Element Definitions:
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attribute |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Description:
The content model for attribute is a CHOICE between
"references" and all of the elements that let you describe the
attribute (e.g., attributeName,attributeDefinition,precision)The
attribute element allows a user to document the characteristics that
describe a 'field' or 'variable' in a data entity (e.g. dataTable).
Complete attribute descriptions are perhaps the most aspect to making
data understandable to others. An attribute element describes to a
single attribute. An attribute element can contain a reference to an
attribute defined elsewhere. Using a reference means that the
referenced attribute is identical, not just in name but identical in
its complete description. For example, if attribute "measurement1" in
dataTable "survey1" has a precision of 0.1 and you are documenting
dataTable survey2 which has an attribute called "measurement1" but the
survey2's measurement1 has a precision of 0.001 then these are
different attributes.
Example:
Because the attribute element is a container for other
elements, look at the contents of its sub-elements for examples of what
to enter.
|
attribute |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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references |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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attributeName |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
This element specifies name of the attribute
(field) in the dataset. This information is typically found as
the column header (first row) for the field/variable in a
spreadsheet. It is usually terse, without spaces, and can be used
to "name" a column in a table definition statement in a
RDBMS.
Example:
spden
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attributeLabel |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
A brief label used to describe the attribute.
This is often needed because attribute names are usually very
terse: often shortened to 8 characters or less to fit the
requirements of analysis or other software systems. A label is
provided as a concise but more descriptive representation of the
attribute's name.
Example:
"Species Density" is a label for attribute with name
"spden"
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attributeDefinition |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
This element gives a precise definition of
attribute in the data entity (dataTable, spatialRaster,
spatialVector, storedProcedure, view or otherEntity) being
documented. It explains the contents of the attribute fully and
possibly provides pointers to the methods used to generate the
attribute data.
Example:
"spden" is the number of individuals of all
macroinvertebrate species found in the plot
|
unit |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
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Required?:
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How many:
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A choice of ( |
standardUnit | Optional | Multiple Times |
OR
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customUnit | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
This field identifies the unit of measurement
for this attribute. It is a choice of either a standard SI unit,
or a custom unit. If it is a custom unit, the definition of the
unit must be provided in the document using the STMML syntax, and
the name provided in the customUnit element must reference the id
of its associated STMML definition precisely. For further
information on STMML (http://www.xml-cml.org/stmml/) or see
stmml.xsd which is included with the EML 2.0 distribution for
details.
Example:
|
standardUnit |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Description:
The standardUnit element is the name of
the standard unit used in making this measurement. The name
must be one of the values defined in the unitDictionary.
These are the major SI units and some commonly used units
outside of SI. See the STMML definition of each unit that
ships with EML for more information.
Example:
meter
|
customUnit |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
An entry in the customUnit element is the
name of a custom unit that is not part of the standard list
provided with EML. The unit must correspond to an id in the
document where that definition is provided using the STMML
syntax. The customUnit definition will most likely be in
the additionalMetadata section.
Example:
emergy
|
storageType |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
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Required?:
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How many:
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Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
This element describes the storage type,
commonly referred to as datatype, for data in a RDBMS (or
otherdata management system) field. As many systems do not
provide for fine-grained restrictions on types, this type will
often be a superset of the allowed domain defined in
attributeDomain. Values for this field are by default drawn from
the XML Schema Datatypes standard values, such as: integer,
double, string, etc. If the XML Schema datatypes are not used,
the type system from which the values are derived should be
listed in the 'typeSystem' attribute described below. This field
represents a 'hint' to processing systems as to how the attribute
might be represented in a system or language, but is distinct
from the actual expression of the domain of the attribute. The
field is repeatable so that the storageType can be indicated for
multiple type systems (e.g., Oracle data types and Java data
types).
Example:
integer
|
measurementScale |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
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Required?:
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How many:
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Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The measurementScale element is the scale of the
measured attribute. This provides information about the scale in
which the data was collected. The allowed values are 'ratio',
'ordinal', 'nominal' and 'interval'.
Example:
nominal
|
attributeDomain |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
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Required?:
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How many:
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A choice of ( |
enumeratedDomain | Optional | Multiple Times |
OR
|
textDomain | Optional | Multiple Times |
OR
|
numericDomain | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
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Required?:
|
Default Value:
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enumeratedDomain |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Description:
The codeDefinition element describes any
code associated with the attribute. These codes can be
defined here in the metadata as a list with definitions
(preferred), can be referenced by pointing to an external
citation or URL where the codes are defined, or can be
referenced by pointing at an entity that contains the code
value and code definition as two attributes.
Note that because this element is
optional, if it is omitted, the value of the attribute's
domain is taken to be the regular expression (.*) (any
text).
Example:
The format will typically be : "code" has
"definition", e.g. "1" = "high", "2" = "medium", "3" =
"low"
|
codeList |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
|
Required?:
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How many:
|
A sequence of ( |
code | Optional | Multiple Times |
definition | Optional | Multiple Times |
source | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The codeList element contains a list
of codes and their definitions.
|
code |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The code element specifies a
code associated with the
attribute.
Example:
"1" would be the code for "high"
(where high is the description of the
code)
|
definition |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The definition describes the
code associated with the
attribute.
Example:
"high" would be the definition for
a code of "1"
|
source |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The source element is the name
of the source from which this code and its
associated definition are drawn. This is
commonly used for identifying standard coding
systems, like the FIPS standard for postal
abbreviations for states in the US. In other
cases, the coding may be the researcher's
customized way of recording and classifying
their data, and no external "source" would
exist.
Example:
ISO country codes
|
externalCodeSet |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Elements:
|
Required?:
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How many:
|
A sequence of ( |
codesetName | Optional | Multiple Times |
A choice of ( |
citation | Optional | Multiple Times |
OR
|
codesetURL | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The externalCodeSet element is a
reference to an externally defined set of codes used
in this attribute. This can either be a citation
(using the eml-citation module) or a
URL.
|
codesetName |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
|
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Description:
The codesetName element is the
name of an externally defined code
set.
Example:
FIPS State Abbreviation
Codes
|
citation |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
Description:
The citation element is a
citation for the code set
reference
|
codesetURL |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:anyURI |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The codesetURL element is a
URL for the code set
reference.
|
entityCodeList |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
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|
Description:
The entityCodeList is a list of
codes and their definitions in a data
entity.
|
entityReference |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
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Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The entityReference element is
a reference to the id of the entity in which
the code list has been defined. This entity
must have been defined elsewhere in the
metadata and have an id that matches the value
of this element.
|
valueAttributeReference |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
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Required?:
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Default Value:
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Description:
The valueAttributeReference
element is a reference to the id of the
attribute that contains the list of codes. This
attribute must have been defined elsewhere in
the metadata and have an id that matches the
value of this element.
|
definitionAttributeReference |
Content of this field:
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Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
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Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The definitionAttributeReference element is a
reference to the id of the attribute that
contains the definition of codes. This
attribute must have been defined elsewhere in
the metadata and have an id that matches the
value of this element.
|
textDomain |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
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Elements:
|
Required?:
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How many:
|
A sequence of ( |
definition | Optional | Multiple Times |
pattern | Optional | Multiple Times |
source | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The textDomain element describes a free
text domain for the attribute. By default, if a pattern is
missing or empty, then any text is allowed. If a pattern is
present, then it is interpreted as a regular expression
constraining the allowable character sequences for the
attribute.
Example:
Typically, a textdomain will have an empty
pattern or one that constrains allowable values. For
example, '[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}' allows for only
numeric digits in the pattern of a US phone
number.
|
definition |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
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Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
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Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The element definition provides the
text domain definition, that is, what kinds of text
expressions are allowed for this attribute. If there
is a pattern supplied, the definition element
expresses the meaning of the pattern, For example, a
particular pattern may be meant to represent phone
numbers in the US phone system format. A definition
element may also be used to extend an enumerated
domain.
Example:
US telephone numbers in the format
"(999) 888-7777"
|
pattern |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The pattern element specifies a
regular expression pattern that constrains the set of
allowable values for the attribute. This is commonly
used to define template patterns for data such as
phone numbers where the attribute is text but the
values are not drawn from an enumeration. If the
pattern field is empty or missing, it defaults to
'.*', which matches any string, including the empty
string. Repeated pattern elements are combined using
logical OR. The regular expression syntax is the same
as that used in the XML Schema Datatypes
Recommendation from the W3C.
Example:
'[0-9a-zA-Z]' matches simple
alphanumeric strings and '(\d\d\d) \d\d\d-\d\d\d\d'
represents telephone strings in the US of the form
'(704) 876-1734'
|
source |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The source element is the name of
the source from which this text domain and its
associated definition are drawn. This is commonly
used for identifying standard coding systems, like
the FIPS standard for postal abbreviations for states
in the US. In other cases, the coding may be a
researcher's custom way of recording and classifying
their data, and no external "source" would
exist.
Example:
ISO country codes
|
numericDomain |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Elements:
|
Required?:
|
How many:
|
A sequence of ( |
minimum | Optional | Multiple Times |
maximum | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The numericDomain element specifies the
minimum and maximum values of a numeric attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum occurring in
a given data set (descriptive).
Example:
|
minimum |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The minimum element specifies the
minimum value range of numeric attribute.
Example:
|
maximum |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The maximum element specifies the
maximum value range of a numeric attribute.
Example:
|
missingValueCode |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Elements:
|
Required?:
|
How many:
|
A sequence of ( |
code | Optional | Multiple Times |
codeExplanation | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
This element is to specify missing value in the
data of the field.
Example:
|
code |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The code element is the missing value code
itself. Each missing value code should be entered in a
separate element instance. The value entered is what is
placed into a data grid if the value is missing for some
reason.
Example:
-9999
|
codeExplanation |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The codeExplanation element is an
explanation of the meaning of the missing value code that
was used, that is, the reason that there is a missing
value.
Example:
Sensor down time.
|
precision |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:float |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The precision element represents the precision
of the measurement, in the same unit as the measurement. For
example, for an attribute with unit "meter", a precision of "0.1"
would be interpreted as precise to the nearest 1/10th of a
meter.
Example:
0.1
|
accuracy |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: Accuracy |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The accuracy element represents the accuracy of
the attribute. This information should describe any accuracy
information that is known about the collection of this data
attribute. The content model of this metadata is taken directly
from FGDC FGDC-STD-001-1998 section 2 with the exception of
processContact, sourceCitation, and timePeriodInformation which
either user XMLSchema types or use predefined EML types for these
purposes.
Example:
|
coverage |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
method |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
references |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
attributeAccuracyReport |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The attributeAccuracyReport element is an
explanation of the accuracy of the observation recorded in this
attribute. It will often include a description of the tests used to
determine the accuracy of the observation. These reports are
generally prepared for remote sensing or other measurement
devices.
Example:
|
quantitativeAttributeAccuracyAssessment |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
Description:
The quantitativeAttributeAccuracyAssessment
element is composed of two parts, a value that represents the
accuracy of the recorded observation an explanation of the tests
used to determine the accuracy.
Example:
|
attributeAccuracyValue |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The attributeAccuracyValue element is an
estimate of the accuracy of the identification of the
entities and assignments of attribute values in the data set.
??
Example:
|
attributeAccuracyExplanation |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Type: xs:string |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
|
Description:
The attributeAccuracyExplanation element is
the identification of the test that yielded the Attribute
Accuracy Value.
Example:
|
attributeList |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
Attribute Definitions:
|
id |
Type: xs:string
Use: optional
|
typeSystem |
Type: xs:string
Use: optional
|
Description:
The typeSystem element is the system
used to define the storage types. This should be an
identifier of a well known and published typing system.
The default and recommended system is the XML Schema data
type system. For details go to http://www.w3.org. If
another system is used (such as Java or C++ types),
typeSystem should be be changed to match the
system.
Example:
http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-datatypes
|
enforced |
|
id |
Type: xs:string
Use: optional
|
system |
Type: xs:string
Use: optional
|
scope |
Type: res:ScopeType
Use: optional
|
Complex Type Definitions:
|
AttributeListType |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
Elements:
|
Required?:
|
How many:
|
A choice of ( |
attribute | Optional | Multiple Times |
OR
|
references | Optional | Multiple Times |
) |
Attributes:
|
Required?:
|
Default Value:
|
id | optional |
|
Description:
This complexType defines the structure of the
attributeList element. The content model is a choice between one or
more attribute elements, and references. References link attribute
elements defined elsewhere.
Example:
|
AttributeType |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
Description:
Describes the structure for the container of attribute
descriptors for a specific attribute in a dataset.
Example:
|
Accuracy |
Content of this field:
|
Description of this field:
|
|
Simple Type Definitions:
|
|
Derived from: xs:string
(by xs:restriction)
Allowed values:
- ratio
- nominal
- ordinal
- interval
|
|
Derived from: xs:string
(by xs:restriction)
Allowed values:
|
|
Derived from: xs:string
(by xs:restriction)
Allowed values:
- second
- meter
- kilogram
- kelvin
- coulomb
- ampere
- mole
- candela
- number
- nanogram
- microgram
- milligram
- centigram
- decigram
- gram
- dekagram
- hectogram
- megagram
- Celsius
- nanometer
- micrometer
- micron
- millimeter
- centimeter
- decimeter
- dekameter
- hectometer
- kilometer
- megameter
- angstrom
- nanosecond
- microsecond
- millisecond
- centisecond
- decisecond
- dekasecond
- hectosecond
- kilosecond
- megasecond
- minute
- hour
- microliter
- milliliter
- liter
- gallon
- quart
- radiam
- degree
- megahertz
- kilohertz
- hertz
- millihertz
- newtom
- joule
- calorie
- british thermal unit
- foot pound
- lumen
- lux
- becquerel
- gray
- sievert
- katal
- henry
- megawatt
- kilowatt
- watt
- milliwatt
- megavolt
- kilovolt
- volt
- millivolt
- farad
- ohm
- ohmMeters
- siemens
- weber
- tesla
- pascal
- megapascal
- kilopascal
- atmosphere
- bar
- millibar
- poundsPerSquareInch
- milliGramsPerMilliLiter
- gramsPerLiter
- kilogramsPerCubicMeter
- milligramsPerCubicMeter
- microgramsPerLiter
- milligramsPerLiter
- gramsPerCubitCentimeter
- gramsPerMilliliter
- gramsPerLiterPerDay
- litersPerSecond
- milligramsPerSquareMeter
- are
- hectare
- kilogramsPerHectare
- squareKilometers
- squareMillimeters
- squareCentimeters
- tonne
- tonnePerHectare
- bushel
- acre
- bushelsPerAcre
- litersPerHectare
- squareMeterPerKilogram
- squareMeter
- cubitMeter
- cubicMeter
- metersPerSecond
- metersPerSecondSquared
- waveNumber
- cubicMeterPerKilogram
- amperePerSquareMeter
- amperePerMeter
- molePerCubicMeter
- candelaPerSquareMeter
- molarity
- molality
- metersPerDay
- feetPerDay
- feetPerSecond
- feetPerHour
- yardsPerSecond
- milesPerHour
- milesPerSecond
- milesPerMinute
- cubicFeetPerSecond
- kilogramPerCubicMeter
- metersSquaredPerDay
- feetSquaredPerDay
- centimetersPerSecond
- millimetersPerSecond
- gramsPerCentimeterSquaredPerSecond
- gramsPerMeterSquaredPerYear
- kilogramsPerHectarePerYear
- kilogramsPerMeterSquaredPerYear
- centimeterPerYear
- molesPerGram
- millimolesPerGram
- amountOfSubstanceWeightFlux
- tonnesPerYear
- gramsPerYear
- numberPerMeterSquared
- numberPerKilometerSquared
- numberPerMeterCubed
- inch
- foot
- fathom
- nauticalMile
- yard
- mile
- pint
- pound
- ton
- squareFoot
- squareYard
- squareMile
- cubicInch
- fahrenheit
|
Description:
The unitDictionary element enumerates the standard set
of units that are included with the EML distribution, mailnly from the
SI standard. These unit names can be used in the standardUnit filed to
describe an attribute's units. The units are defined in the STMML
language in a document that is shipped with each release of
EML.
|