Biodiversity information platforms: From standards to interoperability

摘要: One of the most serious bottlenecks in scientific workflows biodiversity sciences is need to integrate data from different sources, software applications, and services for analysis, visualisation publication. For more than a quarter century TDWG Biodiversity Information Standards organisation has central role defining promoting standards protocols supporting interoperability between disparate locally distributed systems. Although often not sufficiently recognized, are foundation many popular Informatics applications infrastructures ranging small desktop solutions large scale international networks. However, individual scientists groups collaborating scientist have difficulties fully exploiting potential that notoriously complex, lack non-technical documentations, use representations underlying technologies. In last few years, series initiatives such as Scratchpads, EDIT Platform Cybertaxonomy, biowikifarm started implement set up virtual work platforms which shield their users complexity standards. Apart being practical work-horses numerous working processes related sciences, they can be seen information brokers mediating multiple protocols. The ViBRANT project will further strengthen flexibility power by building interfaces them, thus facilitating essential flows needed comprehensive exchange, indexing, web-publication, versioning. This make an important contribution shaping international, interoperable, user-oriented infrastructure.