OGC API - Common candidate standard outlines common elements for OGC APIs; public comment requested

OGC API - Common documents common elements to be used in the OGC API suite of standards.

27 February 2020: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is seeking public comment on the candidate OGC API - Common standard. Comments are due by March 28, 2020.

OGC APIs usher in a new age for location information on the web, enabling a much simpler way to share and access location information that is consistent with the architecture of the Web. OGC API standards define modular API building blocks to spatially enable Web APIs in a consistent way. 

In the course of developing OGC’s new suite of OGC API standards, some elements proved to be common across all OGC API standards. OGC has documented these common elements in the form of the OGC API - Common candidate standard.

OGC API - Common serves as a foundation upon which all OGC APIs will be built. The candidate standard identifies resources, captures compliance classes, and specifies requirements that are applicable to all OGC API standards.

Since OGC API-Common is the foundation for OGC API standards, a stable baseline is required prior to developing those standards. Yet the OGC API - Common standard cannot be finalized until it has been validated against those same standards. Therefore, OGC API - Common will go through at least two OGC Public Comment periods. This initial request seeks to establish a “beta” version that is stable enough for use by other OGC API standardization efforts. A final request will be issued once there is sufficient implementation experience to move OGC API - Common forward as an OGC standard. Additional requests for public comment may be issued if changes to the candidate specification justify them.

The candidate OGC API - Common standard is available for review and comment on the OGC Portal. Comments are due by March 28, 2020, and should be submitted via the method outlined on the OGC API - Common Standard’s public comment request page.

About OGC

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international consortium of more than 530 businesses, government agencies, research organizations, and universities driven to make geospatial (location) information and services FAIR - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

OGC’s member-driven consensus process creates royalty free, publicly available geospatial standards. Existing at the cutting edge, OGC actively analyzes and anticipates emerging tech trends, and runs an agile, collaborative Research and Development (R&D) lab that builds and tests innovative prototype solutions to members' use cases.

OGC members together form a global forum of experts and communities that use location to connect people with technology and improve decision-making at all levels. OGC is committed to creating a sustainable future for us, our children, and future generations.

Visit ogc.org for more info on our work.