Basics of INSPIRE Network Services

Earlier versions of this training module have been developed within the context of the KU Leuven Summer Schools, 2010-2011-2012 (KOI-VLIR) and the smespire project, 2013 (http://www.smespire.eu/)

Authors: Paul Jacxsens, KU Leuven and Anders Östman, Novogit AB. The material is provided under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).

The INSPIRE initiative was initiated by the European

The INSPIRE Directive defines 5 types of web services called network services that provide access to spatial data resources according to the publish-search-find-bind paradigm. Users can find data according to specific search criteria (or geographic coordinates), view the metadata and the spatial data themselves, and download them on their own computer for further use. The INSPIRE network services build further on existing international standards from W3C, ISO and OGC.

The module introduces the concepts of the World Wide Web (WWW) and of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It describes and illustrates the 5 types of INSPIRE network services (discovery, view, download, transformation and invoking). It explains the link to existing standards of ISO and OGC (e.g. CSW, WMS and WFS) and also discusses the INSPIRE implementing rules that are applicable including conformity aspects.

The training material consist of presentations, supporting documents and a weblecture. The module is a self-learning module.

This seminar contains the following parts:

1. Introduction to the concepts of the WWW, webservices and SOA
2. The link to relevant W3C and OGC Standards
3. INSPIRE conformant Metadata as basis for network services
4. INSPIRE Network Services
5. Software to set-up network services & test suites
6. INSPIRE Geoportal
7. Performance Capacity

After the training offer, the participant will be able to identify and describe the principles and concepts of web service technology and the main characteristics of web services; list and describe the specifications of the OGC standard for a (Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW), a Web Map Service (WMS) and a Web Feature Service (WFS) and provide examples for each of them; identify some good examples of WMS/WFS Clients and Servers and give examples for each of them; make the link between the INSPIRE network services and those international standards; identify and describe the main elements of INSPIRE conformant metadata for services; identify and describe the main elements of the INSPIRE geoportal; identify and describe the performance and capacity guidelines and some test tools/suites.