There are lots of freeware converters out there. For example, to convert
Mapinfo Interchange Format (MIF) to ESRI ArcInfo shape or export files.
ESRI formats are recognised as de facto standards and migration paths
are more likely to remain open for data in such formats. Converters here
http://software.geocomm.com/translators/arcview.html
Ads have an admittedly now out odf date guide for handling (access,
preservation, etc) at
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/gis/
Tony
Philip Carlisle wrote:
>
> Ed
>
> It's more to do with the actually depiction on the data.
>
> For instance with a monument based GIS you can store all the metadata
> about what it is and what its NGR is etc. but how do you go about
> showing how it looked in the dataset.
>
> If all you have is the metadata can you rebuild a depiction of the
> mapbases and the polygon say for an individual monument?
>
> The discovery metadata spec on the askgiraffe site has an element called
> sample which holds a jpeg or tiff image of a sample of the kind of data
> depicted in the GIS (see page 54 and the OS example in the appendix)
>
> So again would it be possible to rebuild the sample from the metadata
> alone?
>
> If a meteorite wipes out all the copies of intergraph, mapinfo etc. but
> we still had the metadata could we rebuild the depiction of the
> Stonehenge World Heritage layer on HSIS?
>
> Am I being thick here and is the answer "yes of course you idiot" or is
> it as tricky as I'm a-thinking?
>
> Answers on a postcard to.......
>
> Phil
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lee, Edmund [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 18 June 2003 11:31
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [FISH] GIS and archiving
>
> Interesting one Phil,
>
> Is the problem a technical one (what software to preserve the GIS data
> on) on an issue of what metadata to use to promote access and
> understanding? If it the latter, then the GI Gateway Discovery metadata
> seems the obvious way to go see
> http://www.askgiraffe.org.uk/datalocator/metadataspecs.asp
> (I think thats a current link, but I can't reach it this morning for
> some
> reason)
>
> This maps to the Dublin Core (fairly roughly in places) which in turn
> maps to the National Archives own metadata specification
> http://www.pro.gov.uk/recordsmanagement/erecords/2002reqs/2002metadatafi
> nal.
> pdf
> So it shouldn'tbe too much of a task to identify a good set of metadata
> elements to support access
>
> Ed
> English Heritage
> Data Standards Unit
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Philip Carlisle [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: 18 June 2003 10:33
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [FISH] GIS and archiving
> >
> >
> > Dear all
> >
> > I have a query which some of you may have some ideas on. The Naitonal
> > Digital Archive of Datasets - the online UK government data archive -
> > is currently working on archiving the Countryside Information System a
> > bespoke GIS and they're are wondering how to go about
> > preserving the map
> > bases and depictions without the need to preserve each and every
> > software. The data is extracted from the software package and
> > digitally
> > stored but obviously unless you screen shot every map/layer how do you
> > know what the data means.
> >
> > Has anyone (OS included) thought about how to archive GIS?
> >
> > This may have implications on......dare I say
> > it...........standardized symbology!
> >
> > There I've said it
> >
> >
> > Phil
> >
--
______________________________________________________
Tony Austin http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/staff.html
Technical Manager
Archaeology Data Service
The King's Manor
York
YO1 7EP
UK
phone +44 (0)1904-433975
fax +44(0)1904-433939
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/
______________________________________________________
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