NatureServe is evolving its data
delivery strategy to use XML-based, Web services protocols. The XML
schemas that will form the basis for this Web services architecture are in
different stages of development. The NatureServe Species Schema, the
subject of this announcement, is now in public review. A companion XML
schema document for describing species occurrence-level data as managed by the
NatureServe network is also in development and will be released for public
review at a later date. Our Web services strategy for sharing data among
NatureServe network members and with external users is dependent upon the
usability of these XML schemas. For this reason, we are seeking as wide a
review as possible among our colleagues within the biodiversity informatics
community, and especially from those organizations that regularly rely on and
interact with NatureServe data.
Reviewers are invited to submit
comments on either the content or the structure of the XML documents.
Content reviewers will want to follow the link for the human readable
documentation. We have also provided a sample document for review, which
describes NatureServe’s species-level data for Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle) as
expressed in XML format. Users of the NatureServe Explorer website should
find the content represented in the sample document very familiar.
Technical reviewers will also find useful the links to the XSD documents.
Technical reviewer comments may cover the names of the XML tags, the nesting of
the XML document, and the structure of the XML schema. Technical reviewer
comments from organizations that may develop applications to consume NatureServe
data as expressed by these XML schema are highly
encouraged.
The NatureServe Species Schema
documentation can be found at:
http://services.natureserve.org/technical/speciesSchema.htm
Please submit comments using the
feedback forms found at the same location, or via email
to:
Lynn Kutner
NatureServe
Email:
lynn_kutner@natureserve.org
Phone: (303) 541-0360
www.natureserve.org