torrin47
commented
5 years ago In the EPA tech spec, Distribution URL pretty much maps to an entire Dataset Distribution section in a POD record, with either a downloadURL or accessURL populated. I'm again puzzled over why the tech spec says no equivalent - I'm going to fix that now. I have mixed feelings about this Dataset Distribution section. I love that a distribution URL can have a title and description, and that a dataset can have an infinite number of distributions. I think it's odd and unhelpful that there is a choice of URL fields, and the definitions or conformsTo, describedBy, format, and mediaType are ambiguous and overlapping- the schema would be more powerful with a single URL and better standards around those elements that characterize the URL. But for now they're what we have to work with. For the purposes of this tool, I think I'd be fine with grouping all of the distribution subelements under a single guidance element, rather than giving each distribution subelement a separate help. Not quite sure how that'll fly, but it's my initial inclination.
At least one distribution URL is mandatory, but the editor must allow a user to specify an unlimited number of distribution sections, and every URL must have a corresponding title. EPA doesn't specify any additional guidance above and beyond the project open data schema: https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/#distribution although the referenced list of IANA Media Types is so epically long, we've only offered users a very short list of choices: text/plain, text/csv, text/html, application/xml, application/zip. Maybe we show the short list and then allow them to enter custom types if they wish? The whole concept is a little goofy, as many downloads are zip files but a user might really benefit from knowing the format(s) of the file(s) inside the zip.