata creation on the fly
>
> Hi Jeroen,
>    I'm working with Jorge on his catalog client/metadata work side of
> gvSIG, and it seems quite appealing your idea. But I'ld like to
> structure it a little bit more.
> Jeroen Ticheler wrote:
>
>
>> Hi Jorge!
>> First of all thanks for your useful contributions up to now! Today we
>>
> will make a beta3.1 release to fix this and some other key =20
> problems  we ran
> into and that are essential for the application to be useful  at all.
>
>
> Well, in our Free Software SDI solution your software it's a key
> piece, due to the rol of broker betweend  user and data that  catalogs
> must do.  Yours it's the only no-OSG protocol that we've had to
> 'talk', and we'd like to improve the tool as much as needed for being
> used in every context than a catalog server must be.
>
>
>> I was just traveling to New York to UN Head Quarters (came back
>>
> yesterday) and during the discussions it came to me that we would  =20
> need an
> additional functionality that I think we may find in  collaboration =20=

> with
> your group.
>
>>
>> What we would like to do is the following:
>>
>> Use the Geonetwork harvesting capabilities already in place to  =20
>> schedule a
>>
> scanning of a (local or remote) directory structure and  scan the =20
> files in
> these directory folders. Using a library that is  able to read out
> properties from files like shape files, coverages,  image formats =20
> etc.. +
> maybe an existing metadata file in some format  we could automatically
> generate or use an existing metadata that is  inserted into =20
> GeoNetwork.
> Using a UUID and probably a node identifier  we could than =20
> synchronize and
> update the metadata in the catalog with  those data on the server. =20
> Probably
> also storing a metadata XML copy  in the directory with the data where
> appropriate.
>
>
> It sounds more as a client feature than for the server itself.
> GeoNetwork administering tool, or in our case our stand-alone GIS,
> would enable a kind of batch self generated pre-load of metadata. But
> as a catalog server would be in a production environment (as
> FAO/geonetwork one), this, in my opinion, should be more a preparation
> of a load than a load itself. The requirements of  suitability for
> searching ar far from being generated automatickly, so this new
> generated metadata should be edited hevily before bein inserted on
> catalog database.
>
>
>> I understand you have developed an API / jar that is able to read
>>
> properties from several data formats!? What would you think of =20
> adding  such
> a capacity to GeoNetwork opensource? It wouldn't create high  quality
> metadata in the first instance, but can be used as base  records to be
> improved by the data owner at a later stage.
>
>
> on gvSIG we've developped a collection of  data drivers than enable us
> to load a not to wide range of  geospatial data and services, and may
> be used for the extraction of some data (as projection/crs/srs,
> bounding box, pixel size, and others).  I think Miguel Angel Manso,
> from Mercator Group has some kind of complementary tool for this, and
> he has done some bach generating metadata before. I'm contacting it
> for enter on this thread 'cause automatic geretated metadata it's one
> of his fields of study. Also Mike Gould, whos is heavily envolved in
> metadata from long time ago as you know should give us a key point on
> the right approach for this new development.
>
>
>> The next step than is to, besides having a quick updating of a =20
>> local  GIS
>>
> data directory in the catalog (could include many other formats  like
> spreadsheet and document types, GPS track logs etc..), also to  =20
> have enough
> information to create / maintain Map Services on  GeoServer and/or
> MapServer. By setting privileges on the metadata,  services could be
> accessible from the web too (guess some more work  is needed on the =20=

> security
> :-) ).
>
>
> This will give us to a kind of  data centered management tool for this
> 3 servers. It seems a killer idea, and deserves a good design work
> before put us hands-on. For the whole SDI puzzle we need too gazeteer
> server, than right now is a service that no one of us (server makers)
> are announcing. Jorge has a working client for gazetteer both for ADL
> and for WFS-G, and this service should be included in this services
> management and metadata administering tool.
>
>
>> Eventually the same kind of harvesting could be developed for
>>
> GeoDatabases too.
>
>
> No doubt. Every GI available on an organization (or for public access)
> should be metadatated, and an automatic aproach for this task it's
> must.
>
>
>> Let me know what your ideas are on this (others may also have =20
>> ideas!).
>>
>
>
> I had no wait for sending some small ideas about. I must mature the
> concept and as I tell before structure it. I think on monday Jorge
> will make his appointments, and I hope Mike and Miguel Angel would
> like to tell something on this.
>
>
>> Greetings,
>> Jeroen
>>
>
>
> Good weekend
>
>    Luis
>
>
>> _______________________
>> Jeroen Ticheler
>> FAO-UN
>> Tel: +39 06 57056041
>> http://www.fao.org/geonetwork
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>>
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>
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>
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