GDI-DE Registry

The GDI-DE Registry supports the central administration of namespaces, code lists, coordinate reference systems and other information used in the SDI Germany (GDI-DE).

The GDI-DE Registry is conceptually based on the ISO 19135 standard (Geographic information - Procedures for item registration). The registration process based on this standard allows GDI-DE stakeholders to centrally store and update the relevant information in the GDI-DE Registry. With the registration the information becomes publicly available and centrally usable via a unique URL (key). Instead of duplicating central information each time it is used, the registry makes it possible to use the corresponding URL instead.

The operation of the GDI-DE Registry includes the following registers:

Organisation Register
All organisations that are involved in the registry maintenance processes are registered here.

Name Space Register
Organisations can register namespaces here, which they need to create unique resource identifiers - e.g. object IDs or metadata IDs. The uniqueness of each namespace is guaranteed by the unique assignment. Organizations can then ensure globally unique identifiers for single objects or other resources by combining their registered namespace with local identifiers. The GDI-DE Registry also supports the direct retrieval of geo-objects by URL.

Schema Register
Organisations can publish their data models in the Schema Register. The use of specific and coordinated data models for spatial data sets improves interoperability in the SDI. The data models are based on the XML Schema Definition Language, a W3C recommendation to define XML based document structures. Schema definitions are supplemented by code lists and presentation rules (styles) and together form the data model for a spatial data set.

Code List Register
Organisations can manage code lists describing specific features. Data providers can publish their code lists here to make them available for other users and for the interpretation of their data sets. The code list register supports the reuse and harmonisation of central information.

Style-Register
Organizations can use the style register to supplement their data models and control the visualization of structured spatail data. The styles should be closely coordinated with the data model so that attributes (e.g. usage type, classification) influence the display. As there is no uniform standard format for styles, they can be stored in common GIS formats (e.g. ESRI, QGIS). Simple styles should be saved in the SLD standard (Styled Layer Descriptor). Line and polygon geometries follow fixed layout specifications, point geometries should preferably be available as SVG in order to be usable regardless of scale. Other raster formats are permitted. A cartographic legend can be stored for display services.

Monitoring Register
The monitoring register lists the spatial data sets and spatial data services whose existence and indicators have been reported to the European Commission in the years 2009 to 2018 as part of the INSPIRE reporting obligation.
As the European Commission has changed the reporting procedure by 2019, the monitoring register is currently no longer actively continued. The reports until 2018 have been conserved in this register.

Coordinate Reference System Register
Organisations can publish coordinate reference systems (CRS) with the associated parameters in this register. This CRS can be referenced from spatial data sets and their parameters can be retrieved as required by other users or systems. Information required to locate a spatial object on a map is the assigning geometry coordinates and the corresponding coordinate reference system used. While the coordinates are part of the spatial data set, the coordinate reference system itself is assigned by means of a CRS-reference.