[tdwg-content] Proposed new Darwin Core terms - abundance, abundanceAsPercent

[Bob Morris]

The example 2.4% is a string, but the definition is the same as the
proposed abundance term. I think it should instead be something like "
A string produced by computing 100 times the number of individuals of
a taxon found in a sample divided by the total number of individuals
of all taxa in the sample, converting that real number to a string and
concatenating '%' to the result." One way or another, denovo
properties with the same semantics and also permitting the same
datatype should be avoided, especially where easy.

A W3C working group  on RDF validation is being proposed based on a
recent workshop on that subject [1].  Having been at part of that
workshop, I've come to think that whenever easy, term definitions
should seek to minimize ambiguities WRT to valid values of properties.
It's low-hanging fruit to specify that a datatype property not accept
a union of types, and here even specifying that a value of "2.4" as a
string still needlessly carries validity checking risks, e.g. in
serializations like RDF/XML which might trip on the issue. At a
minimum the abundanceAsPercent should declare a (single) datatype,
probably a string type.

[1] https://www.w3.org/2012/12/rdf-val/report

On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 8:35 AM, John Wieczorek <tuco at berkeley.edu> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> GBIF has just published "Meeting Report: GBIF hackathon-workshop on
> Darwin Core and sample data (22-24 May 2013)" at
> http://www.gbif.org/orc/?doc_id=5424. Now that this document is
> available for public reference, I would like to formally open the
> minimum 30-day comment period on two related new terms proposed during
> the workshop and defined in the referenced document.
>
> The formal proposal would add the following new terms:
>
> Term Name: abundance
> Identifier: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/abundance
> Namespace: http:/rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
> Label: Abundance
> Definition: The number of individuals of a taxon found in a sample.
> This is typically expressed as number per unit of area or volume. In
> the case of vegetation and colonial/encrusting species, percent cover
> can be used.
> Comment: Examples: "4 per square meter", "0.32 per cubic meter",
> "24%". For discussion see
> http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/Occurrence (there will be no
> further documentation here until the term is ratified)
> Type of Term: http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
> Refines:
> Status: proposed
> Date Issued: 2012-03-01
> Date Modified: 2013-09-25
> Has Domain:
> Has Range:
> Refines:
> Version: abundance-2013-09-25
> Replaces:
> IsReplaceBy:
> Class: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence
> ABCD 2.0.6: not in ABCD (someone please confirm or deny this)
>
> Term Name: abundanceAsPercent
> Identifier: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/abundanceAsPercent
> Namespace: http:/rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
> Label: Abundance as Percent
> Definition: 100 times the number of individuals of a taxon found in a
> sample divided by the total number of individuals of all taxa in the
> sample.
> Comment: Examples: "2.4%". For discussion see
> http://code.google.com/p/darwincore/wiki/Occurrence (there will be no
> further documentation here until the term is ratified)
> Type of Term: http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#Property
> Refines:
> Status: proposed
> Date Issued: 2012-08-01
> Date Modified: 2013-09-25
> Has Domain:
> Has Range:
> Refines:
> Version: abundanceAsPercent-2013-09-25
> Replaces:
> IsReplaceBy:
> Class: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence
> ABCD 2.0.6: not in ABCD (someone please confirm or deny this)
>
> The related issues in the Darwin Core issue tracker are
> https://code.google.com/p/darwincore/issues/detail?id=142
> and
> https://code.google.com/p/darwincore/issues/detail?id=187
>
> If there are any objections to the changes proposed for these new
> terms, or comments about their definitions, please respond to this
> message. If there are no objections or if consensus can be reached on
> any amendments put forward, the proposal will go before the Executive
> Committee for authorization to put these additions into effect after
> the public commentary period.
>
> Cheers,
>
> John
> _______________________________________________
> tdwg-content mailing list
> tdwg-content at lists.tdwg.org
> http://lists.tdwg.org/mailman/listinfo/tdwg-content



-- 
Robert A. Morris

Emeritus Professor  of Computer Science
UMASS-Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston, MA 02125-3390


Filtered Push Project
Harvard University Herbaria
Harvard University

email: morris.bob at gmail.com
web: http://efg.cs.umb.edu/
web: http://wiki.filteredpush.org
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~ram
===
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