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Darwin Core
| Title: | Darwin Core |
|---|---|
| Date Issued: | 2009-02-12 |
| Abstract: | This document is a cover page, an entry-level document to the Darwin Core standard. |
| Contributors: | John Wieczorek (MVZ) |
| Legal: | This document is governed by the standard legal, copyright, licensing provisions and disclaimers issued by the Taxonomic Databases Working Group. |
| Part of TDWG Standard: | ***URL to DwC Standard*** goes here |
| Creator: | Darwin Core Task Group |
| Identifier: | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/2009-02-12/ |
| Latest Version: | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/ |
| Replaces: | http://wiki.tdwg.org/DarwinCore/ |
| Replaced By: | Not applicable |
| Translations: | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/translations/ |
| Document Status: | This is a TDWG Request for Comment. |
Table of Contents
| 1. Introduction |
| 2. References |
1. Introduction
Motivation: The Darwin Core standard was conceived to facilitate the discovery, retrieval, and integration of information about organisms, their spatiotemporal occurrence, and the supporting evidence housed in collections (physical or digital). The primary goal of the Darwin Core is to provide a stable reference to standard terms about biodiversity, which can be used in a variety of contexts. The Darwin Core derives its vocabulary from community-based experience in data discovery, sharing, and integration, while its form is derived from the practices developed by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative [DCMI] except where otherwise noted. Structures, data-typing, and constraints on the values of terms are meant to be implemented using representation-specific application profiles such as XML schemas [XMLSCHEMAGUIDE].
Content: The standard consists of a vocabulary of terms (properties, elements, fields, concepts) [TERMS], the policy governing the maintenance of these terms [NAMESPACEPOLICY], decisions resulting in changes to terms [DECISIONS], the complete history of terms including detailed attributes [HISTORY], a generic application schema for use in the construction of new application schemas based on Darwin Core [GENERICXMLSCHEMA], a simple (flat) application schema for the use of these terms [SIMPLEXMLSCHEMA] and a metafile schema to allow for the description of Darwin Core fielded text files [TEXTSCHEMA]. These pages also describe mappings between the current standard and pre-standard historical versions [VERSIONS], including mappings [DWCTOABCD] to concepts in the Access to Biological Collections Data standard [ABCD].
Participation: The Darwin Core is meant to serve the needs of communities interested in the sharing and interoperation of information related to biological diversity and takes its current form through active participation in the standards process.
- To receive notification of activity or participate in discussions in the Darwin Core Project, join the tdwg-content mailing
list [DWC-MAIL] and/or set up specific
feeds in the Darwin Core Project
[DWC-PROJECT].
- For discussion or commentary on the definition of recommended terms, consult the link inside the Comment section in the
listing for the term in the Quick Reference Guide [TERMS] or look for the term on the list
of Wiki pages for the Darwin Core Project [DWC-PROJECT]. Commentary can be added
to any term's wiki page.
- To make a formal request for a change to or addition of a term to the Darwin Core, read and follow the recommendations in the
Darwin Core Namespace Policy [NAMESPACEPOLICY].
- For those who wish to construct and submit as a standard any application profile, such as an XML schema, that extends the
capabilities of the Darwin Core, adding any new terms to the Darwin Core vocabulary is a necessary prerequisite. Consult the
appropriate guideline, such as the XML Guide [XMLSCHEMAGUIDE], for information about
the construction of a new application profile. The rules of submission of proposed standards can be found in the Biodiversity
Information Standards Process document [PROCESS].
2. References
| [ABCD] | http://www.tdwg.org/schemas/abcd/2.06 | Access to Biological Collections Data Standard. |
| [ARCHIVE] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/archive/darwincore.zip | An archive of all files of the Darwin Core Standard. |
| [DCMI] | http://dublincore.org/ | Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Web site. |
| [DECISIONS] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/history/decisions/ | A reference to the decisions leading to changes in terms (definitions, status, etc.). |
| [DWC] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/ | An introduction to the Darwin Core Standard. |
| [DWC-MAIL] | tdwg-content@lists.tdwg.org | Mailing list for commentary and discussion on Darwin Core. |
| [DWC-PROJECT] | http://code.google.com/p/darwincore | Project site for the maintenance of Darwin Core development activity. |
| [DWC-TYPE] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/type-vocabulary/ | A reference to the Darwin Core Type Vocabulary terms for use with BasisOfRecord. |
| [DWC-USAGE] | tdwg-tag@lists.tdwg.org | TDWG Architecture Mailing List. |
| [DWCTOABCD] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/history/dwctoabcd/ | A reference for Darwin Core terms mapped to ABCD. |
| [GENERICXMLSCHEMA] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/xsd/tdwg_dwcterms.xsd | Generic Darwin Core XML schema. |
| [HISTORY] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/history/ | Complete historical reference to Darwin Core terms. |
| [NAMESPACEPOLICY] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/ | Policy governing Darwin Core terms. |
| [PROCESS] | http://www.tdwg.org/about-tdwg/process/ | TDWG Standards Development Process. |
| [RDF] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/rdf/dwcterms.rdf | An rdf document for the complete set of Darwin Core terms. |
| [SIMPLEXMLSCHEMA] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/xsd/tdwg_dwc_simple.xsd | Simple Darwin Core XML schema. |
| [TERMS] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/ | Quick reference to recommended Darwin Core terms. |
| [VERSIONS] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/history/versions/ | Reference for mapping historical Darwin Core terms to the current recommended terms. |
| [XMLSCHEMAGUIDE] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/xml | Guide for the construction of XML schemas. |
| [TEXTGUIDE] | http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/guides/text | Guide for using Darwin Core in fielded text documents. |
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