CDFH: survey/xml housekeeping

[Peter MATTHEWS]

As well as the actually interesting part of the project, there are also a
few "housekeeping" items (below) we need to consider:   :-(

Names
-----
A suggested name for the group is:=20

    Cave Data Format Group (CDF)

And for the format itself:

    Cave Data Exchange Format (CDX format)
or
    Karst Data Exchange Format (KDX format)

Comments?=20


Working groups
--------------
Cave survey and mapping data is a subset of cave data in general, and
there's also a certain amount of overlap. We don't want to end up with
different solutions for each of these groups of data, so in looking at the
overall picture I think we need to rearrange the groups a little and have
the new group work in parallel with the existing UISIC fields definition
group. By expanding the new group's role as shown below, i.e. move the
"transfer format" task from the old group to the new, we largely solve what
would have been a co-ordination problem between the two UISIC groups. A
person can obviously help in the work of both groups if they want to, and
I'm sure that there are quite a few people who will want to do that.

* Cave Data Format WG - Andreas Neumann.
The new group to look at the transfer and archiving format for *all*
cave/karst data fields, using those for surveying and mapping as the pilot
example. Hopefully, if the format works for survey/mapping fields, it will
work for all cave/karst fields, but the group would need to keep the wider
picture in mind. Once these format recommendations have been set and
accepted, this group would dissolve, unless some ongoing role was seen to
be needed.=20

* Cave Field Definitions WG - Peter Matthews.
This is the original group which will be looking at cave/karst fields in
general, and their definitions. This group would have an ongoing role as a
clearing house for new fields required, which of course would be occurring
for the foreseeable future.

I can see both groups working on different aspects of the survey data
fields at the same time - the members of the new format group deciding what
data fields they want covered, and getting on with how to format the data
for those fields, and the definitions group getting on with setting and
publishing the final definitions for those fields. Obviously there will
still need to be very close co-ordination while the fields are being=
 defined.

Historical footnote: If you've been wondering why survey and mapping work
has come under the Informatics Commission, it's because the original Swiss
cave mapping symbols group requested it at the 1997 UIS Congress in view of
the delay and difficulty in establishing a full new Commission in UIS,
whereas existing Commissions can easily set up whatever internal Working
Groups they need. But as we can see from this current exercise, this could
have the advantage of greatly assisting co-ordination anyway.

To see where these groups fit in, here is what the overall Informatics
Commission current roles would then look like (those marked with an
asterisk * have already done some work but are not yet in full swing):

International Union of Speleology (UIS) - President, Julia James.
  Informatics Commission (UISIC) - Peter Matthews.
    International Speleo Calendar - Roger Taylor.
    Cavers Multi-lingual Dictionary WG - Attila K=F3sa.
    UIS and UISIC web sites - Peter Matthews.
    Informatics Bibliography* - G=FCnter Stummer.
    Speleo Subject Classification WG (with UIS Biblio Comm)* - Peter=
 Matthews.
    Karst Surface Map Symbols WG (with IGU)* - Philipp Haeuselmann.
=3D>  Cave Data Format WG* - Andreas Neumann.
=3D>  Cave Field Definitions WG (with IGU)* - Peter Matthews.

In order to be issued as a UIS document, the recommendation of a WG would
need to be endorsed by UISIC itself, i.e. the main UISIC country delegates,
however this would be largely automatic, provided the proper voting and
inter-group co-operation procedures had been followed by the working group
- UISIC would almost certainly not presume to review technical details=
 again.

Comments?

Peter Matthews