[ckan-dev] CSW, ISO and Spatial Extension

Sat Oct 27 19:56:21 UTC 2012

Hi Ryan,

Our organization has a similar set of concerns regarding ISO19139 /
ISO19115.  We're currently using GeoNetwork, which is excellent for
schema-based metadata but presents some challenges regarding low-friction
integration into our other applications.  I've been investigating using
CKAN to harvest records from GeoNetwork via CSW; we can then leverage
CKAN's user interface for content management (adding custom fields) and use
its data API to integrate with custom apps while leaving the more
structured, schema-based work to GeoNetwork.

I've successfully performed a harvest, and my next step is to drill down on
how CKAN mapped the fields from GeoNetwork into its own key/value store.
 Most things came through fine, and other gaps are either due to our
imperfect use of the ISO19115 standard or, perhaps, areas where the
harvester could be tuned.  I'm still investigating, and due to other
project assignments, I regret that I may not be able to post outcomes from
this for some time.  When I have progress to report, I'll post it here.

While the GeoNetwork / CKAN integration may not make sense in other
environments, I just wanted to let you know there's other folks out there
that have a similar set of concerns, and it'd be great if you posted how
you solved (or explored) the problem.

Regards,
- Bruce

On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 8:50 AM, Ryan Clark <ryan.clark at azgs.az.gov> wrote:

> Hi!
>
> I'm in the process of evaluating CKAN's potential for use in a distributed
> data system for geothermal information that is being built in the US. A
> fundamental component of our project is the concept of a catalog which
> contains standardized metadata describing distributed data resources across
> the web. At that level, CKAN seems like a very nice fit!
>
> We are committed to providing metadata according to a custom profile for
> ISO 19139, and to implementing a CSW interface. I've started by playing
> with the spatial, harvest, and csw extensions, which are clearly undergoing
> significant development currently -- I see that they've all been merged
> into one extension as of last week! What I found was that while the CSW
> interface responds to queries, it does not expose any of the resources that
> I had published in my development environment -- GetRecords and
> GetRecordByID never return anything.
>
> While I'm new to SQLalchemy, spatial.controllers.csw:GetRecords looks to
> me like it is configured to only return records that were brought into the
> catalog via a harvest mechanism. Is this true?
>
> If so, that brings up what I suspect is the primary issue I would have to
> deal with in order to implement CKAN -- I suspect that there would need to
> be a mapping from CKAN's "internal metadata model" (basically the package
> table) into XML records that can be exposed via CSW. It is also likely that
> in order to generate a complete ISO 19139 record might require some
> additional content in the internal model.
>
> Does this sound like I'm on the right track? Is there any existing pattern
> for doing this kind of translation where I might start looking for guidance?
>
> Thanks!
>  ____________________
>
> Ryan Clark
> ryan.clark at azgs.az.gov
> (520) 302-4871
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
*
*
*Bruce Crevensten, Web Programmer
*
Scenarios Network for Alaska & Arctic Planning
3352 College Road, 2nd Floor Denali Building
Fairbanks, AK 99709
Phone: 907-474-7134
Fax: 907-474-7151
www.snap.uaf.edu
becrevensten at alaska.edu
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