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Research on Application of the Method-Metadata in Resources & Environment Information System

Jiantao Bi, Tianhe Chi, Xintong Li, Yanrong Cao, Hongqiao Wu, Jianbang He
Institute of Geography Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR),
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),
Beijing 100101,P.R.China


1.Introduction
With the everlasting renewal of technology and research approach, the study to the earth we live on has been deepened continually, which accumulates lots of information; moreover the development of Geographical Information System (GIS )in recent years ,especially the acquisition and processing technology of remote sensing data with multi-sources, multi-spectra, multi-bands and multi-resolutions, provides a great deal of resources and environment information which make it possible for us to change and take advantage of the environment. Because these enormous data cannot be deciphered, read and used them to make decision directly, only can they be useful after the analysis by the appropriate mathematic model and method. It is so difficult how to find out a proper model and method through which the resources and environment information we got can be analyzed to obtain the valuable result. The metadata can be a feasible solution to this problem.

2.The definition and characteristics of Method-Metadata
According to the constitution of REIS, the system metadata could be divided into 3 categories: Data-Metadata Class, Model-Metadata Class, and Method-Metadata Class. The Fig. 1 shows the static structure of REIS metadata in UML.


Figure 1 The Static Structure of REIS Metadata in UML

As for the Data-Metadata Standards shown in Fig. 1, the study at present is more, and it is also comparatively perfect. For example, the organizations such as ISO/TC211, FGDC have established a variety of metadata standard 46. Accordingly, there are also many services of geographical information Data -Metadata such as Clearing house Information Infrastructures etc. As for the Model-Metadata standard, it can be refer to the relevant document?3?. This paper mainly focuses on the discussing of Method-Metadata.

2.1 Definition of Method-Metadata
The main purpose of data-sharing is to make people query the information they need timely, analyze them and get the corresponding results, so that the expenditure can be saved and the efficiency can be improved. As a result, REIS should provide not only all kinds of data for sharing but also the services convenient for clients to use the data reasonably and effectively. The methods can be resolution for this problem.

Method is that by using technology or implements, it can resolve some problems we care about. When people encounter the problem hard to settle directly, they tend to resolve it indirectly by other instruments. Method is of great importance to the development and advancement of human society. REIS has integrated many implication methods such as ALP, Clustering Analysis, and Gray System, Heredity Algorithm etc. It is necessary for us to establish Method-Metadata for the sake of the convenience of clients to analyze and evaluate these data.

Method-Metadata is the describing information about method. It is used not only to explain the problems each method encounters and the applicable range and so on, but also manage and index the methods in system. Indexing this kind of metadata, clients can quickly browse, look up the relevant methods and know their purposes, using conditions or something like that in order to take advantage of them effectively.

The virtues of introducing Method-Metadata are as follows :
  • To quickly index and locate the methods.
  • To analyze all methods in a certain field to find the most suitable one, and to realize the optimum organization of those methods.
  • To effectively resolve the problem” Difficulty convincing potential Metadata providers of the benefits of contributing Metadata. e.g. no link from supplying Metadata and increased revenue” (6), which will protect the copyright and patent of methods, and realize the calculation of the runoff and expenditure of metadata quotation.
  • To share the knowledge and information more effectively. Everyone or every organization, who may be good at some professional field but not clear to the methods in the other fields, and when they need use them to research, can use Method-Metadata to resolve the problem.
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