Newsletter
November 2007
Expert Group update
The last Expert Group was held in the Environment Agency offices in Cardiff in July and it was the first time that the meeting has been held outside England! Alex Coley took the opportunity of demonstrating the new Detailed River Network during the lunch break to an appreciative audience. We also welcomed Karen McGrath there who has taken over the communications role from Clare Hadley. The idea of creating one or more white papers came out of the afternoon discussion - so look out for these in the near future.
The next meeting will be held at the British Geological Survey offices at Keyworth on 28 November where the Forum will hear about the DNF Demonstrator, the DNF XML Schema trial and an INSPIRE update (DNF and the INSPIRE data architectures are well aligned). Please contact Keith Murray, Expert Group Chair if you plan to attend.
Technical update
The Technical Group has been active in furthering the development of the DNF technical architecture and the supporting documentation and services. The Group which has nine members has met four times since the last Newsletter. Sub-groups looking at XML schemas, feature cataloguing, cross-referencing and coordinate referencing systems and transformations have also been busy. A successful workshop on DNF Reference Objects was held in May.
Work on the development of an XML schema reported previously has continued. For DNF to function effectively data needs to be exchanged across organisational boundaries. The XML schema is to allow the exchange of DNF associations and is based on the DNF Association Model. It provides common elements which can be incorporated into application schemas specific to particular datasets. Only simple associations are modelled in this first iteration of the schema, more complex associations which need to be qualified by additional geometry will be included at a later stage. The schema uses GML (Geography Mark-up Language). The schema is available for trialling by members of the Expert Group. Once proven the schema will be made freely available on the DNF website.
The Feature Cataloguing sub-group has the goals of developing (i) a feature catalogue of objects that are eligible for inclusion in the DNF Reference Base, (ii) guidance on the use of the ISO 19110 feature cataloguing standard in the context of DNF and, longer term, (iii) providing a registry service for feature catalogues.
In pursuit of the first goal, a DNF cataloguing tool based on Microsoft® Office Access and conforming to ISO 19110 (Geographic information – Methodology for Feature Cataloguing) has been developed and trialled by OS, BGS and UKHO. The tool was demonstrated at a workshop at AGI2007. The intention is to make this freely available by downloading from the DNF website. The tool has been used to produce a feature catalogue for OS MasterMap® Topography Layer. This catalogue was used at a workshop held in May for Expert Group members where the principles for selection of DNF Reference Objects were hammered out and then applied to the OS MasterMap features or objects in the catalogue. A report on the Workshop is available at:
Click here to find the report.
XML output is available from the DNF feature cataloguing tool. The long-term aim is to create a registry on the DNF website and provide a service whereby catalogues on data producers’ sites can be accessed, displayed and searched via the DNF website.
Another sub-group has been working on producing technical guidance for cross-referencing based on the DNF Association Model. A draft Technical Guide has been produced and is being revised by the sub-group.
The Technical Group has maintained a strong interest in INSPIRE (the initiative for developing a regional SDI) since it aligns closely to it. DNF is a registered SDIC (Spatial Data Interest Community) and has commented on the Implementing Rules as they have been issued in draft form.
All published technical documents can be accessed at:
Click here to go to the DNF website.
The Technical Group would welcome participation in the group or sub-group activities. Please email Email.
Communications Group update
The new Communications Group, having undergone several personnel changes during 2007, met during September to put in place priorities for 2008. At that meeting we welcomed Chloe Rooney from 1Spatial who has replaced Abbie Beckford (of same organisation) on the team.
Indeed, the meeting was seen as an opportunity to kick-start some of the group’s activities. Short term the group will focus on continuing the regional awareness through AGI (building on the presence at the AGI Conference) in Wales and Scotland and also to target three case studies that can be completed and approved in 2007. Another short term fix is to enable the Communications Group to be able to manage the updates on the DNF web site leading to a faster update cycle and so more dynamically changing content for the visitors.
But beyond that the foundation of the communications plan for 2008 is about what we are trying to communicate. In 2005-6 the message was primarily about “what is DNF?” – building basic awareness in the GI practitioners. In 2006-7 it was adapted to “what does DNF mean for me?” – taking a more sector/application led view and reaching out beyond our traditional GI audience. As we look forward to 2008 the focus will be to provide the “how do I use DNF to solve my business imperatives?” providing much more hands on implementation detail capitalising on the outputs of the Technical Group.
The Communications plan for 2008 will be presented at the forthcoming Expert Group and so a fuller version of the plan will be outlined in the next newsletter.
New member of the Communications Group
The Communications Group is pleased to welcome on board Chloe Rooney of 1Spatial; Chloe joins other group members:
Andy Bray – Chair
Brian Higgs
Angus McDonald
Karen McGrath
Keith Murray – Expert Group Chair
Andrew Newman
Les Rackham – Technical Group Chair
Liz Ratcliffe
Alison Smith
Sallie White
If you have any suggestions, comments or would like to join the Communications Group please Email.
DNF InfoCentre at AGI 2007
Over the two days of the Conference, members of the DNF Expert Group ran an InfoCentre to increase awareness and encourage AGI delegates to adopt DNF principles in their data management. The InfoCentre presented a mix of formal presentations and informal debate which prompted discussion on how DNF can be used to improve data integrity and increase business advantage. The InfoCentre supported a number of DNF related sessions in the Conference programme itself including a presentation by Jamie Justham from Dotted Eyes entitled ‘Interoperability through sophisticated database loading and extraction’ and Simon Gomm’s workshop, ‘Is my building the same as your building? – the use of feature catalogues to enable and assist the sharing of spatially referenced data’ both of these presentations are available to view on the DNF website.
Upcoming Events
We will have a presence at the two AGI Regional events later this year:
15 November 2007 - Inspiring Scotland
6 December 2007 – Wales: A Healthy Nation – A Wealthy Nation
More information on both events can be found at: Click here to go to the AGI website.
TOIDS - To use or not to use:clearing a misconception
During various discussions with visitors to the DNF InfoCentre at AGI 2007, it became clear that there is confusion regarding the permitted use of TOIDS. This Newsletter provides a good opportunity to remind everyone about Ordnance Survey’s TOID royalty-free use policy.
In summary; Ordnance Survey is committed to encourage the sharing and use of TOID records and their associated TOID version numbers; this can be done in perpetuity provided the Ordnance Survey data used or shared is restricted to the TOID (16 digit identifier) and associated version number only. The policy statement issued by Ordnance Survey in March 2005 can be found in full at:
Click here to go to find the statement.