[eml-dev] Question about EML-based file access in Kepler

[Wade Sheldon]

Hi Matt,

I'm in the process of rolling out a new GCE website so I've been reviewing and updating web application code for xml/xhtml compatibility, etc. As part of this process I'm also making some minor changes to the GCE EML implementation, including how data access urls are encoded for data sets that aren't yet publicly downloadable. I just wanted to run these changes by you to check for potential impact on Kepler users accessing our docs via Metacat.

In our original implementation I omitted the dataTable/physical/distribution node entirely for unreleased data sets, but as a consequence users viewing an outdated metadata document would not easily be able to find the data object after it becomes publicly accessible. This is particularly an issue for the EcoTrends project, because we're providing pre-release data and EML for the static web page and book they are producing, and the legacy metadata will be retained and potentially accessed in the future (i.e. outside of Metacat).

In the new implementation, I will still include direct pass-through links to data objects in EML in Metacat for public data sets, but I will now include urls for private datasets as well. These private data urls will point to a web page that will either allow the user to register and download the data after it is public, or will inform them of the private status and allow them to fill out a form to request the data in advance of the release date. In order to distinguish between these different endpoints I am explicitly setting the distribution/online/url function attribute to "download" or "information" as appropriate for data or a web page.

My question for you is how does Kepler handle dataTable distribution urls in EML with the function="information" attribute? Because I differentially generate EML for Metacat I could revert to the old practice to prevent problems, but I'd prefer to use the same approach for both GCE-centric and KNB-centric metadata to prevent confusion.

Here's a link to an example document with the new implementation for a private data set:
http://gce-nas.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/send_eml.asp?detail=full&missing=NaN&delimiter=tab&metacat=yes&accession=INV-GCEM-0705c2

Thanks in advance for any input.

-Wade Sheldon


-- 
______________________________________________________________________________

Wade M. Sheldon
GCE-LTER Information Manager/SIMO Database Administrator
School of Marine Programs
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-3636
Email: sheldon at uga.edu
WWW: http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/personnel_bios.asp?id=wsheldon