CATALOG SERVICE FOR THE WEB (CSW)


Catalog Service for the Web (CSW) is defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) in order to define the interfaces for recovering, recollecting and consulting of metada (data about data). CSW allows the searching of diverse origin and varied themed geographic information, so that users are able to locate them using the available actions.

This standard defines five basic actions:
  1. GetCapabilities, it returns the formal description or service metadata and the description of the actions that the present service let users to carry out.
  2. DescribeRecord, it lets users to discover the elements of an information model, supported by the web catalogue service. This action let users to look up a part or the complete description of the information model.
  3. GetRecords, it lets users to submit a query about the metadata catalogue, asking for all the metadata records that meet the set requirements previously. This action is supplemented by the Brief complement, in case that a simplified view of the results was requested.
  4. GetRecordsBy, it lets users to look up an especific request of a record introducing a singular key or value.
  5. GetDomain, it lets users to develop user mode interfaces that suggest possible values to certain metadata elements (categories, keywords, etc.)

The url to the formal description of the Web Catalogue Service, provided by IDEARAGON is the following:

https://idearagon.aragon.es/RCA/srv/spa/csw?Service=CSW&Request=GetCapabilities

The integration of the Catalog Service for the Web of IDEARAGON can be carried out from Web environments and SIG clients, both pay software and freeware. Below, some significant examples of requests to the WCS using a web browser:

  • Request DescribeRecord, to the WCS.
  • Request GetRecordById, it returns metadata according to the ISO 19115 standard (brief) from Aragon Geographical Names Gazetteer.
  • Request GetRecordById, it returns metadata according to the ISO 19115 standard (complete) from Aragon Geographical Names Gazetteer.
  • Request GetRecordById, it returns metadata in Dublincore from Aragon Geographical Names Gazetteer.