[Esip-documentation] status/open issues for ACDD approval

Thu Aug 21 13:58:41 EDT 2014

John, all,

I have a few late comments/questions on the date attributes.

Attribute:
date_product_generated
    The date on which this data file or product was produced/distributed
(ISO 8601 format). While this date is like a file timestamp, the
date_content_modified and date_values_modified should be used to assess the
age of the contents of the file or product.

Comment:
The date-time a file was "produced" (generated) is not the same as when it
was "distributed", because not all datasets are distributed in real-time.
Many datasets are produced/generated weeks prior to their distribution. I
recommend separating produced from distributed, which suggests that
date_issued is still relevant. Is this attribute intended to hold the
initial create date of the file?

Attributes:
date_content_modified
    The date on which any of the provided content, including data,
metadata, and presented format, was last created or changed (ISO 8601
format)
date_values_modified
    The date on which the provided data values were last created or
changed; excludes metadata and formatting changes (ISO 8601 format)

Comment:
Both definitions mention changes to the "data", which I presume means
changes to variables in the file. Can the definitions and maybe the
attribute names be clarified so that the differences between them are
clear? Suggest using terminology from the netCDF data model
<https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/docs/html_guide/netcdf_data_set_components.html>.

Also, if this group is maitaining a history of all ACDD versions, can you
add the original version 1 from 2005 to the wiki? It is no longer hosted at
Unidata. Archive link from April 2014:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140424133239/http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/thredds/current/netcdf-java/formats/DataDiscoveryAttConvention.html

Phil

On Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 7:57 PM, John Graybeal via Esip-documentation <
esip-documentation at lists.esipfed.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> In case we get time to consider ACDD Thursday, here are the issues I've
> seen on the discussion thread and their current status. The page at
> http://wiki.esipfed.org/index.php/Attribute_Convention_for_Data_Discovery_1-2_Working contains
> the recommended changes.
>
> If there are no further concerns raised, I'd like to do preliminary
> approval/consent at this call, and schedule the final approval for next
> call. (If there are still concerns, we can discuss them on-list or on the
> call.) The approved document can become Version 2, since several people
> have started calling it that; then everyone is free to work on a
> groups-aware revision, as they see fit.
>
> A brief reminder: With respect to issues (1) and (2), because ACDD
> attributes are all recommendations -- there are no 'shall' statements in
> the document -- people are still within the specification while not using
> whatever attributes they don't like. So it isn't dysfunctional if there are
> attributes that some choose to omit, or deprecated terms that some choose
> to use.
>
> === Open Topics ===-
>
> 1) Deprecation of date_* attributes
>
> This related to the deprecation of
>     date_created, date_issued, data_modified
> attributes, while adding (not 1 for 1)
>     date_content_modified, date_values_modified, date_product_generated.
>
> This topic was previously summarized in email; review that summary on the
> talk page[1]. If there continue to be concerns, we can vote on the best
> answer..
>
> 2) Adoption of summary metadata for geospatiotemporal ranges (good,
> tolerable, or bad?)
>
> Extensive discussion led to an explicit section addressing key software
> principles[2], and some warning text.  I have not received any critical
> comments since the last round of changes. (I think one critic is satisfied,
> another perhaps just silent. :->)  If concerns remain, we can discuss and
> vote.
>
> 3) Organization of ACDD pages
>
> There is a bit of confusion still with the current organization. I
> hesitated to go wild with fixes myself, but now that I'm co-chair with
> Anna, I think we can just fix issues as they are identified. If you have an
> issue with the ACDD organization, can you please send it to the list or us,
> as you prefer?  With approval a lot will become more transparent.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [1] Summary of date_* attribute concerns:
> http://wiki.esipfed.org/index.php/Talk:Attribute_Convention_for_Data_Discovery_1-2_Working#Attributes_Discussed_and_Resolved
>
> [2] Spatial and Temporal bounds summary recommendations:
>
> http://wiki.esipfed.org/index.php/Talk:Attribute_Convention_for_Data_Discovery_1-2_Working#Spatial_and_Temporal_Bounds
>
>
>
>
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>
>

-- 
Philip R. Jones
Team ERT/STG
Government Contractor
National Climatic Data Center, NOAA NESDIS
Veach-Baley Federal Building
151 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801-5001 USA
Voice: +1 828-271-4472  FAX: +1 828-271-4328
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