Data Discovery (DIF)
From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
DIF for Data Discovery-Required
These attributes are required for the Directory Interchange Format (DIF). Where compatible the spirals below provide like xpath references for DIF, ECHO, ECS, UMM and ISO.
| Concept | Description | Dialect (Fit) Paths |
|---|---|---|
| Metadata Identifier | A phrase or string which uniquely identifies the metadata file/record. | DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Entry_Id ISO /*/gmd:fileIdentifier/gco:CharacterString |
| Resource Title | A short description of the resource. The title should be descriptive enough so that when a user is presented with a list of titles the general content of the data set can be determined. | DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Entry_Title DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Citation/dif:Dataset_Title ECHO /*/echo:ShortName>/*/echo:LongName ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:ShortName> /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:LongName ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:title/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /*/mdb:identificationInfo/*/rmd:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:title/gco:CharacterString |
| Keyword | A word or phrase that describes some aspect of a resource. Can be one of several types. Note: The general identification keywords usually have a type of "theme" and are refered to as "theme keywords". Other types and vocabularies are used for other information. |
DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Category DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Topic DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Term DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_1 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_2 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Variable_Level_3 DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:Parameters/dif:Detailed_Variable ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:CategoryKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:TopicKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:TermKeyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel1Keyword/echo:Value ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel2Keyword/echo:Value ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:VariableLevel3Keyword ECHO (1) /*/echo:ScienceKeywords/echo:ScienceKeyword/echo:DetailedVariableKeyword ECS (1) /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:DisciplineKeyword ECS (1) /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:TopicKeyword ECS (1) /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:TermKeyword ECS (1) /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:DisciplineTopicParameters/ecs:VariableKeyword ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/gmd:keyword/gco:CharacterString |
| Topic Category | High level category enumeration used in ISO | DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:ISO_Topic_Category ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:topicCategory/gmd:MD_TopicCategoryCode |
| Distribution Contact | Contact information for the organization or individual that distributes the resource. | DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Center/dif:Personnel/dif:Role ECHO /echo:Collection/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact ISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:distributionInfo/gmd:MD_Distribution/gmd:distributor/gmd:MD_Distributor/gmd:distributorContact/gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:distributionInfo/mrd:MD_Distribution/mrd:distributor/mrd:MD_Distributor/mrd:distributorContact/cit:CI_Responsibility |
| Abstract | A paragraph describing the resource. | DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Summary/dif:Abstract ECHO /*/echo:Description ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:abstract/gco:CharacterString ISO-1 /*/mdb:identificationInfo/*/rmd:abstract/gco:CharacterString |
| Metadata Standard Name | The name of the standard to which the metadata conforms | DIF /default:DIF/default:Metadata_Name ISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:metadataStandardName ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataStandard |
| Metadata Standard Version | The name of the standard to which the metadata conforms | DIF /default:DIF/default:Metadata_Version ISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:metadataStandardVersion ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataStandard/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:version |
xPath Note: The xPaths included in this table use several wildcards. // means any path, so //gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty indicates a gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty anywhere in an XML file. /*/ indicates a single level with several possible elements. This usually indicates one of several concrete realizations of an abstract object. For example /*/gmd:identificationInfo could be gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo or gmi:MI_Metadata/gmd:identificationInfo and gmd:identificationInfo//*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords could be gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords or gmd:identificationInfo/srv:SV_ServiceIdentification/gmd:descriptiveKeywords. Fit: The fit of the dialect path with the concept is estimated on a scale of 1 = excellent two-way fit, 2 = one-way fit or some other problem, 3 - extension required.
