Module Documentation: eml-entity
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The EML Entity Module defines the logical characteristics of every entity in the dataset. Entities are usually tables of data with a fixed logical structure, but could also be other types of data such as raster or vector image data. The "table-entity" element is used to describe all table entities, and the "other-entity" element would be used to describe all other types of entities. Specific details of non-tabular entities are left to other standards (e.g., for remote sensing data, one should include a spatial metadata module such as the FGDC Content Standard for Digitial Geospatial Metadata [CSDGM]).

Element Definitions:

table-entity
  Tooltip: Table Entity descriptor  
  Summary: Descriptor of one table entity in the dataset.  
  Description: The table entity element is a descriptor of one entity in the dataset identified by its name. The entity element can contain information about the entity's orientation, number of records, case sensitiveness, and temporal, geographic and taxonomic coverage.  
  Example:  
orientation
  Tooltip: Entity's record orientation  
  Summary: Specification of the entity's record orientation.  
  Description: This element contains specification of the entity's record orientation by element's attribute "columnorrow".  
  Example: The valid attribute values are "columnmajor" or "rowmajor". If the attribute is not specified, "columnmajor" is used.  
caseSensitive
  Tooltip: Data case sensitiveness  
  Summary: Specification of text case sensitiveness in the entity.  
  Description: This element contains specification of text case sensitiveness of the data in the entity. It is specified from element's attribute "yesorno".  
  Example: The valid attribute values are "yes" or "no". If the attribute is not specified, "yes" is used.  
numberOfRecords
  Tooltip: Number of records  
  Summary: The integer count of the number of records inthe entity  
  Description: This element contains a count of the number of records in the entity. This is typically an integer value, and only includes records that represent observations. It would not include any details of physical formatting such as the number of header lines (see eml-physical for that information).  
  Example: <numberOfRecords>975</numberOfRecords>  
other-entity
  Tooltip: Other Entity descriptor  
  Summary: Descriptor of single non-table entity in the dataset.  
  Description: The other entity element is a descriptor of one non-tabular entity in the dataset, identified by its name. The element can contain information about the entity's basic identity, its temporal, geographic and taxonomic coverage, and its type.  
  Example: Photograph of rocky intertidal plot 12 from Santa Cruz Island  
entityType
  Tooltip: Entity type  
  Summary: Contains the name of the type for this entity.  
  Description: This element contains the name of the entity's type. The entity's type is typically the name of the data type represented in the entity, such as raster image, vector image, etc.  
  Example: <entityType>Raster Image</entityType>  
identifier
  Tooltip: Unique identifier  
  Summary: The unique identifier of this metadata file or object.  
  Description: The identifier field provides a unique identifier for this metadata documentation. It will most likely be part of a sequence of numbers or letters that are meaningful in a larger context, such as a metadata catalog. That larger system can be identified in the "system" attribute. Multiple identifiers can be listed corresponding to different catalog systems.  
  Example: <identifier system="metacat">nceas.3.2</identifier>  
entityName
  Tooltip: Entity name  
  Summary: Entity name specifier  
  Description: The name identifies the entity in the dataset: file name, name of database table, etc.  
  Example: SpeciesAbundance1996  
entityDescription
  Tooltip: Entity description  
  Summary: General description of the entity and its contents  
  Description: A paragraph of text generally describing the entity, its type, and relevant information about the data in the entity.  
  Example: Species abundance data for 1996 at the VCR LTER  

Attribute Definitions:

columnorrow
  Tooltip: Attribute of orientation element  
  Summary: Specification of the entity's record orientation.  
  Description: This attribute specifies the entity's record orientation.  
  Example: The valid attribute values are "columnmajor" or "rowmajor". If the attribute is not specified, "columnmajor" is used.  
yesorno
  Tooltip: Attribute of caseSensitive element  
  Summary: Specification of text case sensitiveness in the entity.  
  Description: This attribute specifies text case sensitiveness of entity's data.  
  Example: The valid attribute values are "yes" or "no". If the attribute is not specified, "yes" is used.  
system
  Tooltip: Catalog system  
  Summary: The catalog system in which this identifier is used.  
  Description: This element gives the name of the catalog system in which this identifier is used. It is useful to determine the scope of the identifier, and to determine the semantics of the various subparts of the identifier. Unresolved issue: can or should this be a URI/URL pointing to the catalog system, or just the name?  
  Example: <identifier system="metacat">nceas.3.2</identifier>  

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