Skip to content

Tool for Metadata Profile Management: Dataspecer

Dataspecer is a tool for creating, managing and visualizing semantic data specifications, i.e., vocabularies and application profiles. Based on these, it is also possible to derive other technical artifacts, especially data schemas (XML, JSON, CSV). You can try the application on the demo instance. In the Dataspecer interface, a specification is called a project.

Project Manager

Project Manager

The basic interface is the project manager. Each vocabulary and each application profile is a separate project. You can click on a project to see its internal structure, but we won't need that.

Project Options

Project Options

  • Export specification downloads the specification of the created vocabulary/application profile as a zip archive for web publication, e.g., on GitHub Pages.
  • Show documentation (cs/en) displays a preview of the documentation for the created specification in English or Czech, see generated documentation.
  • Edit documentation template Opens an HTML editor where you can edit the appearance of the template for creating documentation. It uses the ReSpec system.
  • Import from URL allows adding an existing vocabulary or application profile created in Dataspecer to the current specification.
  • Backup to file downloads a backup of the project as a ZIP archive, which can be uploaded again to any Dataspecer instance using the Import button. However, you cannot upload a backup to an instance where the imported project already exists.
  • Duplicate Creates a copy of the project.
  • Rename renames the project.
  • Edit data model is used for debugging, we won't need it.
  • Delete deletes the project.

New Specification

To create a new specification, click on the Project Guide button. New Project

And choose one of the options: Project Guide

Both vocabulary and application profile are created in the model editor.

Vocabulary is created when we need to define new concepts - classes and properties.

Application Profile is created when we want to specify the use of parts of other specifications in our specific context. For example, when creating a CCMM application profile for a specific domain repository.

Data Schema is used to create data structures directly based on existing vocabularies. We will not use this option.

Generated Documentation

Documentation The generated documentation uses the ReSpec system, like common web specifications. It contains documentation of the vocabulary or application profile, including links to individual concepts in reused vocabularies and application profiles. It also contains appendices with machine-readable representation of the specification, possibly with technical artifacts. The documentation is ready for web publication, e.g., on GitHub Pages.