We are pleased to announce the release of DIGGS v1.1. This release includes a number of significant schema changes. The net result is a schema that is more robust and easier to use, far less complex in organization and file size, loads and validates much quicker, and is compliant with GML 3.2 standards.

DIGGS v1.1 primarily addresses domain-independent issues (i.e. XML and GML schema issues) that were identified following the release of DIGGS v1.0a. This is an interim release for use by the DIGGS team in review, and is not intended for broad implementation. An upcoming release of DIGGS v1.2 will address remaining domain-specific issues, and will lead to the release of DIGGS v2.0, the first public version for implementation.

New in DIGGS v1.1:

1. Fixed GML Object-Property rule
2. Fixed import/includes – no longer need OASIS catalog
3. Migrated DIGGS to GML 3.2
4. Implemented a GML profile for DIGGS
5. Reorganized to 5 namespace schemas with one file per namespace
6. Implemented gml:identifier and gml:id
7. Removed unnecessary abstract types
8. Implemented RIM for codelists in lieu of GML dictionaries.
9. Tabular data - retain existing structure, but implement code lists in v1.2 to restrict column types; removed generic table property; tables to be included under specific test features only
10. Geometry - Projects use reference point, linear extent, areal extent; Linear referencing gml method to reference positions in a borehole will be adopted in gml 3.3.
11. Metadata - AssociatedFiles, Roles, Remarks, Specifications, Equipment, BusinessAssociates, Contracts are cast as gml metadata so that gml aware applications will recognize those objects as metadata; No longer assigning metadata properties at the base level to prevent recursion; All features carry associatedFile, roles, and remarks metadata properties; All objects carry remarks metadata properties; All tests are features and carry specifications and equipment metadata properties as default.

The full DIGGS v1.1 schema package (including documentation, examples, and codelists) can accessed at:

http://schemas.diggsml.com/1.1/

The slides from the April 2010 presentation of DIGGS v1.1 can be downloaded in the attachments below.