CDFO: survey/xml scope and objectives

[Peter MATTHEWS]

Still more housekeeping:

Things work best when we know what we're aiming for of course, so it will
pay to set up a brief "Scope and Objectives" for the new group. This can of
course be modified as we go along, to suit any new or changed ideas. Here
is a quick first pass starting point for such a document, for discussion:

Purpose
-------
The purpose of the Cave Data Format Working Group of the UIS Informatics
Commission is to establish an international hardware- and
software-independent format for the transfer and archiving of speleological
data, including data for cave survey and mapping, and in co-operation with
other relevant groups in the speleological community.

The benefits of such a format would be that data could be easily and
validly transferred between every independent hardware and software system
which provided a utility for converting the formatted data to and from
their own internal format. This would facilitiate, for example:
* transferring data to colleagues at another site who use a different system.
* consolidating club data which has been prepared on different systems.
* transferring data to a newer and better system.
* consolidating selected data to a national or state database.
* archiving data in a format which will survive current software products.
* optimising the usefulness of software which produces formatted output by
  allowing it to use input from a wide range of other systems. Examples are
  the production of web pages, published cave lists, and lists for required 
  fieldwork.

Objectives
----------
The broad aims of the group:
* to produce a data format which is hardware and software independent for 
  the transfer and the archiving of speleological data, including data for 
  cave surveying and mapping, and utilising existing international
  transfer standards such as XML and related standards if possible.
* to co-operate with relevant other groups where necessary in arriving at 
  the format.
* to provide public ongoing progress information during the work of the 
  group, including an annual report to UISIC.
* to achieve international agreement for the format.
* to promote wide knowledge of and use of the format among cavers, cave
  managers and cave/karst researchers.
* to produce explanatory and training material for use of the format.
* to list, facilitate and organise production of software to make use of 
  the format.

Scope
-----
Any inclusions, exclusions, limits to the Objectives:
* establish and recommend to the Field Definitions WG which entities and 
  fields are needed for cave surveying and mapping work, together with their
  definitions. 
* it is not required to finalise and publicise the *definitions* of any data
  fields - this will be done by the Field Definitions WG.
* at each Annual Report, review whether the work of the group has been
  completed, and if so, terminate the group.

Peter Matthews