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, SERF, ISO and ISO-1.

Concept Description Dialect (Fit) Paths
Metadata Identifier A phrase or string which uniquely identifies the metadata file/record. ISO /*/gmd:fileIdentifier/gco:CharacterString
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataIdentifier/mcc:MD_Identifier
DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Entry_Id
SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Entry_ID
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. ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:citation/gmd:CI_Citation/gmd:title/gco:CharacterString
ISO-1 /*/mdb:identificationInfo/*/mri:citation/cit:CI_Citation/cit:title/gco:CharacterString
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
DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Entry_Title
DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Set_Citation/dif:Dataset_Title
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. Service Entry Resource Format (SERF) requires a Science and a Service GCMD Keyword. This concept is called "Subject" in the CSW Specification.
ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:descriptiveKeywords/gmd:MD_Keywords[gmd:type/gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/gmd:keyword/gco:CharacterString
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:identificationInfo/mri:MD_DataIdentification/mri:descriptiveKeywords/mri:MD_Keywords[mri:type/mri:MD_KeywordTypeCode='theme']/mri:keyword/gco:CharacterString
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
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
SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Keyword
Topic Category High level category enumeration used in ISO ISO (1) /*/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:MD_DataIdentification/gmd:topicCategory/gmd:MD_TopicCategoryCode
DIF (1) /dif:DIF/dif:ISO_Topic_Category
Distribution Contact Contact information for the organization or individual that distributes the resource. 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
ECHO /echo:Collection/echo:Contacts/echo:Contact
DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Data_Center/dif:Personnel/dif:Role
SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Service_Provider
Abstract A paragraph describing the resource.

Note: This concept is called "Desciption" in Catalog Services for the Web.
ISO /*/gmd:identificationInfo/*/gmd:abstract/gco:CharacterString
ISO-1 /*/mdb:identificationInfo/*/rmd:abstract/gco:CharacterString
ECHO /*/echo:Description
ECS /ecs:CollectionMetaDataFile/ecs:CollectionMetaDataSets/ecs:Collections/ecs:CollectionMetaData/ecs:CollectionDescription
DIF /dif:DIF/dif:Summary/dif:Abstract
SERF /serf:SERF/serf:Summary/serf:Abstract
Metadata Standard Name The name of the standard to which the metadata conforms ISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:metadataStandardName
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataStandard
DIF /serf:DIF/serf:Metadata_Name
Metadata Standard Version The name of the standard to which the metadata conforms ISO /gmd:MD_Metadata/gmd:metadataStandardVersion
ISO-1 /mdb:MD_Metadata/mdb:metadataStandard/cit:CI_Citation/cit:identifier/mcc:MD_Identifier/mcc:version
DIF /serf:DIF/serf:Metadata_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.