ISO 19115:2003/19139

ISO 19115:2005 defines the schema required for describing geographic information and services. It provides information about the identification, the extent, the quality, the spatial and temporal schema, spatial reference, and distribution of digital geographic data.

ISO 19115:2005 is applicable to:

• the cataloguing of datasets, clearinghouse activities, and the full description of datasets;
• geographic datasets, dataset series, and individual geographic features and feature properties.

ISO 19115:2005 defines:

• mandatory and conditional metadata sections, metadata entities, and metadata elements;
• the minimum set of metadata required to serve the full range of metadata applications (data discovery, determining data fitness for use, data access, data transfer, and use of digital data);
• optional metadata elements - to allow for a more extensive standard description of geographic data, if required;
• a method for extending metadata to fit specialized needs.

ISO 19139 provides the XML implementation schema for ISO 19115 specifying the metadata record format and may be used to describe, validate, and exchange geospatial metadata prepared in XML.

Model

<gmd:MD_Metadata id="" uuid="" xmlns:gmd="http://www.isotc211.org/2005/gmd">
  <gmd:fileIdentifier gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:fileIdentifier>
  <gmd:language gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:language>
  <gmd:characterSet gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:characterSet>
  <gmd:parentIdentifier gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:parentIdentifier>
  <gmd:hierarchyLevel gco:nilReason="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:hierarchyLevel>
  <gmd:hierarchyLevelName gco:nilReason="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:hierarchyLevelName>
  <gmd:contact xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{1,unbounded}</gmd:contact>
  <gmd:dateStamp gco:nilReason="">{1,1}</gmd:dateStamp>
  <gmd:metadataStandardName gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:metadataStandardName>
  <gmd:metadataStandardVersion gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:metadataStandardVersion>
  <gmd:dataSetURI gco:nilReason="">{0,1}</gmd:dataSetURI>
  <gmd:locale xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:locale>
  <gmd:spatialRepresentationInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:spatialRepresentationInfo>
  <gmd:referenceSystemInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:referenceSystemInfo>
  <gmd:metadataExtensionInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:metadataExtensionInfo>
  <gmd:identificationInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{1,unbounded}</gmd:identificationInfo>
  <gmd:contentInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:contentInfo>
  <gmd:distributionInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,1}</gmd:distributionInfo>
  <gmd:dataQualityInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:dataQualityInfo>
  <gmd:portrayalCatalogueInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:portrayalCatalogueInfo>
  <gmd:metadataConstraints xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:metadataConstraints>
  <gmd:applicationSchemaInfo xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:applicationSchemaInfo>
  <gmd:metadataMaintenance xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,1}</gmd:metadataMaintenance>
  <gmd:series xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:series>
  <gmd:describes xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:describes>
  <gmd:propertyType xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:propertyType>
  <gmd:featureType xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:featureType>
  <gmd:featureAttribute xlink:actuate="" xlink:arcrole="" xlink:href="" gco:nilReason="" xlink:role="" xlink:show="" xlink:title="" xlink:type="simple" uuidref="">{0,unbounded}</gmd:featureAttribute>
</gmd:MD_Metadata>

Metadata package data dictionaries

This data dictionary describes the characteristics of the metadata defined in ISO 19115. The dictionary is specified in a hierarchy to establish relationships and an organization for the information.

Note:

• Obligation / Condition is a descriptor indicating whether a metadata entity or metadata element shall always be documented in the metadata or sometimes be documented (i.e. contains value(s)). This descriptor may have the following values: M (mandatory), C (conditional), or O (optional).

• Maximum occurrence specifies the maximum number of instances the metadata entity or the metadata element may have. Single occurrences are shown by “1”; repeating occurrences are represented by “N”. Fixed number occurrences other than one are allowed, and will be represented by the corresponding number (i.e. “2”, “3”...etc).

Metadata entity set information

	Name	Definition	Obligation / Condition	Max occurrence	Data type	Domain
1	MD_Metadata	root entity which defines metadata about a resource or resources	M	1	Class	Lines 2-13
2	fileIdentifier	unique identifier for this metadata file	O	1	CharacterString	Free text
3	language	language used for documenting metadata	C	1	CharacterString	?
4	characterSet	full name of the character coding standard used for the metadata set	C	1	Class	MD_CharacterSetCode <<CodeList>>
5	hierarchyLevel	scope to which the metadata applies	C	N	Class	MD_ScopeCode <<CodeList>>
6	contact	party responsible for the metadata information	M	1	Class	CI_ResponsibleParty <<DataType>>
7	dateStamp	date that the metadata was created	M	1	Class	Date
8	metadataStandardName	name of the metadata standard (including profile name) used	O	1	CharacterString	FreeText
9	metadataStandardVersion	version (profile) of the metadata standard used	O	1	CharacterString	FreeText
10	spatialRepresentationInfo	digital representation of spatial information in the dataset	O	N	Association	MD_ReferenceSystem
11	identificationInfo	basic information about the resource(s) to which the metadata applies	O	N	Association	MD_Identification <<Abstract>>
12	distributionInfo	provides information about the feature catalogue and describes the coverage and image data characteristics	O	N	Association	MD_ContentInformation <<Abstract>>
13	metadataConstraints	provieds restrictions on the access and use of metada	O	N	Association	MD_Constraints

Identification information

	Name	Definition	Obligation / Condition	Max occurrence	Data type	Domain
14	MD_Identification	basic information required to uniquely identify a resource or resources	M	1	Aggregated Class (MD_Metadata) <<Abstract>>	Lines 15-25
15	citation	citation data for the resource(s)	M	1	Class	CI_Citation
16	abstract	brief narrative summary of the content of the resource(s)	M	1	CharacterString	Free text
17	purpose	summary of the intentions with which the resource(s) was developed	O	1	CharacterString	Free text
18	resourceMaintenace	provieds information about the frequency of resources updates, and the scope of those updates	O	N	Association	MD_MaintenanceInformation
19	graphicOverview	provides a graphic that illustrates the resource(s) (should include a legend for the graphic)	O	N	Association	MD_BrowseGraphic
20	descriptiveKeywords	provides category keywords, their type, and reference source	O	N	Association	MD_Keywords
21	language	language(s) used within the dataset	M	N	CharacterString	ISO 639-2, other parts may be used
22	characterSet	full name of the character coding standard used for the dataset	C/ISO/IEC 10646-1 not used?	N	Class	MD_CharacterSetCode <<CodeList>>
23	topicCategory	main theme(s) of the dataset	N	N	Class	MD_TopicCategoryCode
24	extent	extent information including the bounding box, bounding polygon, vertical, and temporal extent of the dataset	N	N	Class	EX_Extent <<DataType>>
25	supplementalInformation	any other descriptive information about the dataset	O	1	CharacterString	Free text

Browse graphic information

	Name	Definition	Obligation / Condition	Max occurrence	Data type	Domain
26	MD_BrowseGraphic	graphic that provides an illustration of the database (shold include a legend for the graphic)	Use obligation from referencing object	Use maximum occurrence from referencing object	Aggregated Class (MD_Identification)	Lines 27-29
27	filName	name of the file that contains a graphic that provides an illustration of the dataset	M	1	CharacterString	Free text
28	fileDescription	text description of the illustration	O	1	CharacterString	Free text
29	purpose	summary of the intentions with which the resource(s) was developed	O	1	CharacterString	Free text

Keyword information

	Name	Definition	Obligation / Condition	Max occurrence	Data type	Domain
30	MD_Keyword	keywords, their type and reference source	Use obligation from referencing object	Use maximum occurrence from referencing object	Aggregated Class (MD_Identification)	Lines 31-33
31	keyword	commonly used word(s) or formalised word(s) or phrase(s) used to describe the subject	M	N	CharacterString	Free text
32	type	subject matter used to group similiar keywords	O	1	Class	MD_KeywordTypeCode<<CodeList>>
33	thesaurusName	name of the formally registered thesaurus or a similar authoritative source of keywords	O	1	CharacterString	CI_Citation <<DataType>>

MD_CharacterSetCode

Values:

big5, ebcdic, eucJP, eucKR, jis, shiftJIS, ucs2, ucs4, usAscii, utf16, utf7, utf8, 
_8859part1, _8859part11, _8859part14, _8859part15, _8859part2, _8859part3, _8859part4, _8859part5, _8859part6, _8859part7, _8859part8, _8859part9.

MD_ScopeCode

Name	Definition
attributeType	information applies to the characteristic of a feature
collectionHardware	information applies to the collection hardware class
collectionSession	information applies to the collection session
dataset	information applies to the dataset
series	information applies to the series
nonGeographicDataset	information applies to non-geographic data
dimensionGroup	information applies to a dimension group
feature	information applies to a feature
featureType	information applies to a feature type
propertyType	information applies to a property type
fieldSession	information applies to a field session
software	information applies to a computer program or routine
service	information applies to a capability which a service provider entity makes available to a service user entity through a set of interfaces that define a behaviour, such as a use case
model	information applies to a copy or imitation of an existing or hypothetical object
tile	information applies to a tile, a spatial subset of geographic data

MD_ReferenceSystem

This package contains the description of the spatial and temporal reference system(s) used in a dataset. MD_ReferenceSystem contains an element to identify the reference system used. MD_ReferenceSystem may be subclassed as MD_CRS, which is an aggregate of MD_ProjectionParameters and MD_EllipsoidParameters. MD_ProjectionParameters is an aggregate of MD_ObliqueLineAzimuth and MD_ObliqueLinePoint.

MD_ContentInformation

This package contains information identifying the feature catalogue used (MD_FeatureCatalogueDescription) and/or information describing the content of a coverage dataset (MD_CoverageDescription). Both description entities are subclasses of the MD_ContentInformation entity. MD_CoverageDescription may be subclassed as MD_ImageDescription, and has an aggregate of MD_RangeDimension. MD_RangeDimension may additionally be subclassed as MD_Band.

MD_Constraints

This package contains information concerning the restrictions placed on data. The MD_Constraints entity is optional and may be specified as MD_LegalConstraints and/or MD_SecurityConstraints. The otherConstraint element of MD_LegalConstraints shall be non-zero (used) only if accessConstraints and/or useConstraints elements have a value of “otherRestrictions”, which is found in the MD_RestrictionCode codelist.

MD_MaintenanceInformation

This package contains information about the scope and frequency of updating data. MD_MaintenanceInformation entity is optional and contains mandatory and optional metadata elements.