The Common Data Model (CDM) acts as the central “information broker” within EDIT’s platform for cybertaxonomy architecture. Apart from its role as an advanced storage facility for individual researcher and taxonomic communities it has to communicate with decoupled EDIT platform components such as data portals, (print) publication tools, fieldwork and mapping software, as well as collection databases and specimen information systems (see figure). Consequently, the implementation of CDM interfaces providing and accepting data according to established international biodiversity informatics data standards and quasi-standards is considered essential for the entire EDIT-based taxonomic information workflow.
For the continued development, testing and assessment of the EDIT Common Data Model (CDM) as well as its related software products (e.g. data portal, taxonomic editor, import/export modules) the availability of real-world taxonomic data sets is essential. In collaboration with WP6 and other taxonomic initiatives, WP5 has organized the availability of eight significant taxonomic datasets and tested their compliance with the CDM model:
Relying on recent experience acquired through the use of the model for descriptive data in CDM v1, we reviewed the existing Java classes. We propose some improvements to ensure an optimal handling of data, as well as compatibility with existing descriptive standards and tools. This report provides a summary of the comments made on the first version of the CDM descriptive data model and propositions of evolutions for an improved management of descriptive data in the CDM.
This report provides a summary of the procedures and steps to follow using converter webservices for transforming point occurrence data to distribution data.
Point data to regional distribution - Priorities in programming efforts should thus be concentrated on a set of known end-user needs in the domain of taxonomy related work, for practical purposes. Based on previously conducted surveys and reports following services have been selected as a priority to be used by taxonomists or users of taxonomic information:
This report provides an overview of possible test data for the EDIT Geoplatform tools, specifically the mapViewer tool. Examples are given in the Annexes to this report.
For improving collaboration and integration of IST departments within EDIT, two institutional MoUs (approved by the BoD in January 2008) have been now developed and are available up to now. They are based on the same template, i.e. identical except for the understandings or agreements stated in Paragraph 4.
1) Content management system for websites with taxonomic data
Import of specimen data in the EDIT Common Data Model database:
The EDIT Specimen Explorer for Taxonomists (http://search.biocase.org/edit/) provides users with fast and easy-to-use access to worldwide biodiversity data, and offers full control over query expansion. The portal accepts one or more Latin names, suggests related query terms for both zoological and botanical data, expands the query accordingly and offers complete BioCASE portal functionality for resulting specimen and observation data (from the GBIF index).
Objectives
The general objective of the activity covers the design of a security infrastructure for the platform and the introduction of a secure Single Sign-On service (SSO) for the platform. The task to be achieved within the third JPA concerns the integration of a Community Single Sign-On (CSSO) security infrastructure within the platform.
To ensure full compatibility of the EDIT Platform with other initiatives, as well as to foment its use as a tool for data integration and access, it was decided to develop a CDM interface for descriptive data. It was decided to use a unique already-existing public standard exchange format for descriptive data: the TDWG-SDD XML schema. This choice was made in accordance with the recent efforts of the developers of several existing tools (DiversityDescriptions [“DeltaAccess”], Xper², Lucid, FRIDA) to allow interoperability with SDD.
Closely related to the EDIT Common Data Model (CDM, http://cybertaxonomy.eu/blog/cdm) work package 5 implements an innovative taxonomic data input and editing tool, which will become the central tool for taxonomists working on their data held in CDM stores. The editor overcomes the traditional and time consuming form-based data entry procedures with state-of-the-art parsing technology allowing users to enter their data in free-text form which is then analyzed into its syntactic components without further user interaction.