Fwd: Ordnance Survey Linked Data

[Leif Isaksen]

Without prejudice: looks like the OS are starting to make available their Linked Data which implies a certain amount of Openness at least...

L.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Goodwin <John.G...@ordnancesurvey.co.uk>
Date: Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 12:52 AM
Subject: Ordnance Survey Linked Data
To: semant...@w3c.org



Hi,

Ordnance Survey now has some "linked" data up at:

data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk

This data includes identifiers and names for the administrative and voting areas of Great Britain. Explicit geometries are not included in the RDF, but there are topological relationships included between regions which should be of use for many applications.

For a given region there are containment, overlap and spatial equivalence relations given between it and other regions. Furthermore, bordering information is given between "similar" entities. For example, explicit bordering information is given between wards. There is also bordering information between unitary authorities, counties etc.

If you wish to see the boundary on a map then area code and unit ID attributes can be used in the OS OpenSpace API to display the boundary.

So for example, for Southampton (http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/id/7000000000037256) the area code is UTA (for unitary authority) and the unit ID is 37256. These values can be used as follows:

    /*here we set-up the our variable called 'boundaryLayer' with the strategies that we require.
   In this case, it is its ID and type i.e. Unitary Authority */
   boundaryLayer = new OpenSpace.Layer.Boundary("Boundaries", {
   strategies: [new OpenSpace.Strategy.BBOX()],
   admin_unit_ids: ["37256"],
   area_code: ["UTA"]
      });
   //then we add the bounadry to the map
   osMap.addLayer(boundaryLayer);
   //this effectively refreshes the map, so that the boundary is visible
   osMap.setCenter(osMap.getCenter());


to display the Southampton boundary. See http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/support.html for more details.

John

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[Sean Gillies]

Thanks for the link, Leif. I've been looking at reusing their spatial
relation vocabulary, but hadn't yet seen an application of it. I
presume the OpenSpace (a fork of OpenLayers) Boundary layer is an
image? Otherwise the boundary coordinates themselves would be exposed.

--
Sean

[Leif]

Could it really be? :-)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6920761.ece

Cheers

L.

> > to display the Southampton boundary. Seehttp://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace/support.html

[Leif Isaksen]

And another take:

http://www.edparsons.com/2009/11/now-why-was-that-so-difficult/

I'd also like to point out that, like the OS, Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadboult are also 'Southamptoners' (in my Research Group no less!).

Perhaps the sun is coming out :-D

L.

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[Crispin Flower]

We should wait to see what really happens before getting too excited Leif !

I wonder whether OS will say that what they have done through OpenSpace pretty much meets these requirements already, or perhaps they will add a couple more datasets etc.

And crucially the “derived data” issue has not been addressed.

But yes  - I shouldn’t be too pessimistic – it’s a great move in the right direction ;-)

Crispin

 

From: Leif Isaksen [mailto:lei...@googlemail.com]
Sent: 18 November 2009 19:15
To: Antiquist
Subject: Re: [Antiquist] Re: Fwd: Ordnance Survey Linked Data

 

And another take:

http://www.edparsons.com/2009/11/now-why-was-that-so-difficult/

I'd also like to point out that, like the OS, Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadboult are also 'Southamptoners' (in my Research Group no less!).

Perhaps the sun is coming out :-D

L.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 7:06 PM, Leif <lei...@googlemail.com> wrote:

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[Paul Cripps]

I agree, more details need to be forthcoming but it is still an exciting development.

 

I’ve blogged more ramblings at http://blog.treehugginghippycrap.org.uk/2009/11/18/now-were-getting-somewhere/ but in short, OpenSpace (even OpenSpace Pro) doesn’t currently fulfil what has been put forward, although it could well be a means of delivery with some additional datasets and modified/new API. And derived data issues *should*  become a thing of the past given that 1:10K maps will in effect become public domain and this is what is and has been typically used to provide spatial information used in archaeology. NB use of the British National Grid itself does not by itself result in any data captured being derived data, it is only where spatial depictions can be seen to have been taken directly or based largely upon an OS map. Where SMR/HERs have used mastermap however that’s a different story (mastermap is not to become freely available and will continue to be a chargeable product) but I would hope there is a precedent being set here that data should be open and available, including derived data. If the derived data issue is not successfully tackled as part of this initiative, then any chance of the sorts of benefits Berners-Lee and Shadboult are talking about will be severely hampered.

 

Definitely a move in the right direction!!

Atb,

P.

 

 

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