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The DataONE Object Formats controlled vocabulary is a simple vocabulary listing
key metadata for file and object formats used within the DataONE network (https://dataone.org).
The goal of the list is to provide a unique identifier for each file format. The formatId
is typically more specific than an associated Media Type, but sometimes they can be the same.
For example, the formatId for PNG images is image/png and matches the media type image/png
because the media type is specific to one file format. In contrast, the formatId for METS is
http://www.loc.gov/METS/, which is more specific than the Media type which is text/xml and which
is shared across many formats in the XML family.
The current set of defined formats in use in DataONE is always accessible from the DataONE Object Formats service:
There have been many format vocabularies created (and many abandoned), including UDFR, GDFR, ProNom, and others. The DataONE vocabulary is simpler, more highly structured, and maintained by the repositories that use it.
We welcome the addition of new formats as needed for object types within DataONE and related repositories. To propose a new format identifier:
- Create an issue describing the proposed identifier using the new format template
- Discuss the format with the community
- Create a Pull Request that creates the format in the XML dialect used in the formats file. Name the branch for the pull request as
feature_#_formatwhere#is the issue number of the proposed format, andformatis a short name for the proposed format (e.g.,feature_3_shapefile).
Periodically, when new formats have been approved, we will merge the submitted PRs to the develop branch, and test that all changes work together. When the file is ready for release, we will merge the develop branch to master, and tag it with the release tag of the form v1.22, representing the current format service data version. This will then be used to update the DataONE formats service.