# Module Documentation: eml-resource | Back to EML Contents

### The eml-resource module - Base information for all resources

The eml-resource module contains general information that describes dataset resources, literature resources, protocol resources, and software resources. Each of the above four types of resources share a common set of information, but also have information that is unique to that particular resource type. Each resource type uses the eml-resource module to document the information common to all resources, but then extend eml-resource with modules that are specific to that particular resource type. For instance, all resources have creators, titles, and perhaps keywords, but only the dataset resource would have a "data table" within it. Likewise, a literature resource may have an "ISBN" number associated with it, whereas the other resource types would not.

The eml-resource module is exclusively used by other modules, and is therefore not a stand-alone module.

## Module details

Recommended Usage: | all datasets
Stand-alone: | no
Imports: | eml-documentation, eml-party, eml-coverage, eml-text, http://www.w3.org/2009/01/xml
Imported By: |
View an image of the schema: | eml-resource image

## Element Definitions:
#### alternateIdentifier | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
system | optional
| An additional, secondary identifier for this entity. The primary identifier belongs in the "id" attribute, but additional identifiers that are used to label this entity, possibly from different data management systems, can be listed here. Example(s): VCR3465
#### shortName | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The 'shortName' field provides a concise name that describes the resource that is being documented. It is the appropriate place to store a filename associated with other storage systems. Example(s): vernal-data-1999
#### title | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: i18nNonEmptyStringType
| The 'title' field provides a description of the resource that is being documented that is long enough to differentiate it from other similar resources. Multiple titles may be provided, particularly when trying to express the title in more than one language (use the "xml:lang" attribute to indicate the language if not English/en). Example(s): Vernal pool amphibian density data, Isla Vista, 1990-1996.
#### creator | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: rp:ResponsibleParty
| The 'creator' element provides the full name of the person, organization, or position who created the resource. The list of creators for a resource represent the people and organizations who should be cited for the resource. Example(s): For a book, the creators are its authors.
#### metadataProvider | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: rp:ResponsibleParty
| The 'metadataProvider' element provides the full name of the person, organization, or position who created documentation for the resource. Example(s): The scientist who collected the data, sometimes a data technician, or other individual.
#### associatedParty | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:

Derived from: rp:ResponsibleParty (by xs:extension)

A sequence of (
role | required |
)
| The 'associatedParty' element provides the full name of other people, organizations, or positions who should be associated with the resource. These parties might play various roles in the creation or maintenance of the resource, and these roles should be indicated in the "role" element. Example(s): The technician who collected the data.
#### role | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: rp:RoleType
| Use this field to describe the role the party played with respect to the resource. Some potential roles include technician, reviewer, principal investigator, and many others. Example(s): principalInvestigator
#### pubDate | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: yearDate
| The 'pubDate' field represents the date that the resource was published. The format should be represented as: CCYY, which represents a 4 digit year, or as CCYY-MM-DD, which denotes the full year, month, and day. Note that month and day are optional components. Formats must conform to ISO 8601. Example(s): 1999-10-26
#### language | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: i18nNonEmptyStringType
| The language in which the resource is written. This can be a well-known language name, or one of the ISO language codes to be more precise. Example(s): English
#### series | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| This field describes the series of resources that include the resource being described. For example, a volume of a journal may be part of a series of the journal for a particular year. Example(s): Volume 20
#### abstract | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: txt:TextType
| A brief overview of the resource that is being documented. The abstract should include basic information that summarizes the resource.
#### keywordSet | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
keyword | required | unbounded
keywordThesaurus | optional |
)
| The 'keywordSet' element is a container for the 'keyword' and 'keywordThesaurus' fields. Each keywordSet field can contain one or more keywords and a name of a thesaurus for the set of keywords. Each keyword field should contain one and only one keyword (i.e., keywords should not be separated by commas or other delimiters). Example(s): Please see the examples for the subfields contained within this field.
#### keyword | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:

Derived from: i18nNonEmptyStringType (by xs:extension)

keywordType | optional
| This field names a keyword or key phrase that concisely describes the resource or is related to the resource. Each keyword field should contain one and only one keyword (i.e., keywords should not be separated by commas or other delimiters). Example(s): biodiversity
#### keywordThesaurus | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| This field provides the name of the official keyword thesaurus from which keyword was derived. The keyword thesauri are usually discipline specific. Example(s): IRIS keyword thesaurus
#### additionalInfo | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: txt:TextType
| This field provides any information that is not characterized by the other resource metadata fields. Example(s): Copyright 2001, Robert Warner
#### intellectualRights | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: txt:TextType
| Typically, an intellectual Rights element will contain a rights management statement for the resource, or reference a service providing such information. Rights information encompasses Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Copyright, and various Property Rights. In the case of a data set, rights might include requirements for use, requirements for attribution, or other requirements the owner would like to impose. Example(s): Copyright 2001 Regents of the University of California Santa Barbara. Free for use by all individuals provided that the owners are acknowledged in any use or publication.
#### distribution | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: DistributionType
| This element provides information on how the resource is distributed. When used at the resource level, this element can provide only general information, but elements for describing connections to online systems are provided. See the Type for specific recommendations and examples.
#### coverage | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: cov:Coverage
| This element describes the extent of the coverage of the resource in terms of its spatial extent, temporal extent, and taxonomic extent. For data sets, this is useful to specify the entire extent to which all of the data might apply. Example(s): See the coverage module for examples.
#### references | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
system | optional | document
| The id of another element in this EML document to be used to here in this context. This is used instead of duplicating information when an identical piece of information needs to be used multiple times in an EML document. For example, if the same person is the creator, metadataProvider, and contact for a dataset, their name and address can be provided once as part of the "creator" element, and then their "id" can be used in the "references" element of metadataProvider and contact. This reduces the likelihood of error by reducing redundancy, and allows one to specify that two pieces of information are identical. To be a valid EML document, the content of every "references" element MUST be defined in the document as the value of an "id" attribute on some element within the document. Other critical rules about the use of IDs and references in EML are provided in the text of the EML specification. Example(s): knb.45.3
#### online | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: OnlineType
| This element contains information for accessing the resource online, represented either as a URL a connection, or a connectionDefinition which may be referenced in other parts of the EML document. See the Type definition for more information.
#### offline | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: OfflineType
| This element is for data which are distributed offline, generally by request. See the Type definition for more information.
#### inline | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: InlineType
| The data are distributed inline, with the metadata. See the Type definition for more information.
#### schemeName | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
system | optional
| The name of the scheme used to identify this connection. The scheme name is qualified by its system attribute. The scheme name implies a particular protocol for accessing information from the connection. Applications must have a knowledge of the scheme or be able to deduce the protocol from the scheme description in order to effectively access data over the connection. Many schemes will be unknown to client applications. At some later point in time a registry for connection schemes may be established in order to promote application interoperability, and we may expand this portion of EML to adopt a more comprehensive standard such as WSDL, but for now this simpler description is provided. Example(s): metacat
#### description | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: txt:TextType
| The description of the scheme used to identify this connection. The scheme name implies a particular protocol for accessing information from the connection. Applications must have a knowledge of the scheme or be able to deduce the protocol from the scheme description in order to effectively access data over the connection. Example(s): The metacat application protocol. Applications must first log into metacat by sending an HTTP POST request in http-url-encoded format with the parameters action, username, and password. Action must be set to "login". If authentication is successful, the metacat server will respond with a session cookie. All future requests should include the session cookie in the HTTP header. To retrieve an object, the client then would send an HTTP POST in http-url-encoded format, with an action parameter set to "get" and the docid parameter set to the identifier for the desired object. The response will either be an XML document or a multipart-form-encoded response containing data.
#### parameterDefinition | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
name | required |
definition | required |
defaultValue | optional |
)
| The definition of a parameter that is needed to properly use this connection scheme. Each parameter has a name and a definition that are used by applications to assess the type of information needed for the request. Parameters may also set default values that are used if a connection does not provide a value for a parameter.
#### name | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The name of a parameter that is needed to properly use this connection scheme. Example(s): hostname
#### definition | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The definition of a parameter that is needed to properly use this connection scheme. The definition is used by applications to assess the type of information needed for the request. Example(s): The fully qualified name of the internet host that is providing the metacat service, as would be returned by a Domain Name System (DNS) query.
#### defaultValue | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The default value for a parameter that is needed to properly use this connection scheme. If a default value is set, then it should be used for connections that do not override the default with a connection-specific value. This allows a definition to be established that declares common information that might be shared by several connections as default values. Parameter values provided in the connection always override any default values provided in the connection definition. Example(s): metacat.nceas.ucsb.edu
#### mediumName | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| Name of the medium on which this resource is distributed. Can be various digital media such as tapes and disks, or printed media which can collectively be termed 'hardcopy'. Example(s): Tape, 3.5 inch Floppy Disk, hardcopy
#### mediumDensity | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| the density of the digital medium if this is relevant. Used mainly for floppy disks or tape. Example(s): High Density (HD), Double Density (DD)
#### mediumDensityUnits | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| if a density is given numerically, the units should be given here. Example(s): B/cm
#### mediumVolume | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| the total volume of the storage medium on which this resource is shipped. Example(s): 650 MB
#### mediumFormat | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| the file system format of the medium on which the resource is shipped Example(s): NTFS, FAT32, EXT2, QIK80
#### mediumNote | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| any additional pertinent information about the media
#### onlineDescription | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: i18nNonEmptyStringType
| This element can hold a brief description of the content of the online element's online|offline|inline child. This description element could supply content for an html anchor tag.
#### url | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: UrlType
| A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) from which this additional information can be obtained, or from which the resource can be downloaded directly. In the resource module, the distribution URL is generally meant for informational purposes, and the "function" attribute should be set to "information". However, if the URL returns the data stream itself, then the "function" attribute should be set to "download". See the Type Definition for more information.
#### connection | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: ConnectionType
| A description of the information needed to make an application connection to a data service. The connection contains a connectionDefinition and optional parameters for overriding defaults. See the Type Definition for more information.
#### connectionDefinition | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: ConnectionDefinitionType
| The definition of a type of connection that will be used in another location in the EML document. The connectionDefinition element only provides the definition of the protocol and its parameters, but not the actual values to be used to make the connection (instead, see the connection element). This connectionDefinition may be used by multiple connections (e.g., to download different files from the same database), but each connection must provide or reference a valid connection definition. The definition has a "scheme" which identifies the protocol by name, with a detailed description and its required parameters. A connectionDefinition lists all of the parameters needed for the connection and possible default values for each.
#### connectionDefinition | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: ConnectionDefinitionType
| In a ConnectionType, the connectionDefinition element provides the definition of the protocol and its parameters. The definition has a "scheme" which identifies the protocol by name, with a detailed description and its required parameters. A connectionDefinition lists all of the parameters needed for the connection and possible default values for each.
#### parameter | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
name | required |
value | required |
)
| A parameter to be used to make this connection. This value overrides any default value that may have been provided in the connection definition.
#### name | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The name of the parameter to be used to make this connection. Example(s): hostname
#### value | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Type: NonEmptyStringType
| The value of the parameter to be used to make this connection. This value overrides any default value that may have been provided in the connection definition. Example(s): nceas.ucsb.edu
#### value | This element has no default value.
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
xml:lang | optional
## Attribute Definitions:
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional
#### keywordType
Type: KeyTypeCode Use: optional | This field classifies the keyword that has been provided from a list of pre-determined categories. The possible types are listed in the example. Example(s): "place","stratum","temporal","theme", or "taxonomic"
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional Default value: document
#### id
Type: IDType Use: optional
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional
#### scope
Type: ScopeType Use: optional Default value: document
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional | The computing system within which this scheme name has relevance. This attribute qualifies the scheme name in order to decrease the likelihood of scheme name collisions when more that one EML user defines a scheme name with the same name but different semantics. Example(s): http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb/
#### id
Type: IDType Use: optional
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional
#### scope
Type: ScopeType Use: optional Default value: document
#### function
Type: FunctionType Use: optional Default value: download
#### id
Type: IDType Use: optional
#### system
Type: SystemType Use: optional
#### scope
Type: ScopeType Use: optional Default value: document
#### xml:lang
Use: optional
#### xml:lang
Use: optional
## Complex Type Definitions:
#### DistributionType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A choice of (
A choice of (
online | required |
OR
offline | required |
OR
inline | required |
)
ReferencesGroup |  |
)
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
id | optional
system | optional
scope | optional | document
| Distribution information for accessing the resource by one of three methods: online, offline or inline. Generally, the Type at the resource level is intended to be informational, although elements are included to describe a complex connection protocol. For more information, see the sub-elements. Also compare to #### phys:PhysicalDistributionType .
#### ConnectionDefinitionType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A choice of (
A sequence of (
schemeName | required |
description | required |
parameterDefinition | required | unbounded
)
OR
ReferencesGroup |  |
)
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
id | optional
system | optional
scope | optional | document
| Definition of the connection protocol. The definition has a "scheme" which identifies the protocol by name, with a detailed description and its required parameters. A connectionDefinition lists all of the parameters needed for the connection and possible default values for each. A definition provided in this element may be used in other parts of the EML document.
#### InlineType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Derived from: xs:anyType (by xs:restriction)
Elements: | Use: | How many:

Derived from: xs:anyType (by xs:restriction)

A sequence of (
)
| Object data distributed inline in the metadata. Users have the option of including the data right inline in the metadata by providing it inside of the "inline" element. For many text formats, the data can be simply included directly in the element. However, certain character sequences are invalid in an XML document (e.g., <), so care will need to be taken to either 1) wrap the data in a CDATA section if needed, or 2) encode the data using a text encoding algorithm such as base64, and then include that in a CDATA section. The latter will be necessary for binary formats.
#### OfflineType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
mediumName | required |
mediumDensity | optional |
mediumDensityUnits | optional |
mediumVolume | optional |
mediumFormat | optional | unbounded
mediumNote | optional |
)
| the medium on which this resource is distributed digitally, such as 3.5" floppy disk, or various tape media types, or 'hardcopy' Example(s): CD-ROM, 3.5 in. floppy disk, Zip disk
#### OnlineType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
onlineDescription | optional |
A choice of (
url | required |
OR
connection | required |
OR
connectionDefinition | required |
)
)
| Distribution information for accessing the resource online, represented either as a URL or as the series of named parameters needed to connect. The URL field can contain a simple web address or an entire query string. The connection element allows the components of a complex protocol to be described individually. The connectionDefinition element can also be appear outside of the connection elements, so that it can be defined once and referenced by several connections. Also see the #### phys:PhysicalOnlineType , which may be more appropriate for describing the online connections to a specific entity described by this metadata document.
#### UrlType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:

Derived from: xs:anyURI (by xs:extension)

function | optional | download
| A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) from which this resource can be downloaded or additional information can be obtained. If the URL provides further information about downloading the object but does not directly return the data stream, then the "function" attribute should be set to "information". If accessing the URL would directly return the data stream, then the "function" attribute should be set to "download". If the "function" attribute is omitted, then "download" is implied for the URL function. In more complex cases where a non-standard connection must be established that complies with application specific procedures beyond what can be described in the simple URL, then the "connection" element should be used instead of the URL element. Example(s): http://data.org/getdata?id=98332
#### ConnectionType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A choice of (
A sequence of (
connectionDefinition | required |
parameter | optional | unbounded
)
OR
ReferencesGroup |  |
)
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
id | optional
system | optional
scope | optional | document
| A description of the information needed to make an application connection to a data service. The connection starts with a connectionDefinition which lists all of the parameters needed for the connection and possible default values for each. It may also include a list of parameter values (one for each), that override the defaults for this particular connection. One parameter element should exist for every parameterDefinition that is present in the connectionDefinition, although parameters that were defined with a defaultValue in their parameterDefinition can be omitted. All information about how to use the parameters to establish a session and extract data is present in the connectionDefinition, possibly implicitly by naming a connection schemeName that is well-known. See descriptions of the child element types for further information.
#### i18nNonEmptyStringType |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
value | optional | unbounded
)
Attributes: | Use: | Default Value:
xml:lang | optional
| This type specifies a content pattern for all elements that require language translations. The xml:lang attribute can be used to define the default language for element content. Additional translations should be included as child 'value' elements that also have an optional xml:lang attribute.
## Simple Type Definitions:
### #### KeyTypeCode
Derived from: xs:string (by xs:restriction) Allowed values: place stratum temporal theme taxonomic | This field provides a restricted list of categories that a keyword may fall under. Example(s): place
### #### yearDate
| This type is the union of the built-in types for year and date. Example(s): 1999, or 2001-03-15
### #### IDType
| A unique identifier for this additional metadata that can be used to reference it elsewhere. This is a formal field in that it is an error to provide a value for the id attribute that is not unique within the document's set of id attributes. This is designed to allow other portions of the metadata to reference this section formally. Example(s): knb.343.22
### #### SystemType
| The data management system within which an identifier is in scope and therefore unique. This is typically a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that indicates a data management system. All identifiers that share a system must be unique. In other words, if the same identifier is used in two locations with identical systems, then by definition the objects at which they point are in fact the same object. Example(s): http://metacat.somewhere.org/svc/mc/
### #### ScopeType
Derived from: xs:string (by xs:restriction) Allowed values: system document | The scope of the identifier. Scope is generally set to either "system", meaning that it is scoped according to the "system" attribute, or "document" if it is only to be in scope within this single document instance. In this particular use of scope, it is FIXED to be "system" because the packageId is required and always has the scope of the required "system". Example(s): system
### #### FunctionType
Derived from: xs:string (by xs:restriction) Allowed values: download information
### #### NonEmptyStringType
Derived from: xs:string (by xs:restriction) Allowed values: | This type specifies a content pattern for all elements that are required by EML to ensure that there is actual content (i.e., not just whitespace). The pattern described can be interpreted as "at least one non-whitespace character, followed by any number of whitespace plus not-whitespace characters. " Leading and/or trailing whitespace is allowed, and whitespace may include carriage returns and newlines.
## Group Definitions:
#### ResourceGroup |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
alternateIdentifier | optional | unbounded
shortName | optional |
title | required | unbounded
creator | required | unbounded
metadataProvider | optional | unbounded
associatedParty | optional | unbounded
pubDate | optional |
language | optional |
series | optional |
abstract | optional |
keywordSet | optional | unbounded
additionalInfo | optional | unbounded
intellectualRights | optional |
distribution | optional | unbounded
coverage | optional |
)
| The 'ResourceBase' complexType contains information that is inherited by each resource type that is being documented. The sub-elements with the resource base are common to all resources. Example(s): Please see the individual sub-fields for specific examples.
#### ReferencesGroup |
Content of this field: | Description of this field:
Elements: | Use: | How many:
A sequence of (
references | required |
)
| A group containing the "references" element that is used throughout EML.

Web Contact: jones@nceas.ucsb.edu