Description
iData is an iRODS-based online data management software module that supports out-of-the-box geospatial data preview, automatic metadata extract and management and other functions typically associated with a file browser. The current iData release has been integrated with the HUBzero Project feature, i.e., functions such as quickview of geospatial data are available for all files stored in a project, and there is no need to launch a separate application.
A demonstration video on how to use iData functions is available here.
iData Functions
Upload, browse, and download data : iData provides a web interface for managing files with support for standard operations such as file upload, download, folder management and rename and delete actions. Larger files ( > 2 GB) are uploaded via a chunking and recombination approach to add resilience to dropped and interrupted network connections.
Metadata viewing and editing : iData provides an annotation interface to view and edit file metadata with support for the minimal set of 15 DCMI (Dublin Core Metadata Initiative) fields. Users can choose to add their own fields as well.
Automatically extract and apply DCMI compliant metadata for geospatial data : Geospatial files uploaded to iData are automatically processed to extract as much metadata as possible. The extracted metadata is mapped to the 15 DCMI core fields and saved as file's metadata. While some fields allow subsequent editing, fields such as geospatial coverage are set to read-only to prevent accidental changes.
Geospatial and keyword based search : Metadata for files managed by iData is also indexed to the hub's central Solr search index. The index is updated in response to metadata edits as well as file deletes. This Solr search index underlies the hub search functionality with iData files being one of the search facets (or types). The hub search interface allows keyword-based search with an optional geospatial bounds filter to restrict search to a certain geographic region. The selected region is matched against the previously extracted geospatial bounds metadata (where present) for iData files.
Directly launch hub tools that are appropriate for a selected data : iData is tightly tied to hub tools, enabling hub tools to be launched directly from the iData file management interface. The hub tools appropriate for a geospatial file are listed in a dropdown list similar to the "Open With" feature in most operating systems. Links between hub tools and appropriate geospatial files can be defined via sets of file extensions that the tool can operate on. The hub tool developer is responsible for providing the ability to process the file choice when the tool is launched on a particular file from iData.
Interactive geospatial data preview and exploration : iData provides a simple preview feature for geospatial files. One or more vector or raster files can be previewed together and are presented as overlays on a map. The preview window provides various choice for the base map layer and also presents relevant information about the vector feature or raster value (where available) for any point that is clicked on the map. The preview functionality relies on the geospatial bounds metadata extracted for the file when uploaded. If such information cannot be extracted for a particular file, it may not be previewable.
Web Service API (for tools on a hub or remote applications to connect to data management services) : iData provides access to its various file management operations via a REST API. Any external application can thus access iData files and their metadata as well as download and upload files to iData. The REST API requires an Authorization token that can be obtained using OAuth to exchange a user's authentication details for a token. The Authorization token ensures that the API client is only provided access to hub project files accessible by the authenticated user.