[eml-dev] [Bug 3480] New: - duplicate distribution types (in resource.xsd, and physical.xsd)

[inigo]

as for why are there two "types", is something that escapes me. One type 
should have been enough,
either "PhysicalDistributionType" or "DistributionType", no need for 
both as they are the same, and
provide same (but contextual, as explained by David) functionality.  In 
that regard, it could be regarded
as a bug --one type would have done the trick-

I am with David about the intention of the designers/developers; that 
view has actually materialized
for many sites at LTER that have provided their metadata to the larger 
community.  Some LTER
sites use the distribution element at the resource (general) level.

Some of these cited (but unnamed) sites that have level 5 eml, may also 
put a reference to the
<distribution> in the //entity/physical/distribution, or duplicate the 
group altogether.
Some sites do not have level 5 (entity level) so they make use of the 
general resource <distribution>.
Other thing is where that URL points to.  a data catalog? a broken link? 
a screen to capture personal data?
In about all cases for those documents, this distribution tag contains a 
URL, no "DataBase connection" used.
which makes me wonder about the practical use of the DB metadata 
placeholders within that group.
Perhaps a <distribution> tag customized to the GIS entities (multiple 
shape files, etc) is in more
demand today that the cited database-oriented connectivity & query guide 
tags.

The use of <distribution> at the resource level tends to happen more in 
the case when the site
uses EML as a "splitter" -- one dataset-one entity (entity is one of 
dataTable, raster, vector or otherEntity)

For those of you lumping entities in one EML, the distribution within 
the entity element is used
(or shoulda been used), and perhaps the use of the resource 
<distribution> element is irrelevant.
However, some people have come up with creative ways to use these two 
placeholders -like
the general to a generic URL, and the entity distribution pointing to 
the actual dataset.

cheers, inigo

David Blankman wrote:
> Margaret,
>
> I am trying to remeber the rational for having distribution in two places. I
> think that we did that expecting that lots of people would not use
> eml-Physical, so it made sense to have it in resource. The distribution
> information in Resource was intended, I think, for human consumption while
> the element in eml-physical was meant primarily for software agents.
>
> I am not making a case for two versions, but rather trying to remember the
> rational. I don't trust my memory so I could be wrong, but my explanation,
> at least, seems logical.
>
> David
>
> David Blankman
> Director of Information Management, Israel LTER/Ma'arag
> Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology
> Jacob Blaustein Desert Research Institute
> Ben Gurion University
> Midreshet Ben Gurion, 84990 Israel
> 972-54-685-9345 (cell)
> 1-505-349-5680 (Skype)
>
>
>
> On Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 9:08 PM, <bugzilla-daemon at ecoinformatics.org> wrote:
>
>   
>> http://bugzilla.ecoinformatics.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3480
>>
>>           Summary: duplicate distribution types (in resource.xsd, and
>>                    physical.xsd)
>>           Product: EML
>>           Version: 2.0.1
>>          Platform: Other
>>        OS/Version: All
>>            Status: NEW
>>          Severity: normal
>>          Priority: P2
>>         Component: eml - general bugs
>>        AssignedTo: jones at nceas.ucsb.edu
>>        ReportedBy: mob at icess.ucsb.edu
>>         QAContact: eml-dev at ecoinformatics.org
>>
>>
>> In examining <distribution>: there are currently 2 Distribution Types,
>> which
>> are identical:
>>
>> 1. eml-physical.xsd:  <xs:complexType name="PhysicalDistributionType">
>>
>> used by:
>> eml-physical.xsd:1169:        <xs:element name="distribution"
>> type="PhysicalDistributionType"
>>
>> and
>> 2. eml-resource.xsd:  <xs:complexType name="DistributionType">
>>
>> used in these schemas:
>> eml-resource.xsd:364:      <xs:element name="distribution"
>> type="DistributionType" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
>> eml-software.xsd:129:              <xs:element name="distribution"
>> type="res:DistributionType" maxOccurs="unbounded"> (this one is a child of
>> <implementation>)
>>
>> I cant tell why this is the case. What was the rationale for having 2?
>>
>> Also note that bug #1154 only mentions one of these,
>> PhysicalDistributionType
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>>     
>
>
>
>   
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