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Environmental Data Coding Specification

Introduction

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Purpose

This International Standard provides mechanisms to unambiguously specify objects used to model environmental concepts. This is accomplished by specifying a collection of nine EDCS dictionaries of environmental concepts and a functional interface.

This International Standard defines EDCS dictionaries for the following categories of information:

  1. classifications: specify the type of environmental objects,
  2. attributes: specify the state of environmental objects,
  3. attribute value characteristics: specify information concerning the values of attributes,
  4. attribute enumerants: specify the allowable values for the state of an enumerated attribute,
  5. units: specify quantitative measures of the state of some environmental objects,
  6. unit scales: allow a wide range of numerical values to be stated,
  7. unit equivalence classes: specify sets of units that are mutually comparable,
  8. organizational schemas: useful for locating classifications and attributes sharing a common context, and
  9. groups: into which concepts sharing a common context are collected.

Design criteria

This International Standard was developed to fulfil the following requirements:

  1. flexibility and extensibility: accommodating growth by registration.
  2. information: define what objects are (classifications), what the states of objects are (attributes), and how values of state are characterized (data types, units of measure, and unit scales).
  3. use international standard units: adopt the International System of Units.
  4. interoperate with existing domain-specific approaches: build on the experience gained by other organizations, including IHO, WMO, and DGIWG, in developing information coding systems.
  5. organization: structure for efficient access.
  6. orthogonality: separate the concepts of type and state of environmental objects.
  7. rigor: provide unambiguous and clearly defined concepts.
  8. separate units of measure from attributes: relate units of measure to attributes through unit equivalence classes.
  9. unification: define a comprehensive set of general principles and specific concepts that allows environmental information to be shared among different communities.

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http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/ISO_IEC_18025_Ed1.html