TDWG and GBIF Call for participation

TAPIR Developers Workshop

The aim of the workshop is to advance the deployment of the TAPIR protocol and augment its community.

TAPIR, the TDWG Access Protocol for Information Retrieval, is being actively developed. There is a draft specification (http://www.tdwg.org/dav/subgroups/tapir/1.0/docs/) and a fully functional data provider available (http://www.pywrapper.org/). By the end of 2006 another data provider implementation and a TAPIR Network Builder's Guide should also be available.

The workshop will start with a training session and will be followed by hands-on development sessions in separate work groups.

Outcomes of the workshop will include:

* Explanation of the main features and concepts of TAPIR to new developers. * Amendments to the existing TAPIR documentation where needed. * Development (at least partially) of new TAPIR client software including libraries and specific data harvesters to be used by biodiversity data networks. * Discussion, implementation and documenting LSID resolution service in existing TAPIR provider software. * Creation of a generic query tool to interact with TAPIR providers. * Creation of new output models and query templates to be used by TAPIR networks. * Planning and implementation of interoperability unit tests for TAPIR providers. * Production of additional development proposals related to TAPIR.

Dates: 12th to 15th of February 2007

Venue: GBIF, Copenhagen

How to participate:

Please contact Renato De Giovanni (renato [at] cria dot org dot br) before December 31st 2006 providing the following information:

* Your name, institution and location. * What kind of development(s) you are planning or need to do in relation to TAPIR (what are the basic functionalities needed, what is the associated project, what is the expected timeline). * Whether your project/institution can help with the funding of your participation in this meeting.

Attendance is limited and participants will be prioritised according to the contribution they can make.

Support funding: All travel expenses for approved attendees will be covered by the TDWG Infrastructure Project (which in turn has been funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation). Travel will be in accordance with the GBIF travel guidelines (http://www.gbif.org/Support/travel).

For further information please contact Renato De Giovanni (renato [at] cria dot org dot br), Donald Hobern (dhobern [at] gbif dot org) or Lee Belbin (lee [at] tdwg dot org).