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Formal metadata: information and software

Formal metadata: information and software

The most useful ideas are questions, not facts.

What's it all about?

Web interfaces:

A variety of web interfaces that can simplify your work in creating good metadata
Metadata validation service (online) [Alternative URL]
Use this web site instead of downloading mp, works for cns as well
Citation_Information for USGS publications
If you correctly guess the identifier of a USGS publication, this gives it to you formatted as Citation_Information, which you can paste into your metadata.
Data dictionary conversion service
Create a table explaining your database's tables and fields; this converts thte table into a Detailed_Description for your Entity_and_Attribute_Information section
Source_Information helper
Attempts to reformat a typical scientific bibliography into Source_Information metadata elements. Not perfect.
Enumerated_Domain helper
Create a table of attribute values and their definitions; this creates as Enumerated_Domain metadata elements you can paste into your Attribute section.

Software tools

Name Version Documentation
mp 2.9.20 A compiler for formal metadata
mp checks the structure of a metadata record against the FGDC standard, indicating discrepancies. It also re-expresses the metadata in several useful alternative formats.
cns 2.8.4 A pre-parser for formal metadata
cns is used in case a text metadata record appears to have correct element names but is in a format that cannot be parsed by mp. Usually the main problem to be corrected is inconsistent indentation, but cns corrects a variety of other conditions. Use with care.
xtme 2.7.19 An editor for formal metadata
For primitive installations of the X Window System in which Tcl/Tk is not available, xtme uses Athena widgets.
Tkme 2.9.26 Another editor for formal metadata
A versatile editing tool based on the Tcl/Tk toolkit.
mq 2.6.23 A Tcl interface for formal metadata
Software interface that can be used to implement sophisticated editing operations on large, diverse collections of metadata records that are stored as separate files.
DBFmeta 1.13 A tool to help document DBF files
Reads the DBF file and creates a Detailed_Description that can be pasted in a metadata record using Tkme. This tool can be used to detect spelling errors or other consistency problems in the data file.
err2html 2.1.11 Make mp's error messages easier to read
Re-expresses the error listing generated by mp to reduce duplication, show most severe messages first, and show hypertext links for element names.

Download software

System Package Contents Size
Microsoft Windows mp-2.9.20.zip All programs, source code, documentation 4.2M
tkme.exe Tkme stand-alone runtime 1.8M
Linux (i386) bin_lnx.tar.gz All programs and documentation 1.4M
All src.tar.gz Source code and documentation 1.5M
tkme.kit Tkme as a platform-independent starkit 940K

Tips, tricks, and advanced topics:

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URL: http://geology.usgs.gov/tools/metadata/
Page Contact Information: Peter Schweitzer
Page Last Modified: Thursday, 13-Dec-2012 12:32:55 EST