[SEEK-Taxon] GBIF and TCS-LC for data exchange

[Matt Jones]

Donald,

I think its a great idea to move forward with tools and infrastructure 
while continuing the schema work.  In other schema development efforts 
with which I've been involved we have discovered significant issues with 
  our schemas in the process of implementing tools.

In addition to focusing on TCS itself, SEEK-taxon has been focusing on 
the development of standard web service APIs for accessing the 
information in the TCS.  I think this work would make a good starting 
point for anyone interested in tools development, as shared APIs for 
tools will undoubtedly promote interoperability down the road.  The SEEK 
taxon group has put two plus years work into use-cases and API 
development related to the TCS.  Aimmee Stewart and Rob Gales at KU did 
this work and are the best source of information about it -- they can be 
reached through the seek-taxon at ecoinformatics.org mailing list.

Cheers,
Matt

Donald Hobern wrote:
> As most of you are aware, GBIF needs a solution (in the very near future) to
> allow its participants to share taxonomic name/concept data in the same way
> that they have been using DiGIR and BioCASe to share taxon occurrence data.
> 
> We have decided to try to make progress using the kind of approach I
> outlined during the TDWG meeting in Christchurch.  We hope to develop a
> TAPIR (DiGIR/BioCASe) package for sharing these data as Taxon Concept Schema
> documents (at the same time providing support for requests using the Species
> 2000 SPICE protocol).
> 
> We have contracted Roger Hyam (roger at hyam.net) to act as GBIF Taxonomic
> Name/Concept Lead Developer.  He will coordinate this development on behalf
> of the GBIF Secretariat and I would be most grateful if you would provide
> him with all the assistance you can.  
> 
> The first step in making this possible will be for us to identify a version
> of the Taxon Concept Schema (with the Linnean Core for the scientific name
> component) that will be suitable (i.e. sufficiently well agreed) for this
> purpose.  I know the effort and level of discussion that many of you have
> been putting into the development of the TCS and Linnean Core, and now would
> like your help in determining the best way to reach agreement upon a working
> version of the schema.  This is not to try to freeze the standards
> development, but rather to use whatever already seems stable to make
> progress with tools.
> 
> Roger spent time with me last week looking at the current versions of TCS
> and LC on the Wikis (and comparing content with the Species 2000 Common Data
> Model).  I'm attaching some of our notes (which relate mostly to how we
> expect a combined TCS-LC version to look).  We'd like to get some discussion
> on some of the points.  I assume that the best way to do this will be for us
> to raise individual points in each of the Wikis.
> 
> More than anything else I am looking for suggestions as to how and when you
> all think we can bring the continuing LC work together with the TCS work and
> then review a combined version (presumably also picking up some UBIF
> metadata elements).
> 
> We welcome any suggestions.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Donald
>  
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Donald Hobern (dhobern at gbif.org)
> Programme Officer for Data Access and Database Interoperability 
> Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat 
> Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
> Tel: +45-35321483   Mobile: +45-28751483   Fax: +45-35321480
> ---------------------------------------------------------------

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Matt Jones                                     jones at nceas.ucsb.edu
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/    Fax: 425-920-2439    Ph: 907-789-0496
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
University of California Santa Barbara
Interested in ecological informatics? http://www.ecoinformatics.org
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