OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data provides a common connection between the API landing page (defined by Part 1) and resource-specific details.

6 December 2021: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is seeking public comment on the OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data Candidate Standard. The purpose of OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data is to provide a common connection between the API landing page and resource-specific details. Comments are due by January 5, 2022.

OGC APIs are OGC’s Building Blocks for Location, and are ushering in a new age for location information on the web by enabling a much simpler, consistent, and familiar way to share and access location information. Through the OGC APIs, the OGC community is improving how location information can be integrated: by any developer, with any other type of information, and into any type of application.

OGC API - Common serves as a foundation upon which all OGC APIs can be built. OGC API - Common - Part 1: Core defines the resources and access mechanisms which are useful for a client seeking to understand the offerings and capabilities of an API. OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data builds on Part 1 by providing a common connection between the API landing page and geospatial data collections.

Geospatial data is rarely considered as a single entity. Feature Collections, Coverages, Data Sets, etc. are all aggregations of Spatial or Temporal ‘Things’. It stands to reason that an OGC Web API would also expose its holdings as aggregates of spatial resources. The purpose of the OGC API - Common - Part 2 Standard, then, is to provide a means of organizing these aggregate collections and to define operations for the discovery and selection of individual collections.

The OGC API - Common - Part 2 Standard does not specify the nature of the geospatial data that make up a collection. Rather, it provides a basic capability that should be applicable to any geospatial resource type. Additional OGC Web API standards extend this foundation to define resource-specific capabilities.

In parallel to this public review, the OGC Naming Authority is assessing the naming conventions to be used in the Requirements Modules defined in the candidate Standard. These conventions are important in the continued modularization of the OGC APIs, so careful review by experts is welcomed.

To learn more about how the family of OGC API Standards work together to provide modular “building blocks for location” that address both simple and the most complex use-cases, visit ogcapi.org.

OGC Members interested in staying up to date on the progress of this standard, or contributing to its development, are encouraged to join the OGC API - Common SWG via the OGC Portal.

The OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data Candidate Standard is available for review and comment on the OGC Portal. Comments are due by January 5, 2022, and should be submitted via the method outlined on the OGC API - Common - Part 2: Geospatial Data Standard’s public comment request page.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is a collective problem-solving community of experts from more than 500 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and universities driven to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

The global OGC Community engages in a mix of activities related to location-based technologies: developing consensus-based open standards and best-practice; collaborating on agile innovation initiatives; engaging in community meetings, events, and workshops; and more.

OGC's unique standards development process moves at the pace of innovation, with constant input from technology forecasting, practical prototyping, real-world testing, and community engagement.

OGC bridges disparate sectors, domains, and technology trends, and encourages the cross-pollination of ideas between different communities of practice to improve decision-making at all levels. OGC is committed to creating an inclusive and sustainable future.

Visit ogc.org for more info on our work.