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CONTENTSReport from CEOS Workshop on Developing Country Activties
Activities of CEOS Ad Hoc Working Group on Networks
Second CEOS User Requirements Workshop
FAO Contribution to Developing Countries
Fourth CEOS Ad Hoc Data Policy Meeting
The International Directory Network (IDN)
Report from CEOS Workshop on Developing Country Activities---This page
CEOS Activities in 1994/News Highlights/CEOS Meeting Calendar
The International Directory Network (IDN)
Commitment to Population of the Directory
- Entries for the directory are submitted in a standard format, the Directory
Interchange Format (DIF), providing standardized information on parameters,
geographic and temporal coverage, data set location, and other summary
information that can be automatically loaded into the database. DIFs are
submitted to the GCMD's discipline "coordinators", who qualitycontrol submitted
DIFs, as well as write DIFs for important data sets they identify. The
value of the directory depends on current data set information, and the
effort is committed to referencing data sets from as many available sources
as possible. In addition, software to assist in formatting data set entries
will be made available in the coming year.
New Version of Software Released
Usage statistic emphasize the increasing popularity of the directory, with more than 5,000 sessions logged between January and June, 1994. Directory users are offered several options for their interface to the client-server system, based on their terminal capabilities. A software update (CEOS IDN Installation Package, Version 2) was released on June 15th, 1994, which incorporates upgraded loader software and an X-Window client. Two additional releases are planned within the next year, which will include improved geographic search capability and an enhanced X-Window client.
The Future
Future plans include maintaining CEOS IDN node compatibility and integrity, increasing data set population, successfully integrating technological innovations, improving the geographical search, enhancing the X-Window client, incorporating the content standard for digital geospatial metadata with the DIF, and migrating the system to a "distributed" architecture. WAIS-based full text searching on the contents of the directory is planned, in addition to improved keyword searches.
Report from CEOS Workshop on Developing Country Activities
(continued from page 1)- - those which the CEOS Secretariat could take. The distributed secretariat
has already shown that it is very effective in such actions, but care must,
of course, be taken not to overload it.
- those to which all members of CEOS could contribute;
- those for consideration by individual members, observers amd affiliates.
In this respect a number of provisional commitments were made by participants during the workshop.
The general principles for successful work with developing countries were not intended to replace the many valuable lessons and principles that have previously been enunciated by several organizations with experience in this field. It is felt, however, that there was sufficient experience represented at the workshop to warrant an attempt to produce a short list of purely practical points which are worth bearing in mind. It is hoped that these "principles" will be of use to all CEOS members, and perhaps to others also.
The report which will be made to the 8th CEOS Plenary Session will describe in some detail the various recommendations, and the CEOS Chairman has already signalled his intention to incorporate the output from the Workshop in a report to Plenary setting support to developing countries in a wider contest, taking into account the on-going discussions on the further evolution of CEOS strategy.
The final seal of success for this Workshop can only be given after the Plenary Session this coming September, but participants were agreed that it was a remarkably workmanlike event, and that INPE had done an excellent job in managing the meeting. It is to be hoped that developing countries will also find the outcome helpful, for that was the object of the exercise.
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