Abstract

GeoDCAT-AP is an extension of the DCAT application profile for data portals in Europe ([[[DCAT-AP-3]]]) for describing geospatial datasets, dataset series, and services. Its basic use case is to make spatial datasets, dataset series, and services searchable on general data portals, thereby making geospatial information better findable across borders and sectors. For this purpose, GeoDCAT-AP provides an RDF vocabulary and the corresponding RDF syntax binding for the union of metadata elements of the core profile of ISO 19115:2003 [[ISO-19115]], those defined in the framework of the INSPIRE Directive [[INSPIRE-DIR]] of the European Union and those defined in the Technical Guidance for the implementation of INSPIRE dataset and service metadata based on ISO/TS 19139:2007 [[INSPIRE-MD]].

Introduction

This document contains version 3.0.0 of the specification for GeoDCAT-AP, an extension of the DCAT application profile for data portals in Europe [[DCAT-AP-3]] for describing geospatial datasets, dataset series, and services.

Its basic use case is to make spatial datasets, dataset series, and services searchable on general data portals, thereby making geospatial information better findable across borders and sectors. For this purpose, GeoDCAT-AP provides an RDF vocabulary and the corresponding RDF syntax binding for the union of metadata elements of the core profile of ISO 19115:2003 [[ISO-19115]], its XML metadata encoding standard, ISO/TS 19139:2007 [[ISO-19139]], and those defined in the framework of the INSPIRE Directive [[INSPIRE-DIR]].

The GeoDCAT-AP specification does not replace the INSPIRE Metadata Regulation [[?INSPIRE-MD-REG]] nor the INSPIRE Metadata technical guidelines [[INSPIRE-MD]] based on ISO 19115 and ISO 19119. Its purpose is to give producers and maintainers of geospatial metadata the possibility to achieve more by providing the means of an additional implementation through harmonised RDF syntax bindings used in the Open Data community. Conversion rules to RDF syntax would allow Member States to maintain their collections of INSPIRE-relevant datasets following the INSPIRE Metadata technical guidelines based on [[ISO-19115]] and [[ISO-19119]], while at the same time publishing these collections on [[DCAT-AP-3]]-conformant data portals. A conversion to an RDF representation allows additional metadata elements to be displayed on general-purposed open data portals, provided that such data portals are capable of displaying additional metadata elements. Additionally, data portals may be capable of providing machine-to-machine interfaces where additional metadata could be provided.

Context

With a view to fostering Europe's digital transformation, the European Commission is investing in frameworks and agreements to provide governments and businesses with the appropriate resources to digitalise their services. There are, for instance, building blocks available for creating a single market for data, where data flows freely within the EU and across sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations.

To this direction, the European Commission launched the European Data Strategy [[DataStrategy]], as part of the European Commission's priorities for 2019-2024 in order to make the EU a leader in a data-driven society.

Studies previously conducted on behalf of the European Commission (e.g., [[Vickery]]) shed light on the importance of having data findable and available in machine readable format in order to stimulate its reuse. This vision led to several legislative actions to reduce barriers and promote data sharing, such as the Open Data Directive [[OPENDATA-DIR]], which turned out to be a driving force towards a more transparent and fair access to government data.

With this regard, the wide range of (open) data portals developed by European public administrations is the result of this mission. These Web-based interfaces allow access to data by providing users means to explore a catalogue of datasets. To facilitate the sharing, discovery and re-use of the data beyond the (open) data portal, common agreements for the exchange of catalogues of datasets are needed. These interoperability agreements enable to connect (open) data catalogues into a pan-european catalogue of datasets.

The DCAT Application Profile specifies the generic agreements for (open) data portals operated by public administrations in Europe. This specification extends DCAT-AP with additional requirements for describing geospatial data.

The current document is the result of the major semantic change release process described in the Change and Release Management Policy for DCAT-AP [[DCAT-AP-CRMP]] and was built starting from GeoDCAT-AP version 2.0.0 [[GeoDCAT-AP-20201223]], with the purpose of aligning it with DCAT-AP version 3.x.x [[DCAT-AP-3]] and with version 2.2.0 of the INSPIRE Metadata Technical Guidelines for the implementation of INSPIRE dataset and service metadata based on ISO/TS 19139:2007 [[INSPIRE-MD]].

This work has been carried out in the context of the European Commission’s Interoperable Europe initiative [[INTEROPERABLE-EUROPE]].

Scope of the Application Profile

The objective of this work is to produce an updated release of GeoDCAT-AP based on requests for change coming from real-world implementations of the specification and an alignment with [[DCAT-AP-3]] and [[INSPIRE-MD]].

As [[[DCAT-AP-3]]], the Application Profile specified in this document is based on the specification of the Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT). DCAT is originally developed under the responsibility of the Government Linked Data Working Group [[GLD]] at W3C, and was significantly revised in 2020 by the W3C Dataset Exchange Working Group [[DXWG]]. DCAT is an RDF [[RDF11-CONCEPTS]] vocabulary designed to facilitate interoperability between data catalogues published on the Web.

The objective of this work is to produce an extension of [[DCAT-AP-3]] based on numerous requests for change coming from real-world implementations of the specification listed on the GitHub issues section since the previous release [[GeoDCAT-AP-20201223]]. For that purpose the [[DCAT-AP-3]] specification is extended with improved definitions, usage notes and usage constraints such as cardinalities for properties and the usage of controlled vocabularies. Additional classes and properties are re-used or introduced where necessary.

The work does not cover implementation issues like mechanisms for exchange of data and expected behaviour of systems implementing the Application Profile other than what is defined in the Conformance Statement in section [[[#conformance]]].

The Application Profile is intended to facilitate data exchange and therefore the classes and properties defined in this document are only relevant for the data to be exchanged; there are no requirements for communicating systems to implement specific technical environments. The only requirement is that the systems can export and import data in RDF in conformance with this Application Profile.

The Application Profile is intended to facilitate data exchange and therefore the classes and properties defined in this document are only relevant for the data to be exchanged; there are no requirements for communicating systems to implement specific technical environments. The only requirement is that the systems can export and import data in RDF in conformance with this Application Profile.

As mentioned in the context, the prime objective of the Application Profile is to enhance data findability and promote reusability. To achieve this goal, datasets should be coherently documented. To enable this, the Application Profile considers several essential aspects, including among others:

These are addressed with the aim to facilitate effective data reuse, allowing users to locate, understand and utilise the available data resources more efficiently.

DCAT-AP Context

Around 2010, on behalf of the European Commission the access to public sector information was studied. These studies showed that businesses and citizens faced many difficulties in finding and reusing public sector information. The studies indicated that the availability of the information in a machine-readable format as well as a thin layer of commonly agreed metadata could facilitate data cross-reference and interoperability and therefore considerably enhance its value for reuse. Therefore, to overcome these hurdles, the European Commission invested in policies [[PSI]], data interoperability [[SEMIC]] and infrastructure [[DEU]].

Interoperable Europe, within its mission to stimulate the data interoperability in Europe, manages this specification on the metadata agreements for sharing dataset descriptions between data portals. The governance is taken care by the SEMIC action within Interoperable Europe. Initially, the scope of the specification was the exchange between Open Data Portals in Europe. Although this is still at the core of the specification, DCAT-AP is not limited to publicly accessible Open Data, but can be applied to any kind of datasets. In the past decade, DCAT-AP has grown from a single specification to a whole ecosystem of related and interconnected specifications.

Revision history

The first GeoDCAT-AP specification was released in December 2015. The subsequent release 1.0.1 improved the specification. These specifications are aligned with the core profile of ISO 19115:2003 [[ISO-19115]] and those defined in the framework of the INSPIRE Directive [[INSPIRE-DIR]]. Five years later in December 2020 the second version of GeoDCAT-AP was released. W3C DCAT 2 restructured DCAT by introducing the notions of a generic Catalogued Resource of which Datasets and Data Services are special cases. As a consequence both DCAT-AP and GeoDCAT-AP required a major revision ensuring alignment between the different specifications. In 2023, the adoption of W3C DCAT 3 [[vocab-dcat-3]] triggered a new alignment for DCAT-AP, and consequently for GeoDCAT-AP. W3C DCAT 3 extends the profile with the Dataset Series notion. This document is the combination of this alignment and addressing issues raised by the community.

Notes on alignment with DCAT 3

Being an extension of [[DCAT-AP-3]], GeoDCAT-AP inherits the changes that were introduced in [[[DCAT-AP-3]]] due to the aligment with [[[vocab-dcat-3]]]. The introduction of Dataset Series in DCAT is an additive operation from semantical, data modeling perspective. Therefore the impact on existing GeoDCAT-AP 2.x, exchanges is limited. Nevertheless, publishers may face substantial impact on the existing catalogues as the new terminology for Dataset Series may require to revisit the publisher's metadata guidelines. For instance, if the publisher had chosen to document a Dataset Series as a Dataset with multiple Distributions, then the alignment with Dataset Series as expressed in this specification will require a substantial effort. This impact goes beyond the specification and is dependent on the usage of the shared information. In the context of GeoDCAT-AP and in line with the conformance expectations and [[DCAT-AP-3]], the term Dataset Series will be solely used for resources that are explicitly identified by the class Dataset Series. The situation, as mentioned, where a Dataset has multiple Distributions, will be considered as a Dataset with multiple Distributions and not as a Dataset Series. This way, receivers of GeoDCAT-AP metadata can rely on the classes to process the metadata.

The sole data model impact DCAT 3 creates, is by deprecating the use of some URIs and introducing new URIs in the DCAT namespace for the use case of Dataset versioning. As these properties are optional and since there is an equivalence between the deprecated and the new ones, catalogue owners can easily realign.

GeoDCAT-AP 3 is the result of an alignment with DCAT 3, DCAT-AP 3 and improvements to harmonise the interoperability between DCAT-AP and GeoDCAT-AP. These changes are listed in detail in the Changelog. To support the review, the changes are also highlighted on the diagram below.

Meeting minutes

The following webinars have been held for the creation of this release

Status

This application profile has the status Candidate Recommendation published at 2024-10-04.

Information about the process and the decisions involved in the creation of this specification are consultable at the Changelog.

License

Copyright © 2024 European Union. All material in this repository is published under the license CC-BY 4.0, unless explicitly otherwise mentioned.

Conformance Statement

Provider requirements

In order to conform to this Application Profile, an application that provides metadata MUST: For the properties listed in the table in section [[[#controlled-vocs]]], the associated controlled vocabularies MUST be used. Additional controlled vocabularies MAY be used. In addition to the mandatory properties, any of the recommended and optional properties defined in section [[[#quick-reference]]] MAY be provided.

Receiver requirements

In order to conform to this Application Profile, an application that receives metadata MUST be able to:
  • Process information for all classes and properties specified in section [[[#quick-reference]]].
  • Process information for all controlled vocabularies specified in section [[[#controlled-vocs]]].
  • "Processing" means that receivers must accept incoming data and transparently provide these data to applications and services. It does neither imply nor prescribe what applications and services finally do with the data (parse, convert, store, make searchable, display to users, etc.).

    Terminology

    An Application Profile is a specification that reuses terms from one or more base standards, adding more specificity by identifying mandatory, recommended and optional elements to be used for a particular application, as well as recommendations for controlled vocabularies to be used.

    A Dataset is a collection of data, published or curated by a single source, and available for access or download in one or more formats. A Data Portal is a Web-based system that contains a data catalogue with descriptions of datasets and provides services enabling discovery and reuse of the datasets.

    Used prefixes

    PrefixNamespace IRI
    admshttp://www.w3.org/ns/adms#
    dcathttp://www.w3.org/ns/dcat#
    dcataphttp://data.europa.eu/r5r/
    dcthttp://purl.org/dc/terms/
    dctypehttp://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/
    foafhttp://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/
    locnhttp://www.w3.org/ns/locn#
    odrlhttp://www.w3.org/ns/odrl/2/
    owlhttp://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#
    provhttp://www.w3.org/ns/prov#
    rdfhttp://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#
    rdfshttp://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#
    skoshttp://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#
    spdxhttp://spdx.org/rdf/terms#
    timehttp://www.w3.org/2006/time#
    vcardhttp://www.w3.org/2006/vcard/ns#
    xsdhttp://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#
    orghttp://www.w3.org/ns/org#
    contenthttp://www.w3.org/2011/content#
    dqvhttp://www.w3.org/ns/dqv#
    sdmx-attributehttp://purl.org/linked-data/sdmx/2009/attribute#
    geodcataphttp://data.europa.eu/930/

    Overview

    This Application Profile extends [[DCAT-AP-3]] by including

  • additional classes and properties;
  • additional recommendations on the use of classes and properties;
  • additional controlled vocabularies (documented in 9. Controlled Vocabularies to be used, along with the ones used in [[DCAT-AP-3]]).
  • These extensions are meant to provide a DCAT-AP-conformant representation of geospatial metadata, identified by defining RDF syntax mappings covering the union of the elements in the INSPIRE metadata schema [[INSPIRE-MD-REG]], [[INSPIRE-MD]] and the core profile of [[ISO-19115]], following the criteria illustrated in A. INSPIRE and ISO 19115 Mappings.

    The current specification does not change the set of geospatial metadata elements already covered in its previous version [[GeoDCAT-AP-20201223]], but rather it updates some of the corresponding mappings based on the new classes and properties included in [[DCAT-AP-3]], following the release of version 2 of the W3C Data Catalog (DCAT) Vocabulary [[vocab-dcat-3]], and aligns them with version 2.2.0 of the INSPIRE Metadata Technical Guidelines [[INSPIRE-MD]].

    Application profile diagram

    An overview of GeoDCAT-AP is shown by the UML diagram below. The UML diagram illustrates the specification described in this document. For readability purposes, the representation has been condensed as follows: The cardinalities and qualifications are included in the figure. This specification distinguishes between main entities, i.e. classes in the core of the application profile, supporting entities, i.e. classes used for representation of less crucial aspects of the application profile, and datatypes used for typing literal values.

    This document describes the usage of the following main entities for a correct usage of the Application Profile:
    | Agent | Catalogue | Catalogue Record | Catalogued Resource | Checksum | Data Service | Dataset | Dataset Series | Distribution | Kind | Licence Document | Location | Relationship |

    The main entities are supported by:
    | Activity | Address (Core Location) | Address (vCard) | Association | Attribution | Checksum Algorithm | Concept | Concept Scheme | Datatype | Dimension | Document | Email (vCard) | Entity | Frequency | Geometry | Identifier | Legal Resource | Linguistic system | Literal | Metric | Organisation | Period of time | Policy | Provenance Statement | Quality Measurement | Resource | Rights statement | Role | Standard |

    And supported by these datatypes:
    | Media Type | Media Type or Extent | Temporal Literal | Time instant | xsd:decimal | xsd:duration | xsd:hexBinary | xsd:nonNegativeInteger |

    UML diagram overview of the GeoDCAT-AP 3.0.0 Application profile

    Main Entities

    The main entities are those that form the core of the Application Profile. The properties and their associated constraints that apply in the context of this profile are listed in a tabular form. Each row corresponds to one property. In addition to the constraints also cross-references are provided to DCAT. To save space, the following abbreviations are used to indicate in short the difference with DCAT:

    This reuse qualification assessement is w.r.t. a specific version of DCAT. Therefore it may vary over time when new versions of DCAT-AP are created.

    Agent

    Definition
    Any entity carrying out actions with respect to the entities Catalogue and the Catalogued Resources.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    If the Agent is an organisation, the use of the Organization Ontology [[ORG]] is recommended. For the purpose of this application profile, Agent from the FOAF Vocabulary [[FOAF]] is used as a unifying class, also representing Agent from Dublin Core [[DC-TERMS]] and Agent from the W3C Provenance Ontology (PROV-O) [[PROV-O]].
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: address , affiliation , email , name , phone , type , URL .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    address Address (Core Location) 0..1 The postal address of the Agent. P
    affiliation Organisation 0..1 The affiliation of the Agent. P
    email Resource 0..1 The email address of the Agent, specified using fully qualified mailto: URI scheme [[RFC6068]]. P
    name Literal 1..* A name of the agent. This property can be repeated for different versions of the name (e.g. the name in different languages). A
    phone Resource 0..1 The phone number of the Agent, specified using fully qualified tel: URI scheme [[RFC3966]]. P
    type Concept 0..1 The nature of the agent. A
    URL Document 0..1 The Web site of the Agent. P

    Catalogue

    Definition
    A catalogue or repository that hosts the Datasets, Data Services or Dataset Series being described.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: access rights , applicable legislation , catalogue , conforms to , contact point , creation date , creator , custodian , dataset , description , distributor , geographical coverage , has part , homepage , identifier , keyword , language , licence , modification date , originator , principal investigator , processor , publisher , qualified attribution , record , reference system , release date , resource provider , rights , rights holder , service , temporal coverage , theme , themes , title , topic category , user , was used by .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    access rights Rights statement 0..1 Information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. For INSPIRE metadata, this property SHOULD be used with the URIs of the "Limitations on public access" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-LPA]]. E
    applicable legislation Legal Resource 0..* The legislation that mandates the creation or management of the Catalog. A
    catalogue Catalogue 0..* A catalogue whose contents are of interest in the context of this catalogue. A
    conforms to Standard 0..* An established standard to which the described Catalogue conforms. A
    contact point Kind 0..* Contact information that can be used for sending comments about the Catalogue. A
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Catalogue has been first created. P
    creator Agent 0..1 An entity responsible for the creation of the Catalogue. A
    custodian Agent 0..* Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    dataset Dataset 0..* A Dataset that is part of the Catalogue. A
    description Literal 1..* A free-text account of the Catalogue. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A
    distributor Agent 0..* Party who distributes the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    geographical coverage Location 0..* A geographical area covered by the Catalogue. This property refers to a geographic region that is covered by the Catalogue. When multiple values are used for spatial coverage, this may be interpreted as a spatial union, or as alternative representations of spatial coverage that might fit, with no explicit spatial relation. A
    has part Catalogue 0..* A related Catalogue that is part of the described Catalogue. A
    homepage Document 0..1 A web page that acts as the main page for the Catalogue. A
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Catalogue, e.g. the URI or other unique identifier. A
    keyword Literal 0..* A keyword or tag describing the Catalogue. A
    language Linguistic system 0..* A language used in the textual metadata describing titles, descriptions, etc. of the Datasets, Data Services and Dataset Series in the Catalogue. This property can be repeated if the metadata is provided in multiple languages. A
    licence Licence Document 0..1 A licence under which the Catalogue can be used or reused. A
    modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Catalogue was modified. A
    originator Agent 0..* Party who created the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    principal investigator Agent 0..* Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research [[ISO-19115]]. P
    processor Agent 0..* Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified [[ISO-19115]]. P
    publisher Agent 1 An entity (organisation) responsible for making the Catalogue available. A
    qualified attribution Attribution 0..* A link to an Agent having some form of responsibility for the Catalogue. A
    record Catalogue Record 0..* A Catalogue Record that is part of the Catalogue. A
    reference system Standard 0..* The reference system used in accordance with OGC EPSG Coordinate Reference Systems Register [[OGC-EPSG]]. P
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Catalogue. A
    resource provider Agent 0..* Party that supplies the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    rights Rights statement 0..* A statement that specifies rights associated with the Catalogue. A
    rights holder Agent 0..* An Agent (organisation) holding rights on the Catalogued Resource. P
    service Data Service 0..* A site or end-point (Data Service) that is listed in the Catalogue. A
    temporal coverage Period of time 0..* A temporal period that the Catalogue covers. A
    theme Concept 0..* A main category of the Catalogue. A Catalogue can have multiple categories. A Catalogue may be associated with multiple Categories. A
    themes Concept Scheme 0..* A knowledge organization system used to classify the Resources that are in the Catalogue. This property refers to a knowledge organization system used to classify the Catalogue's Datasets. It must have at least the value NAL:data-theme as this is the manatory controlled vocabulary for dcat:theme. A
    title Literal 1..* A name given to the Catalogue. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. A
    topic category Concept 0..* Topic category in accordance with EN ISO 19115. The URIs of the "Topic categories in accordance with EN ISO 19115" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-TC]]. P
    user Agent 0..* Party who uses the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    was used by Activity 0..* An Activity that used the Catalogue. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property MAY be used to specify a testing Activity over a Catalogue, against a given Standard, producing as output a conformance degree. P

    Catalogue Record

    Definition
    A description of a Catalogued Resource's entry in the Catalogue.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: application profile , change type , contact point , creation date , creator , custodian , description , distributor , identifier , language , listing date , modification date , originator , primary topic , principal investigator , processor , publisher , qualified attribution , resource provider , rights holder , source metadata , title , user .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    application profile Standard 0..* An Application Profile that the Catalogued Resource's metadata conforms to. A
    change type Concept 0..1 The status of the catalogue record in the context of editorial flow of the dataset and data service descriptions. A
    contact point Kind 0..* Contact information that can be used for sending comments about the Catalogue Record. A
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Catalogue Record has been first created. P
    creator Agent 0..* The Agent primarily responsible for producing the Catalogue Record. P
    custodian Agent 0..* Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    description Literal 0..* A free-text account of the record. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A
    distributor Agent 0..* Party who distributes the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Catalogue Record, e.g., the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the Catalogue. P
    language Linguistic system 0..* A language used in the textual metadata describing titles, descriptions, etc. of the Catalogued Resource. This property can be repeated if the metadata is provided in multiple languages. A
    listing date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the description of the Resource was included in the Catalogue. A
    modification date Temporal Literal 1 The most recent date on which the Catalogue entry was changed or modified. A
    originator Agent 0..* Party who created the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    primary topic Catalogued Resource 1 A link to the Dataset, Data service or Catalog described in the record. A catalogue record will refer to one entity in a catalogue. This can be either a Dataset or a Data Service. To ensure an unambigous reading of the cardinality the range is set to Catalogued Resource. However it is not the intend with this range to require the explicit use of the class Catalogued Record. As abstract class, an subclass should be used. A
    principal investigator Agent 0..* Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research [[ISO-19115]]. P
    processor Agent 0..* Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified [[ISO-19115]]. P
    publisher Agent 0..1 An entity (organisation) responsible for making the Data Service available. P
    qualified attribution Attribution 0..* Link to an Agent having some form of responsibility for the Catalogue Record. P
    resource provider Agent 0..* Party that supplies the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    rights holder Agent 0..* An Agent (organisation) holding rights on the Catalogue. P
    source metadata Catalogue Record 0..1 The original metadata that was used in creating metadata for the Dataset. This MAY refer to an INSPIRE / [[ISO-19115]] record that was transformed into the current GeoDCAT-AP one. A
    title Literal 0..* A name given to the Catalogue Record. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. A
    user Agent 0..* Party who uses the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P

    Catalogued Resource

    Definition
    Resource published or curated by a single agent.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    This class Catalogued Resource is an abstract class for DCAT-AP. Therefore only subclasses should be used in a data exchange.
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Checksum

    Definition
    A value that allows the contents of a file to be authenticated.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    This class allows the results of a variety of checksum and cryptographic message digest algorithms to be represented.
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: algorithm , checksum value .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    algorithm Checksum Algorithm 1 The algorithm used to produce the subject Checksum. A
    checksum value xsd:hexBinary 1 A lower case hexadecimal encoded digest value produced using a specific algorithm. A

    Data Service

    Definition
    A collection of operations that provides access to one or more datasets or data processing functions.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Subclass of
    Catalogued Resource
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: access rights , applicable legislation , conforms to , contact point , creation date , creator , custodian , description , distributor , endpoint description , endpoint URL , format , geographical coverage , identifier , keyword , landing page , language , licence , modification date , orginator , principal investigator , processor , publisher , qualified attribution , reference system , release date , resource provider , rights , rights holder , serves dataset , service category , service protocol , service type , spatial resolution , spatial resolution as text , spatial resolution in metres , temporal coverage , temporal resolution , theme , title , topic category , type , user , was used by .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    access rights Rights statement 0..1 Information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. For INSPIRE metadata, this property SHOULD be used with the URIs of the "Limitations on public access" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-LPA]]. E
    applicable legislation Legal Resource 0..* The legislation that mandates the creation or management of the Data Service. P
    conforms to Standard 0..* An established (technical) standard to which the Data Service conforms. The standards referred here SHOULD describe the Data Service and not the data it serves. The latter is provided by the dataset with which this Data Service is connected. For instance the data service adheres to the OGC WFS API standard, while the associated dataset adheres to the INSPIRE Address data model. A
    contact point Kind 0..* Contact information that can be used for sending comments about the Data Service. A
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Data Service has been first created. P
    creator Agent 0..* An Agent primarily responsible for producing the Data Service. A
    custodian Agent 0..* Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    description Literal 0..* A free-text account of the Data Service. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A
    distributor Agent 0..* Party who distributes the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    endpoint description Resource 0..* A description of the services available via the end-points, including their operations, parameters etc. The property gives specific details of the actual endpoint instances, while the property application profile (dct:conformsTo) is used to indicate the general standard or specification that the endpoints implement. A
    endpoint URL Resource 1..* The root location or primary endpoint of the service (an IRI). A
    format Media Type or Extent 0..* The structure that can be returned by querying the endpointURL. P
    geographical coverage Location 0..* A geographic region that is covered by the Data Service. If the Data Service provides access to multiple Datasets, then this will be the union of the spatial coverages of these Datasets. P
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Data Service, e.g. the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the Catalogue. E
    keyword Literal 0..* A keyword or tag describing the Data Service. A
    landing page Document 0..* A web page that provides access to the Data Service and/or additional information. It is intended to point to a landing page at the original data service provider, not to a page on a site of a third party, such as an aggregator. A
    language Linguistic system 0..* The language of the structure that can be returned by querying the endpointURL. This property can be repeated if multiple languages are supported in the Data Service - see § 11. Accessibility and Multilingual Aspects. E
    licence Licence Document 0..1 A licence under which the Data service is made available. A
    modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Data Service was changed or modified. A
    orginator Agent 0..* Party who created the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    principal investigator Agent 0..* Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research [[ISO-19115]]. P
    processor Agent 0..* Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified [[ISO-19115]]. P
    publisher Agent 0..1 An entity (organisation) responsible for making the Data Service available. A
    qualified attribution Attribution 0..* Link to an Agent having some form of responsibility for the Data Service. A
    reference system Concept 0..* The reference system used in the Data Service. Spatial reference systems SHOULD be specified by using the corresponding URIs from the "EPSG coordinate reference systems" register operated by OGC [[OGC-EPSG]]. P
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Data Service. A
    resource provider Agent 0..* Party that supplies the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    rights Rights statement 0..* A statement that specifies rights associated with the Data Service. A
    rights holder Agent 0..* An Agent (organisation) holding rights on the Catalogue. P
    serves dataset Dataset 0..* This property refers to a collection of data that this data service can distribute. A
    service category Concept 0..1 Service category in accordance with INSPIRE Spatial Data Service Categories [[INSPIRE-SDSC]]. The URIs of the "Classification of spatial data services" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-SDSC]]. P
    service protocol Concept 0..1 Protocol value in accordance with INSPIRE Protocol Values [[INSPIRE-PV]]. P
    service type Concept 0..1 Service type in accordance with INSPIRE Spatial Data Service Types [[INSPIRE-SDST]]. One of the URIs of the "Spatial Data Service Types" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-SDST]]. P
    spatial resolution Quality Measurement 0..* Spatial resolution, as defined in [[INSPIRE-MD-REG]], [[ISO-19115]], and [[ISO-19115-1]]. Represents the capabilities of the data service, i.e. in which spatial resolutions it can serve the data. P
    spatial resolution as text Literal 0..* Textual description of spatial resolution. Spatial resolution as free-text, when it cannot be specified via dqv:hasQualityMeasurement and dcat:spatialResolutionInMeters. Represents the capabilities of the data service, i.e. in which spatial resolutions it can serve the data. P
    spatial resolution in metres xsd:decimal 0..* The minimum spatial separation resolvable in a Data Service, measured in metres. Represents the capabilities of the data service, i.e. in which spatial resolutions it can serve the data. P
    temporal coverage Period of time 0..* A temporal period that the Data Service covers. P
    temporal resolution xsd:duration 0..* The minimum time period resolvable in the Data Service. E
    theme Concept 0..* A category of the Data Service. A Data Service may be associated with multiple themes. A
    title Literal 1..* A name given to the Data Service. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. A
    topic category Concept 0..* Topic category in accordance with ISO-19115 [[INSPIRE-TC]]. One of the URIs of the "Topic categories in accordance with EN ISO 19115" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-TC]]. P
    type Concept 0..1 Resource type in accordance with INSPIRE Resource Types [[INSPIRE-RT]]. URIs of the "Resource types" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-RT]] - namely the one corresponding to "Spatial data service". P
    user Agent 0..* Party who uses the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    was used by Activity 0..* To an Activity that used the Data Service. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property MAY be used to specify a testing Activity over a Data Service, against a given Standard, producing as output a conformance degree. P

    Dataset

    Definition
    A conceptual entity that represents the information published.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    If a Dataset is used as part of a Dataset Series, the properties listed below can be used additionally, or slightly differently to those listed for the Dataset outside of a Dataset Series. For this usage, consult the usage guidelines of DCAT-AP.
    Subclass of
    Catalogued Resource
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: access rights , applicable legislation , conforms to , contact point , creation date , creator , custodian , dataset distribution , description , distributor , documentation , frequency , geographical coverage , has version , identifier , in series , is referenced by , keyword , landing page , language , modification date , originator , other identifier , principal investigator , processor , provenance , publisher , qualified attribution , qualified relation , reference system , related resource , release date , resource provider , resource type , rights , rights holder , sample , source , spatial resolution , spatial resolution as text , spatial resolution in metres , temporal coverage , temporal resolution , theme , title , topic category , user , version , version notes , was generated by , was used by .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    access rights Rights statement 0..1 Information that indicates whether the Dataset is publicly accessible, has access restrictions or is not public. For INSPIRE metadata, this property SHOULD be used with the URIs of the "Limitations on public access" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-LPA]]. E
    applicable legislation Legal Resource 0..* The legislation that mandates the creation or management of the Dataset. A
    conforms to Standard 0..* An implementing rule or other specification. A
    contact point Kind 0..* Contact information that can be used for sending comments about the Dataset. A
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Dataset has been first created. P
    creator Agent 0..* The Agent primarily responsible for producing the Dataset. A
    custodian Agent 0..* Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    dataset distribution Distribution 0..* An available Distribution for the Dataset. A
    description Literal 1..* A free-text account of the Dataset. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A
    distributor Agent 0..* Party who distributes the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    documentation Document 0..* A page or document about this Dataset. A
    frequency Frequency 0..1 The frequency at which the Dataset is updated. A
    geographical coverage Location 0..* A geographic region that is covered by the Dataset. This property refers to a geographic region that is covered by the Dataset. When multiple values are used for spatial coverage, this may be interpreted as a spatial union, or as alternative representations of spatial coverage that might fit, with no explicit spatial relation. A
    has version Dataset 0..* A related Dataset that is a version, edition, or adaptation of the described Dataset. A
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Dataset, e.g. the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the Catalogue. A
    in series Dataset Series 0..* A dataset series of which the dataset is part. A
    is referenced by Resource 0..* A related resource, such as a publication, that references, cites, or otherwise points to the Dataset. A
    keyword Literal 0..* A keyword or tag describing the Dataset. A
    landing page Document 0..* A web page that provides access to the Dataset, its Distributions and/or additional information. It is intended to point to a landing page at the original data provider, not to a page on a site of a third party, such as an aggregator. A
    language Linguistic system 0..* A language of the Dataset. This property can be repeated if there are multiple languages in the Dataset. A
    modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Dataset was changed or modified. A
    originator Agent 0..* Party who created the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    other identifier Identifier 0..* A secondary identifier of the Dataset Examples are MAST/ADS [[MASTADS]], DOI [[DOI]], EZID [[EZID]] or W3ID [[W3ID]]. A
    principal investigator Agent 0..* Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research [[ISO-19115]]. P
    processor Agent 0..* Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified [[ISO-19115]]. P
    provenance Provenance Statement 0..* A statement about the lineage of a Dataset. A
    publisher Agent 0..1 An entity (organisation) responsible for making the Dataset available. A
    qualified attribution Attribution 0..* An Agent having some form of responsibility for the resource. A
    qualified relation Relationship 0..* A description of a relationship with another resource. A
    reference system Concept 0..* The reference system used in accordance with OGC EPSG Coordinate Reference Systems Register [[OGC-EPSG]]. P
    related resource Resource 0..* A related resource. A
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Dataset. A
    resource provider Agent 0..* Party that supplies the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    resource type Concept 0..1 Resource type in accordance with INSPIRE Resource Types [[INSPIRE-RT]]. E
    rights Rights statement 0..* A statement that specifies rights associated with the Dataset. A
    rights holder Agent 0..* An Agent (organisation) holding rights on the Dataset. P
    sample Distribution 0..* A sample distribution of the dataset. A
    source Dataset 0..* A related Dataset from which the described Dataset is derived. A
    spatial resolution Quality Measurement 0..* The performed quality measurements. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify "spatial resolution", as defined in [[INSPIRE-MD-REG]], [[ISO-19115]], and [[ISO-19115-1]]. Describes the spatial resolution of the original data in the dataset, i.e. regardless of how it is distributed using distributions. E
    spatial resolution as text Literal 0..* Textual description of spatial resolution. Spatial resolution as free-text, when it cannot be specified via dqv:hasQualityMeasurement and dcat:spatialResolutionInMeters. Describes the spatial resolution of the original data in the dataset, i.e. regardless of how it is distributed using distributions. P
    spatial resolution in metres xsd:decimal 0..* The minimum spatial separation resolvable in a Dataset, measured in meters. Describes the spatial resolution of the original data in the dataset, i.e. regardless of how it is distributed using distributions. A
    temporal coverage Period of time 0..* A temporal period that the Dataset covers. A
    temporal resolution xsd:duration 0..* The minimum time period resolvable in the Dataset. A
    theme Concept 0..* A category of the Dataset. A Dataset may be associated with multiple themes. A
    title Literal 1..* A name given to the Dataset. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. A
    topic category Concept 0..* Topic category in accordance with ISO-19115 [[INSPIRE-TC]]. P
    user Agent 0..* Party who uses the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    version Literal 0..* The version indicator (name or identifier) of a resource. A
    version notes Literal 0..* A description of the differences between this version and a previous version of the Dataset. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the version notes. A
    was generated by Activity 0..* An activity that generated, or provides the business context for, the creation of the Dataset. A
    was used by Activity 0..* An Activity that used the Dataset. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property MAY be used to specify a testing Activity over a Dataset, against a given Standard, producing as output a conformance degree. P

    Dataset Series

    Definition
    A collection of datasets that are published separately,but share some characteristics that group them.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    It is recommended to avoid Dataset Series without a dataset in the collection. Therefore at least one Dataset should refer to a Dataset Series using the property in series (dcat:inSeries).
    Subclass of
    Dataset
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: access rights , applicable legislation , conforms to , contact point , creation date , creator , custodian , dataset series distribution , description , distributor , documentation , frequency , geographical coverage , has version , identifier , in series , is referenced by , keyword , landing page , language , modification date , originator , other identifier , principal investigator , processor , publisher , qualified attribution , qualified relation , reference system , related resource , release date , resource provider , resource type , rights , rights holder , sample , source , spatial resolution , spatial resolution as text , spatial resolution in metres , temporal coverage , theme , title , topic category , user , version , version notes , was generated by , was used by .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    access rights Rights statement 0..1 Information that indicates whether the Dataset Series is publicly accessible, has access restrictions or is not public. For INSPIRE metadata, this property SHOULD be used with the URIs of the "Limitations on public access" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-LPA]]. E
    applicable legislation Legal Resource 0..* The legislation that mandates the creation or management of the Dataset Series. A
    conforms to Standard 0..* An implementing rule or other specification. E
    contact point Kind 0..* Contact information that can be used for sending comments about the Dataset Series. A
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Dataset Series has been first created. P
    creator Agent 0..* An entity responsible for producing the Dataset Series. E
    custodian Agent 0..* Party that accepts accountability and responsibility for the data and ensures appropriate care and maintenance of the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    dataset series distribution Distribution 0..* An available Distribution for the Dataset Series. E
    description Literal 1..* A free-text account of the Dataset Series. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions. It is recommended to provide an indication about the dimensions the Dataset Series evolves. A
    distributor Agent 0..* Party who distributes the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    documentation Document 0..* A page or document about this Dataset Series. E
    frequency Frequency 0..1 The frequency at which the Dataset Series is updated. The frequency of a dataset series is not equal to the frequency of the dataset in the collection. A
    geographical coverage Location 0..* A geographic region that is covered by the Dataset Series. When spatial coverage is a dimension in the dataset series then the spatial coverage of each dataset in the collection should be part of the spatial coverage. In that case, an open ended value is recommended, e.g. EU or a broad bounding box covering the expected values. A
    has version Dataset 0..* A related Dataset that is a version, edition, or adaptation of the described Dataset Series. E
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Dataset Series, e.g. the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the Catalogue. E
    in series Dataset Series 0..* A dataset series of which the dataset series is part. E
    is referenced by Resource 0..* A related resource, such as a publication, that references, cites, or otherwise points to the Dataset Series. E
    keyword Literal 0..* A keyword or tag describing the Dataset. E
    landing page Document 0..* A web page that provides access to the Dataset Series, its Distributions and/or additional information. E
    language Linguistic system 0..* A language of the Dataset Series. E
    modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Dataset Series was changed or modified. This is not equal to the most recent modified dataset in the collection of the dataset series. A
    originator Agent 0..* Party who created the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    other identifier Identifier 0..* A secondary identifier of the Dataset Series. Examples are MAST/ADS [[MASTADS]], DOI [[DOI]], EZID [[EZID]] or W3ID [[W3ID]]. E
    principal investigator Agent 0..* Key party responsible for gathering information and conducting research [[ISO-19115]]. P
    processor Agent 0..* Party who has processed the data in a manner such that the resource has been modified [[ISO-19115]]. P
    publisher Agent 0..1 An entity (organisation) responsible for ensuring the coherency of the Dataset Series  The publisher of the dataset series may not be the publisher of all datasets.  E.g. a digital archive could take over the publishing of older datasets in the series.  A
    qualified attribution Attribution 0..* An Agent having some form of responsibility for the resource. E
    qualified relation Relationship 0..* A description of a relationship with another resource. E
    reference system Concept 0..* The reference system used in accordance with OGC EPSG Coordinate Reference Systems Register [[OGC-EPSG]]. Spatial reference systems SHOULD be specified by using the corresponding URIs from the "EPSG coordinate reference systems" register operated by OGC [[OGC-EPSG]]. P
    related resource Catalogued Resource 0..* A related resource. E
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Dataset Series. The moment when the dataset series was established as a managed resource. This is not equal to the release date of the oldest dataset in the collection of the dataset series. A
    resource provider Agent 0..* Party that supplies the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    resource type Concept 0..1 Resource type in accordance with INSPIRE Resource Types [[INSPIRE-RT]]. P
    rights Rights statement 0..* A statement that specifies rights associated with the Dataset Series. A
    rights holder Agent 0..* An Agent (organisation) holding rights on the Dataset Series. P
    sample Distribution 0..* A sample distribution of the Dataset Series. E
    source Dataset 0..* A related Dataset from which the described Dataset Series is derived. E
    spatial resolution Quality Measurement 0..* The performed quality measurements. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify "spatial resolution", as defined in [[INSPIRE-MD-REG]], [[ISO-19115]], and [[ISO-19115-1]]. E
    spatial resolution as text Literal 0..* Textual description of spatial resolution. Spatial resolution as free-text, when it cannot be specified via dqv:hasQualityMeasurement and dcat:spatialResolutionInMeters. P
    spatial resolution in metres xsd:decimal 0..* The minimum spatial separation resolvable in a Dataset, measured in meters. A
    temporal coverage Period of time 0..* A temporal period that the Dataset Series covers. When temporal coverage is a dimension in the dataset series then the temporal coverage of each dataset in the collection should be part of the temporal coverage. In that case, an open ended value is recommended, e.g. after 2012. A
    theme Concept 0..* A category of the Dataset Series. E
    title Literal 1..* A name given to the Dataset Series. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. A
    topic category Concept 0..* Topic category in accordance with ISO-19115 [[INSPIRE-TC]]. P
    user Agent 0..* Party who uses the resource [[ISO-19115]]. P
    version Literal 0..* The version indicator (name or identifier) of a resource. E
    version notes Literal 0..* A description of the differences between this version and a previous version of the Dataset. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the version notes. E
    was generated by Activity 0..* An activity that generated, or provides the business context for, the creation of the Dataset Series. E
    was used by Activity 0..* An Activity that used the Dataset Series. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property MAY be used to specify a testing Activity over a Dataset Series, against a given Standard, producing as output a conformance degree. P

    Distribution

    Definition
    A physical embodiment of the Dataset in a particular format.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: access rights , access service , access URL , applicable legislation , availability , byte size , character encoding , checksum , compression format , description , documentation , download URL , format , has policy , language , licence , linked schemas , media type , modification date , packaging format , reference system , release date , representation technique , rights , spatial resolution , spatial resolution as text , spatial resolution in metres , status , temporal resolution , title .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    access rights Rights statement 0..1 Information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. For INSPIRE metadata, this property SHOULD be used with the URIs of the "Limitations on public access" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-LPA]]. P
    access service Data Service 0..* A data service that gives access to the distribution of the dataset. A
    access URL Resource 1..* A URL that gives access to a Distribution of the Dataset or Dataset Series. The resource at the access URL may contain information about how to get the Dataset or Dataset Series. A
    applicable legislation Legal Resource 0..* The legislation that mandates the creation or management of the Distribution. A
    availability Concept 0..1 An indication how long it is planned to keep the Distribution of the Dataset available. A
    byte size xsd:nonNegativeInteger 0..1 The size of a Distribution in bytes. A
    character encoding Literal 0..* A character encoding used in the downloadable file or output of the data service represented by the Distribution. It SHOULD be expressed using a character set name defined in the IANA register [[IANA-CHARSETS]]. P
    checksum Checksum 0..1 A mechanism that can be used to verify that the contents of a distribution have not changed. The checksum is related to the downloadURL. A
    compression format Media Type 0..1 The format of the file in which the data is contained in a compressed form, e.g. to reduce the size of the downloadable file. It SHOULD be expressed using a media type as defined in the official register of media types managed by IANA [[IANA-MEDIA-TYPES]]. A
    description Literal 0..* A free-text account of the Distribution. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A
    documentation Document 0..* A page or document about this Distribution. A
    download URL Resource 0..* A URL that is a direct link to a downloadable file in a given format. A
    format Media Type or Extent 0..1 The file format of the Distribution. A
    has policy Policy 0..1 The policy expressing the rights associated with the Distribution if using the [[ODRL]] vocabulary. A
    language Linguistic system 0..* A language used in the Distribution. This property can be repeated if the metadata is provided in multiple languages. A
    licence Licence Document 0..1 A licence under which the Distribution is made available. A
    linked schemas Standard 0..* An established schema to which the described Distribution conforms. A
    media type Media Type 0..1 The media type of the Distribution as defined in the official register of media types managed by IANA. It SHOULD be expressed using a media type as defined in the official register of media types managed by IANA [[IANA-MEDIA-TYPES]]. A
    modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Distribution was changed or modified. A
    packaging format Media Type 0..1 The format of the file in which one or more data files are grouped together, e.g. to enable a set of related files to be downloaded together. It SHOULD be expressed using a media type as defined in the official register of media types managed by IANA [[IANA-MEDIA-TYPES]]. A
    reference system Standard 0..* The reference system used in the Distribution. The reference system used in accordance with OGC EPSG Coordinate Reference Systems Register [[OGC-EPSG]]. P
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Distribution. A
    representation technique Concept 0..1 Information about the format in which an Distribution is released. This is different from the file format as, for example, a ZIP file (file format) could contain an XML schema (representation technique). In GeoDCAT-AP, this property SHOULD be used to express the spatial representation type (grid, vector, tin), by using the URIs of the corresponding code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-SRT]]. P
    rights Rights statement 0..* A statement that specifies rights associated with the Distribution. A
    spatial resolution Quality Measurement 0..1 Refers to the performed quality measurements. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify "spatial resolution", as defined in [[INSPIRE-MD-REG]], [[ISO-19115]], and [[ISO-19115-1]]. E
    spatial resolution as text Literal 0..1 Textual description of spatial resolution of a Distribution. Spatial resolution types that cannot be specified via dcat:spatialResolutionInMeters - i.e., spatial resolution as equivalent scale, angular distance, vertical distance. P
    spatial resolution in metres xsd:decimal 0..1 The minimum spatial separation resolvable in a dataset distribution, measured in meters. A
    status Concept 0..1 The status of the Distribution in the context of maturity lifecycle. It MUST take one of the values Completed, Deprecated, Under Development, Withdrawn. A
    temporal resolution xsd:duration 0..* The minimum time period resolvable in the dataset distribution. A
    title Literal 0..* A name given to the Distribution. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. A

    Kind

    Definition
    A description following the vCard specification,e.g. to provide telephone number and e-mail address for a contact point.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    Note that the class Kind is the parent class for the four explicit types of vCard (Individual, Organization, Location, Group).
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: address , affiliation , email , name , phone , URL .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    address Address (vCard) 0..1 The postal address of the Kind. P
    affiliation Literal 0..1 The affiliation of the Kind. His property can be repeated for different versions of the name (e.g. the name in different languages) - see § 11. Accessibility and Multilingual Aspects. P
    email Email (vCard) 0..1 An email address of the Kind. It MUST be specified using fully qualified mailto: URI scheme [[RFC6068]]. P
    name Literal 0..1 A name of the Kind. This property can be repeated for different versions of the name (e.g., the name in different languages P
    phone Resource 0..1 The phone number of the Kind. It MUST be specified using fully qualified tel: URI scheme [[RFC3966]]. P
    URL Resource 0..1 A Web site of the Kind. P

    Licence Document

    Definition
    A legal document giving official permission to do something with a resource.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: type .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    type Concept 0..* A type of licence, e.g. indicating 'public domain' or 'royalties required'. P

    Location

    Definition
    A spatial region or named place.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    It can be represented using a controlled vocabulary or with geographic coordinates. In the latter case, the use of the Core Location Vocabulary is recommended, following the approach described in the GeoDCAT-AP specification.
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: bbox , centroid , gazetteer , geograhic identifier , geograhic name , geometry .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    bbox Literal 0..1 The geographic bounding box of a resource. A
    centroid Literal 0..1 The geographic center (centroid) of a resource. A
    gazetteer Concept Scheme 0..1 The gazetteer to which the Location belongs. P
    geograhic identifier Literal 0..* The geographic identifier for the Location, e.g., the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the relevant gazetteer. P
    geograhic name Literal 0..* A preferred label of the Location. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the label - see § 11. Accessibility and Multilingual Aspects. P
    geometry Geometry 0..1 The corresponding geometry for a resource. A

    Relationship

    Definition
    An association class for attaching additional information to a relationship between DCAT Resources.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: had role , relation .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    had role Role 1..* A function of an entity or agent with respect to another entity or resource. A
    relation Resource 1..* A resource related to the source resource. A

    Supportive Entities

    The supportive entities are supporting the main entities in the Application Profile. They are included in the Application Profile because they form the range of properties.

    Activity

    Definition
    An activity is something that occurs over a period of time and acts upon or with entities; it may include consuming, processing, transforming, modifying, relocating, using, or generating entities.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    In GeoDCAT-AP, this class SHOULD be used to specify a testing activity over a resource, against a given Standard, producing as output a conformance
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: generated , qualified association , used .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    generated Entity 0..* The Entity generated by the Activity. P
    qualified association Association 0..* Association to the Plan according to which the Activity has been carried out, and possibly to the Agent who played a role in it. P
    used Entity 0..* The entity (e.g., a Catalogue, a Dataset, a Data Service) which was the subject of the Activity. This property MAY be omitted in case its inverse property prov:wasUsedBy is specified. P
    shows the use of class prov:Activity to specify the results of a testing activity assessing the conformance of a given resource against a given specification - as illustrated in .

    Address (Core Location)

    Definition
    A spatial object that in a human-readable way identifies a fixed location.
    Usage Note
    See Address in the Core Location Vocabulary [[LOCN]].
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: administrative unit level 1 , administrative unit level 2 , post code , post name , street address .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    administrative unit level 1 Literal 0..1 The name of the uppermost level of the address, almost always a country. P
    administrative unit level 2 Literal 0..1 The name of a secondary level/region of the address, usually a county, state or other such area that typically encompasses several localities. P
    post code Literal 0..1 The code created and maintained for postal purposes to identify a subdivision of addresses and postal delivery points. P
    post name Literal 0..1 A name created and maintained for postal purposes to identify a subdivision of addresses and postal delivery points. P
    street address Literal 0..1 The name of a passage or way through from one location to another. P

    Address (vCard)

    Definition
    A postal address.
    Usage Note
    See Address in vCard Ontology [[VCARD]].
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: administrative area , city , country , postal code , street address .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    administrative area Literal 0..1 The administrative area of an Address. Depending on the country, this corresponds to a province, a county, a region, or a state. P
    city Literal 0..1 The city of an Address. P
    country Literal 0..1 The country of an Address. P
    postal code Literal 0..1 The postal code of an Address. P
    street address Literal 0..1 The street name and civic number of an Address. P

    Association

    Definition
    An activity association is an assignment of responsibility to an agent for an activity, indicating that the agent had a role in the activity. It further allows for a plan to be specified, which is the plan intended by the agent to achieve some goals in the context of this activity.
    Usage Note
    See Association in PROV-O [[PROV]].
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Attribution

    Definition
    Attribution is the ascribing of an entity to an agent. When an entity e is attributed to agent ag, entity e was generated by some unspecified activity that in turn was associated to agent ag. Thus, this relation is useful when the activity is not known, or irrelevant.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: agent , had role .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    agent Agent 0..* The Agent to whom the resource is attributed. P
    had role Role 0..* A function of an entity or agent with respect to another entity or resource. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property SHOULD take as value one of the URIs of the "Responsible party roles" code list operated by the INSPIRE Registry [[INSPIRE-RPR]]. P

    Checksum Algorithm

    Definition
    Algorithm for Checksums.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Concept

    Definition
    A SKOS concept can be viewed as an idea or notion; a unit of thought. However, what constitutes a unit of thought is subjective, and this definition is meant to be suggestive, rather than restrictive.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: category scheme , preferred label .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    category scheme Concept Scheme 0..1 Relates a resource (for example a concept) to a concept scheme in which it is included. P
    preferred label Literal 1..* A preferred label of the concept. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the label. P

    Concept Scheme

    Definition
    A SKOS concept scheme can be viewed as an aggregation of one or more SKOS concepts. Semantic relationships (links) between those concepts may also be viewed as part of a concept scheme.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: title .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    title Literal 1..* A name of the concept scheme. May be repeated for different versions of the name P

    Datatype

    Definition
    The class of datatypes.
    Usage Note
    See rdfs:Datatype.
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Dimension

    Definition
    Represents criteria relevant for assessing quality. Each quality dimension must have one or more metric to measure it.
    Usage Note
    See Dimension in Data on the Web Best Practices: Data Quality Vocabulary [[VOCAB-DQV]].
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Document

    Definition
    A textual resource intended for human consumption that contains information,e.g. a web page about a Dataset.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: description , title .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    description Literal 0..* A free-text account of the Document. P
    title Literal 0..* A name of the document. P

    Email (vCard)

    Definition
    To specify the electronic mail address for communication with the object
    Usage Note
    See Email in VCard Ontology [[VCARD]].
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Entity

    Definition
    An entity is a physical, digital, conceptual, or other kind of thing with some fixed aspects; entities may be real or imaginary.
    Usage Note
    See Entity in PROV-O [[PROV]].
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Frequency

    Definition
    A rate at which something recurs, e.g. the publication of a Dataset.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Geometry

    Definition
    The locn:Geometry class provides the means to identify a location as a point, line, polygon, etc. expressed using coordinates in some coordinate reference system.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Identifier

    Definition
    This is based on the UN/CEFACT Identifier class.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    An identifier in a particular context, consisting of the
    • content string that is the identifier;
    • an optional identifier for the identifier scheme;
    • an optional identifier for the version of the identifier scheme;
    • an optional identifier for the agency that manages the identifier scheme.
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: notation .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    notation Literal 1 A string that is an identifier in the context of the identifier scheme referenced by its datatype. A

    Legal Resource

    Definition
    This class represents the legislation, policy or policies that lie behind the Rules that govern the service.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    The definition and properties of the Legal Resource class are aligned with the ontology included in "Council conclusions inviting the introduction of the European Legislation Identifier (ELI)". For describing the attributes of a Legal Resource (labels, preferred labels, alternative labels, definition, etc.) we refer to the (ELI) ontology. In this data specification the use is restricted to instances of this class that follow the (ELI) URI guidelines.
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Linguistic system

    Definition
    A system of signs, symbols, sounds, gestures, or rules used in communication, e.g. a language.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Literal

    Definition
    A literal value such as a string or integer; Literals may be typed, e.g. as a date according to xsd:date. Literals that contain human-readable text have an optional language tag as defined by BCP 47 [[RFC5646]].
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Metric

    Definition
    Represents a standard to measure a quality dimension. An observation (instance of dqv:QualityMeasurement) assigns a value in a given unit to a Metric.
    Usage Note
    In GeoDCAT-AP, this class is used to define individuals corresponding to the different types of spatial resolution. See Metric in Data on the Web Best Practices: Data Quality Vocabulary [[VOCAB-DQV]].
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: dimension , expected data type .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    dimension Dimension 0..1 The dimensions a quality metric, certificate and annotation allow a measurement of. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used in the definition of the instances of dqv:Metric corresponding to the different types of spatial resolution (see Instances of Metric). When used for this purpose, it MUST always take as value dqv:precision. P
    expected data type Datatype 0..1 Represents the expected data type for the metric's observed value (e.g., xsd:boolean, xsd:double etc...) P

    Organisation

    Definition
    Represents a collection of people organized together into a community or other social, commercial or political structure. The group has some common purpose or reason for existence which goes beyond the set of people belonging to it and can act as an Agent. Organizations are often decomposable into hierarchical structures.
    Usage Note
    See Organization in The Organization Ontology [[ORG]].
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Period of time

    Definition
    An interval of time that is named or defined by its start and end dates.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: beginning , end , end date , start date .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    beginning Time instant 0..1 The beginning of a period or interval. A
    end Time instant 0..1 The end of a period or interval. A
    end date Temporal Literal 0..1 The end of the period. A
    start date Temporal Literal 0..1 The start of the period. A
    is equivalent to , but it uses the [[OWL-TIME]] properties.

    Policy

    Definition
    A non-empty group of Permissions and/or Prohibitions.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Provenance Statement

    Definition
    A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of a resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: provenance statement text .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    provenance statement text Literal 0..* The text of the Provenance Statement This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the text. P

    Quality Measurement

    Definition
    Represents the evaluation of a given resource (as a Data Service, Dataset, or Distribution) against a specific quality metric.
    Usage Note
    See Quality Measurement in Data on the Web Best Practices: Data Quality Vocabulary [[VOCAB-DQV]].
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: is measurement of , unit of measure , value .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    is measurement of Metric 0..1 The Metric being observed. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify the type of spatial resolution being described, by taking as object one of the instances of dqv:Metric documented in Instances of Metric. P
    unit of measure Concept 0..1 The unit in which the data values are measured. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify, when relevant, the unit of measure of the spatial resolution being described, by taking as object the relevant term from the QUDT Units Vocabulary [[QUDT-UNITS]]. P
    value Literal 0..1 Value computed by the relevant Metric. In GeoDCAT-AP, this property is used to specify the value of the spatial resolution being described via a typed literal. The datatype MUST correspond to the one specified via property dqv:expectedDataType in the definition of the corresponding instance of dqv:Metric. P

    Resource

    Definition
    Anything described by RDF.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Rights statement

    Definition
    A statement about the intellectual property rights (IPR) held in or over a resource, a legal document giving official permission to do something with a resource, or a statement about access rights.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: rights statement text .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    rights statement text Literal 0..* The text of the Rights Statement. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the text. P

    Role

    Definition
    A role is the function of a resource or agent with respect to another resource, in the context of resource attribution or resource relationships.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Usage Note
    Note it is a subclass of skos:Concept.
    Properties
    This specification does not impose any additional requirements to properties for this entity.

    Standard

    Definition
    A standard or other specification to which a Dataset or Distribution conforms.
    Reference in DCAT-AP
    Link
    Properties
    For this entity the following properties are defined: creation date , description , identifier , reference register , release date , title , type , update / modification date , version .
    Property Range Card Definition Usage Reuse
    creation date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date on which the Standard has been first created. P
    description Literal 0..* A free-text account of the Standard. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the description. P
    identifier Literal 0..* The main identifier for the Standard, e.g. the URI or other unique identifier in the context of the Catalogue, or of a reference register (e.g., the ISO, OGC, W3C catalogues of their standards, the OGC "EPSG coordinate reference systems" register [[OGC-EPSG]]). P
    reference register Concept Scheme 0..1 The reference register to which the Standard belongs. P
    release date Temporal Literal 0..1 The date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the Standard. P
    title Literal 0..* Name given to the Standard. This property can be repeated for parallel language versions of the name. P
    type Concept 0..1 The type of the Standard. In GeoDCAT-AP, when the Standard is a spatial or temporal reference system, the relevant URIs from the INSPIRE glossary SHOULD be used [[INSPIRE-GLOSSARY]]. P
    update / modification date Temporal Literal 0..1 The most recent date on which the Standard was changed or modified. P
    version Literal 0..1 A version number or other version designation of the Standard. P

    Datatypes

    The following datatypes are used within this specification.
    Class Definition
    (create issue) A file format or physical medium.
    (create issue) A media type or extent.
    (create issue) rdfs:Literal encoded using the relevant [[ISO8601]] Date and Time compliant string and typed using the appropriate XML Schema datatype (xsd:gYear, xsd:gYearMonth, xsd:date, or xsd:dateTime).
    (create issue) A temporal entity with zero extent or duration.
    (create issue) Decimal represents a subset of the real numbers, which can be represented by decimal numerals. The ·value space· of decimal is the set of numbers that can be obtained by multiplying an integer by a non-positive power of ten, i.e., expressible as i × 10^-n where i and n are integers and n >= 0.
    (create issue) Duration represents a duration of time. The ·value space· of duration is a six-dimensional space where the coordinates designate the Gregorian year, month, day, hour, minute, and second components defined in § 5.5.3.2 of [[ISO8601]], respectively.
    (create issue) Hex-encoded binary data. The ·value space· of hexBinary is the set of finite-length sequences of binary octets.
    (create issue)