CSW

Please note: This page is currently being updated.

What is a CSW

A Web Feature Service, in short WFS, is a standard in where data is published to the Internet and can be downloaded in different (geo) data formats. This standard is defined by the OGC, the Open Geospatial Consortium. The data is accessible through an URL and works in any browser. To read the metadata, filter data or download it, you can just use your browser. To visualize the data, the URL of the WFS can be read by a GIS (Geographical Information System). One of the advantages of a WFS is that the data is accessible on the internet, so you can always access it (if there is internet) and you don’t have to carry files with you anymore. Also sharing data is more easily, since you just have to provide the WFS URL, instead of the data file.

How to insert a CSW URL to the Engine

There are already two CSW provided by default to load data from. These are already used by the Engine, among other datasets, to create a new project with.

• BAG: the base registration for Addresses and Buildings in the Netherlands.
• BRP: Gewaspercelen, a Dutch dataset containing the type of crops.

It is also possible to provide another WFS. This WFS must conform to the following requirement before it can be loaded properly into the Engine:

• The WFS must have either GML3 or GeoJSON as output format.

The WFS can be loaded in the Engine by using the Geo Data Wizard. Choose the second option: "Loading data from a Feature Service". In the next step, you will be asked to provide a name and the URL for the WFS. If the WFS is published through ArcGIS server (Arcgis is then part of the URL), choose ESRI_JSON as output type, otherwise choose WFS_JSON.

How to Insert a WFS into the Engine:

1. Choose a name for the WFS
2. Provinde the URL of the WFS (the GetCapabilities part can be omitted)
3. If the WFS is published through ArcGIS server, choose ESRI_JSON, otherwise choose WFS_JSON