Difference: LsidVocs (21 vs. 22)

Revision 2202 Nov 2007 - Main.RogerHyam

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META TOPICPARENT name="TaxonNameLsidVoc"

LsidVocs

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TDWG LSID Vocabularies

Name Page Status Comment
TaxonName TaxonNameLsidVoc Available First vocabulary to be developed. Used by IPNI, Index Fungorum and shortly ZooBank. Based on TCS.
TaxonRank TaxonRankLsidVoc Available Support vocabulary that provides an enumeration of taxonomic ranks. Used by TaxonName vocabulary and will be used by TaxonConcept and others. Derived from TCS.
TaxonConcept TaxonConceptLsidVoc Developmental Central to all taxonomy. Will be based on TCS.
TaxonOccurrence TaxonOccurrenceLsidVoc Proposed The minimum required to exchange an observation and specimen data. replaces the eariler SpecimenLsidVoc and OccurrenceRecordLsidVoc - although this is still being debated.
Person PersonLsidVoc Developmental Will be based on BiogML? along with requirements gathered from IPNI Authors database and ZooBank
Team TeamLsidVoc Developmental A collection of individuals in order with roles.
PublicationCitation PublicationCitationLsidVoc Developmental Required by multiple other vocabularies. Will be based on TaxMLit? and Levels 1 and 2.
Organisation OrganisationLsidVoc? Proposed Will be based on NCD
Collection CollectionLsidVoc Proposed Will be based on NCD

SpecimenLsidVoc and OccurrenceRecordLsidVoc are probably the most contentious to develop at the moment.

 

What are LSID vocabularies?

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<		When a client application resolves an LSID it gets access to the metadata associated with that particular LSID by its owner. For this metadata to be useful the client application must process it. It must read the data and display it to the user or use it in a larger calculation involving other data.
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>		LSID Vocabularies are the building blocks of the TDWG Ontology. They provide the semantics needed to describe the objects exchanged in our community. Their initial use was in encoding the information returned by the getMetadata() call of the LSID resolution mechanism - hence their name - but they can be used in any XML or Semantic Web based technology to express concepts associated with biodiversity.

When a client application resolves an LSID it gains access to the metadata associated with that particular LSID by its owner. For this metadata to be useful the client application must process it. It must read the data and display it to the user or use it in a larger calculation involving other data.

 Most useful client applications are likely to combine data of different kinds from multiple sources i.e. not just consume specimen or observation data but combining it with geographic, phylogenetic, molecular and other data.
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 LSID vocabularies are descriptions of the metadata returned for particular classes of object within the TDWG domain. They enable data about different things from different places to be combined in meaningful ways. They form part of a larger TDWG ontology effort that describes how these classes of data are related.
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<		Technically each LSID Vocabulary is an OWL ontology containing one or more classes and a number of properties who's domain is in one of those classes. The ontologies use a subset of the constructs available in the variant of OWL known as OWL-Lite - a kind of OWL-Extralite. There are also a set of global properties that can be used with any of the LSID Vocabulary classes.
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>		Technically each LSID Vocabulary is an OWL ontology containing one or more classes and a number of properties who's domain is in one of those classes. There are also a set of global properties that can be used with any of the LSID Vocabulary classes.

The metadata returned when the LSID is resolved is a instance of one of these OWL classes containing some or all of the class and global properties. The metadata is RDF encoded in XML. Those unfamiliar with semantic web technologies can think of it as an XML document that follows a specific format. Although the vocabularies are defined in terms of Semantic Web technologies (RDF and OWL) the data providers can think of the metadata as pure XML. It is possible for non Semantic Web applications, even simple scripts, to inter-operate with semantic base applications by generating XML that is also valid RDF.

 
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<		The metadata returned when the LSID is resolved is a instance of one of these OWL classes containing some or all of the class and global properties. The metadata is RDF encoded in XML. Those unfamiliar with semantic web technologies can think of it as an XML document that follows a specific format.
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An Important Note

 
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<		It is important to note that although the vocabularies are defined in terms of Semantic Web technologies (RDF and OWL) the data providers can think of the metadata as pure XML. Tools and documentation are provided for non Semantic Web applications, even simple scripts, to inter-operate with semantic base applications
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>		The LSID vocabularies only define new concepts (classes, properties and instances) that are used in the biodiversity informatics domain. It is assumed that they will be used in conjunction with other well known vocabularies such as those provided by the Dublin Core metadata initiative. The vocabularies in themselves will probably not provide enough information to define an entire data exchange standard for a thematic network of the kind that currently exist. Extra information (on the use of Dublin Core properties for example) will need to be provided in a human readable document or some other form. See TDWGOntologyGovernance for more information.

The TDWG LSID Vocabularies

This is a list of the current TDWG vocabularies. Some are under development and other are established and being used. TDWGOntologyGovernance describes how this process is managed. Each vocabulary has a wiki page for linking resources and discussion.

Name Page Status Comment
TaxonName TaxonNameLsidVoc Available First vocabulary to be developed. Used by IPNI, Index Fungorum and shortly ZooBank. Based on TCS. In preparation for to become the basis for a TDWG Standard
TaxonRank TaxonRankLsidVoc Available Support vocabulary that provides an enumeration of taxonomic ranks. Used by TaxonName vocabulary and may be used by others. Derived from TCS. Will be standardised along with the TaxonName vocabulary.
TaxonConcept TaxonConceptLsidVoc Available Central to all taxonomy. Based on TCS. Currently used as an embedded object by the TaxonOccurrence? vocabulary. Will be basis for Catalogue of Life/Species 2000 LSID service in late 2007
TaxonOccurrence TaxonOccurrenceLsidVoc Available The minimum required to exchange an observation and specimen data. Replaces the eariler SpecimenLsidVoc and OccurrenceRecordLsidVoc. Very highly based on Darwin Core. Used by the GBIF web services.
Person PersonLsidVoc Developmental Will be based on BiogML? along with requirements gathered from IPNI Authors database and ZooBank. Used embedded in other vocabularies.
Team TeamLsidVoc Developmental A collection of individuals in order with roles. Used embedded in other vocabularies.
PublicationCitation PublicationCitationLsidVoc Developmental Required by multiple other vocabularies. Will be based on TaxMLit? and Levels 1 and 2.
Institution InstitutionLsidVoc Developmental Based on NCD
Collection CollectionLsidVoc Developmental Based on NCD
 

What are the main aims of vocabularies?

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What guarantees do LSID Vocabularies bring?

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<		The metadata returned by an LSID should contain an rfds:type property that stipulates which LSID vocabulary class this metadata is an instance of. If this is lacking then the LSID does not refer to an instance of a TDWG recognized class.
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>		The metadata returned by an LSID should contain an rfds:type property that stipulates which LSID vocabulary class this metadata represents an instance of. If this is lacking then the LSID does not refer to an instance of a TDWG recognized class.
 Beyond this the LSID vocabularies do not guarantee anything about the data received. They enable a data supplier to express what they are trying to pass. To mark up data. A consumer of data the has no way to validate that the information is 'correct' because the notion of correctness or validity is likely to change between consumers. Data must be fit for a purpose not all purposes.
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How do LSID Vocabularies relate to current TDWG standards?

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<		All properties in LSID vocabularies contain notes on how they related to existing XML schema base standards such as ABCD, DarwinCore?, Taxon Concept Schema and others thus facilitating manual mapping. In the future there may be automatic mapping techniques. TAPIR output models may be one way to achieve this.
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>		All properties in LSID vocabularies should contain notes on how they related to existing XML schema base standards such as ABCD, DarwinCore?, Taxon Concept Schema and others thus facilitating manual mapping. In the future there may be automatic mapping techniques. TAPIR output models may be one way to achieve this.
 There is a mapping between DarwinCoreDraftStandard and the LSIDVocs on the LsidVocsDarwinCore page.
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 The use of external vocabularies is positively encouraged and documented.
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How do I use LSID Vocabularies

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How do I use LSID Vocabularies?

 This is dealt with on a separate page - LsidVocsUsage. If you are interested in exploring the vocabularies to get a feel for what they are from a technical point of view have a look at LsidVocsExploring.
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<		If you are using TAPIR there is an LsidVocsTapir page.
 

"There isn't a class/property to express what I want to say."

If you believe that there is a general need for a new class or property to be added then the best thing to do is define what you want in your own namespace and demonstrate it working with data in your own LSID authority. If the community as a whole find what you have done is useful then it should be easy to move it into the TDWG namespace and encourage others to use it.

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<		If you need help in doing this then some one on the TAG or LSID mailing lists will be pleased to help you out. FIXME - mailing list addresses.
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>		If you need help in doing this then some one on the TAG or LSID mailing lists will be pleased to help you out.
 

What are global properties?

Some properties can occur in any class and, most importantly, have the same meaning no matter which class they occur in. There are two types of global properties: + External Properties These come from other vocabularies. The properties provided by DublinCore? are an example of this. + Common Properties These are defined within the Common vocabulary for use with any class.

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<		Both types of properties are documented.
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>		The usage of both types of properties (such as recommending the use of dc:title) should be documented externally to the LsidVocs.
 

Advanced Issues

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