# Presentation: 374740

## GIS Standardization Efforts:

**How is SDTS involved?**

**Notes:**
This presentation was assembled by the SDTS Task Force of  the USGS  to be presented in the context of SDTS.  All of the information on FGDC, NSDI, ANSI, ISO, OpenGIS(tm) was based on information from  their Web sites. These materials are being released to colleagues as an informal exchange of information, and have not undergone any rigorous review process. Use of trademark does not constitute endorsement. (9/4/97)

## GIS Standardization Efforts

**Federal Geographic Data Committee (****FGDC****)**
**American National Standards Institute (****ANSI****)**
**ISO****/TC 211 Geo Info/Geomatics**
**O****pen****GIS**** Consortium (OGC)**

## Federal Geographic Data Committee

**The FGDC has membership from all federal agencies that produce and use spatial data.**
**Mission:**
**to promote the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of surveying, mapping, and related spatial data**

## NR Inventory

***NR Inventory***

***Federal Geographic Data Committee***

***Hist. Data***

***C******learinghouse***

***Subcommittees***

***Coordination Group***

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***Earth Cover***

***Facilities***

***Standards***

**Notes:**
Graphical FGDC Organization Chart.  Updated to reflect information on FGDC Web pages as of July 8, 1997.

There are thematic subcommittees which deal with issues related to the one theme of data.  There are working groups that deal with cross-cutting activities that affect all themes of data.

## FGDC

**National Spatial Data Infrastructure**
**Standards will be needed**
**information content**
**data quality**
**geographic reference**
**data transfer**
**data integration **

**SDTS**

**Notes:**
FGDC has federal leadership for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

NSDI VISION: Current and accurate geospatial data will be readily available to contribute locally, nationally, and globally to economic growth, environmental quality and stability, and social progress.

National - State, regional, local, tribal, and Federal agencies, the private sector, non-profit organizations, professional societies, academia, and others.
Spatial data - information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the earth.
Infrastructure - the technology, policies, standards, and human resources needed to acquire, process, store, distribute, and improve use of spatial data.
Executive Order 12906 (1994): Gives leadership responsibility for NSDI to the FGDC. They gained reaffirmation that one of its responsibilities was to develop standards, when FGDC was given charge over coordination and implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Clearinghouse - helps locate what data are available
Framework - basic set of commonly used spatial data

## Framework Data

**   ****Digital orthoimagery**

**Elevation and bathymetry**

**Framework Data**

**Notes:**
Framework information includes:
Geodetic control (NOAA)
Digital orthoimagery (USGS)
Elevation (USGS)
Transportation (USGS and CENSUS)
Hydrography (USGS and EPA)
Governmental Units (CENSUS)
Cadastral (BLM)

## FGDC Suite of Standards

**FGDC Metadata Standard**
**SDTS can transfer dataset and metadata**
**Orthoimagery and Elevation**
**Recommend SDTS Raster as format**
**Framework Datasets**
**Geodetic Control in SDTS Point Profile**
**Cadastral in SDTS TVP**
**Governmental Units in SDTS**
**Hydrography in SDTS TVP (initially)**
**Elevation and Orthoimagery in Raster Profile**
**Transportation in a new Transportation Profile**

**Notes:**
Because SDTS was already ratified as a federal standard, it gained endorsement as an FGDC standard.  The flexibility and component based design of SDTS makes it very compatible with other standards, especially with the suite of  FGDC standards. 
o  The FGDC Content Standard for Geospatial Metadata can be used to define precise metadata elements that can be packaged inside of an SDTS transfer. 
o  The FGDC Digital Orthoimagery and Digita Elevation Data content standards both reference the SDTS as a recommended distribution format.  
o  The NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) Framework data set of Geodetic Control will be offered in SDTS under the new FGDC SDTS Point Profile.  
o The SDTS TVP is currently planned as the “transfer file” component of the Cadastral data transfer standard.  BLM will be offering data from ALMRS in SDTS form.
o  The Census Framework data set of Governmental Units will be offered in SDTS form.
o  SDTS can be used to transfer a data set using any FGDC thematic subcommittee Data Dictionary. 

## ANSI

**Purpose **
**To develop national standards**
**To represent the US at ISO**
**GIS Standards added in 1995**
**Global Information Infrastructure**

## ANSI - NCITS L1 GIS

**Tech. Comm. L1 is for GIS Standards**
**July 1997: Approved moving SDTS forward**
**“****Give it the recognition it deserves by making it a national standard”**
**October 1997: Draft SDTS will be submitted**

**Notes:**
A working group dedicated to SDTS was formed and is chaired by USGS, with representation from private industry.  At a July 30, 1997 meeting of the ANSI  NCITS L1, the group voted to move SDTS forward for ratification. The sentiment of the group was that SDTS should be given the recognition it deserves by becoming a national standard.  The members of this group are all very familiar with developments involving open geospatial interoperability, but they realize that the wide spread deployment of these technologies is a long time coming. SDTS is a solution for today. The GIS industry represented at the meeting included Intergraph, ESRI, MapInfo, Oracle, and OGC.

The next ANSI NCITS L1 meeting is October 24, 1997 in Cincinnati. The Draft SDTS standard (Part 1,2,3) including the TVP (Part 4) will be submitted into the ANSI ratification process. SDTS is on its way to becoming a national standard.

## ISO/TC 211 Geographic Info.

**ISO added GIS standards in 1995**
**Created Technical Committee 211**
**Working Groups**
**For each topic: Reference Model, Services, Data Model, Admin, Profiles**
**Recognize Functional Standards**
**rather than creating something totally new, existing deployed standards are considered.**

## ISO/TC 211 Geomatics

**US delegation proposes SDTS to be the overarching model.**
**component based design**
**harmonizing agent**
**adopted by more than one country**
**Canadian delegation proposes that raster harmonization with SDTS be broadened.**

**ISO/TC 211 Geomatics**

**Notes:**
The TC 211 realized that a unifying model for exchange was needed to coordinate and harmonize all of the work of this committee.  The US delegation to ISO (NIMA leads) is proposing that SDTS be used as the unifying model.  In addition, the Canadian delegation to ISO, is proposing that the raster portion of SDTS be instrumental to converging other raster developments under ISO/TC 211.
SDTS is a set of components---conceptual model, logical model, format, feature list. As a unifying model, working groups could select the components they need to use for their work items.

## OpenGIS Consortium (OGC)

**Open Geodata Interoperability Specification (OGIS)**
**Distributed geoprocessing and data access**
**Standardized interfaces to permit component based software systems**

## OpenGIS Specification

***What about data transfer?***
**There is a niche**
**SDTS is not the only candidate.**
**Become embedded technology**
**Consumer won’t know/care how transfer occurs.**
**Needed for Archives**
**Self-contained datasets are critical.**
**Needed for data distribution**
**Bulk data movement from wholesalers to retailers.**

**Notes:**
Comparing Data Transfer  to OGIS is like comparing FTP capability to Web Browser capability.  Without an FTP capability first, the impetus for more sophisticated network exchange wouldn’t be there.   As the Web Browser industry is developing, the need for FTP capability still exists. Oftentimes the FTP is done automatically by Web processes on behalf of a consumer, and other times the user can request an FTP take place as part of a Web session.  Seamlessly integrated and working together.  It works so well that some people have no idea what FTP is, even when they rely on the capability---that is successful integration and transition.  Will the need for FTP go away?  Actually the demand has increased!
As the component based distributed geoprocessing industry is developing, the need for SDTS-like standards still exists.  Hopefully, the industry can make the need for SDTS-like standards invisible to the vast majority of consumers, yet available to those advanced GIS analysts that require spatial data transfers.  
There will always be a niche for transfer standards.  As long as there is a need to preserve snapshots of  spatial data for archive, which might be for legal or safety or historical reasons---then transfer is needed.  As long as there is a need for more than one single physical spatial database in the world, there will be a need for transfer. As long as there are data users that need to do more extensive processing than the open geospatial engine supports, there will be a need for transfer.  As long as a consumer can pose a  geospatial-related query that has not been implemented, there will be a need for transfer.  The need for and use of transfer standards will actually increase because of OGIS.

## OpenGIS

**Open environment will grow the industry.**
**Awareness of spatial data and its applications will increase.**
**The demand for data sets will increase.**
**People will want their own data sets!**

**Notes:**
Distributed databases will not end standalone (I want my own data)
The FTP and Web analogy only makes sense to a narrow and very technical audience, but there are many other analogies that apply. Consider that video tapes did not replace movies in theaters (as once predicted), but they have actually helped increase the demand by growing the industry.  Consider that use of computers in the office was going to reduce the need for paper, but we actually use much more paper today than before.  Consider that the access to vast amounts of electronic information to read was going to replace books, but we are actually producing and printing more books than ever before.  Therefore, an OGIS-like interoperability will not replace transfer of static data sets but will more likely increase the demand. People will become more aware of spatial data and what you can do with it and they will want their own data sets.

## Connections?

**ANSI & ISO**
**Formal relationship**
**TC 211 & OGIS**
**Agree to work together**
**FGDC & OGIS**
**Joint demonstrations**
***SDTS is common to all of these.***

**Notes:**
ANSI and ISO:
ANSI is the official US member body to ISO. A very formal relationship between two SDOs (Standard Developing Organizations).

TC 211 and OGIS:
Press release that these two have agreed to cooperate. OGIS has begun to expand its scope to international.  Both concerned about developing a standard that is out of  touch with currently deployed technology.

FGDC and OGIS:
Press release about a demonstration of displaying spatial objects from different database on the same user display screen. To make the clearinghouse initiative a success, FGDC works to insure that technology is in place to support the vision.

SDTS:
SDTS is not just a format. It embodies concepts of data completeness, data documentation, and data model. It has had many impacts on the industry already. 

## GIS Standardization Efforts:

**How is SDTS Involved?**