6.4.21 INSPIRE registers

From Geostandards

INSPIRE registers contain information about the spatial data in INSPIRE. This information is required to use data published in INSPIRE. It is metadata, although not in the sense used in the metadata implementing rule, which has a scope limited to discovery metadata.

These resources describing aspects of the data need to be maintained properly. The resources will usually be maintained in EN ISO 19135 conformant registers, which will have a clear and well-defined governance model. The European Commission will provide the register managers, the specific processes and responsibilities have not been defined yet.

The registers keep track of changes so that data created in the past can still be interpreted completely and correctly; i.e. superseded or retired register items will remain in the register.

A key characteristic of a register is that every item in the register is associated with a unique, unambiguous and permanent identifier.

At least the following resources will be maintained in registers.

All registers have to be created as part of INSPIRE. However, it may be decided that some register imports items from other registers or simply refer to other established registers.

• INSPIRE Glossary: Register of general terms and definitions used in INSPIRE data specifications.

Status: the registry is online, the roles according to ISO 19135 still have to be assigned

• INSPIRE Feature Concept Dictionary Register: Feature concept dictionary maintained as a register establishing a set of feature-related concepts that may be used to describe geographic information. A common feature concept dictionary will be maintained for all INSPIRE application schemas. In addition, the register will be used to manage spatial data themes, too.

Status: the registry is online, the roles according to ISO 19135 still have to be assigned

• Consolidated INSPIRE UML Model: UML model consisting of the INSPIRE application schemas and all imported schemas. The UML modelling tool Enterprise Architect is used in INSPIRE; the tool is also used for the reference version of harmonized model of ISO/TC 211. The tool supports working collaboratively on a shared UML model using a version controlled repository. This allows editors to be able to check in and check out changes from the repository. Furthermore, the models are stored with their complete version history allowing the comparison of different versions as well as the retrieval of previous versions. For the repository, the software tool Subversion is used. Subversion allows for directory-specific authorisation of users, which is used to allow editors to have read/write access to different packages of the repository.

The current baseline version model is available here.

Status: operational

• INSPIRE Code List Register: Dictionary managed as a register describing the value domains for selected properties in an application schema, but which is managed separately from the application schema in its own dictionary. I.e. this establishes an extendable controlled vocabulary outside of the INSPIRE data specifications.

Status: in preparation

• INSPIRE Feature Catalogue Register: Register of EN ISO 19110 feature catalogues containing definitions and descriptions of the spatial object types, their properties and associated components occurring in one or more data sets, together with any operations that may be applied.

Status: planned

• INSPIRE Coordinate Reference System Register: Register of coordinate reference systems, datums, coordinate systems and coordinate operations which are used in data sets.

Status: planned

• INSPIRE Units of Measurements Register: Register of units of measurements which may be used in spatial data sets.

Status: planned

• INSPIRE External Object Identifier Namespaces Register: Register to manage uniqueness of namespaces used within INSPIRE. I.e., it is a mechanism to guarantee uniqueness of external object identifiers across various content providers. The register will provide sufficient information about the data provider and about the download service(s) that provide access to his spatial objects.

Status: planned

The registers will be made available online – usually through web-applications for human users and registry services for software clients - in order to allow for a correct processing and interpretation of the data.

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