Publication

The schema should ultimately be available as both, on-line documentation and printed edition.

Audience and purpose

The schema is used to connect collection databases. However, its item descriptions (will) have a considerable normative influence on database design as well, so the documentation is clearly directed towards biologists AND information managers. The documentation should assist in the mapping of database concepts to ABCD concepts. "Transformation templates" from existing standards to ABCD 2 should be provided (but perhaps only on-line?).

General structure of the documentation

The documentation is clearest and most comprehensible when the reader is:

First given a 'larger picture" of what is going to be covered in the document, sketching the basic layout of the abcd in a succinct way (datasets, dataset, original source, ...., unit {collection domain,....,gathering...}...etc etc.).

This is covered by the items ["ABCDIntroduction"] and ["ABCDSchemaGroups"].

The schema doc is sectioned into clear and logical chunks of information (but not overly sectioned so as to blur the larger picture.). Reusable sections/chapters can then be referenced by the other areas of the schema document.

The "chunks" are the groups and subgroups defined under ["ABCDSchemaGroups"]. The individual descriptions of items are given on the pages under ["ABCDConcepts"]. Once finalised, these can be extracted into a database and re-used for later versions and/or the schema library project (under way as a GBIF initiative). (The printed publication will need a full text index.)

Authorship

Compiler: Berendsohn

Editors: Berendsohn, Rubel, Thomson et al. (depending on input)

Contributors: All members of the ABCD Task group and other people who have sent comments.