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Choosing the Data Provider Package

There currently are two different types of data providers (DiGIR and BioCASE, with two implementations for the DiGIR and one for the BioCASE) that work or will work in GBIF network. They fit in different situations. Here we describe these tools and the situations where they could be used.

DiGIR - Sourceforge Provider (PHP Provider)

This package has been developed by the global biodiversity informatics community. It supports the DiGIR protocol and DarwinCore schema. A snapshot of this application from http://sourceforge.net/projects/digir has been packaged by GBIF with all the other required components. It can be downloaded from http://www.gbif.org/serv/gbif-tools.

This package is based on the PHP language and can connect to most database engines, like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, and Oracle. This package is suitable if you already have a database and know how to manage it. Most GBIF data providers use it. Support is given by GBIF Helpdesk for the GBIF package. If you use the sourceforge distribution, GBIF Helpdesk may give you some advise in various configurations, but not full support.

DiGIR - GBIF Data Repository Tool (Python Provider)

This is a package that has been developed by the GBIF Secretariat and can be downloaded from http://www.gbif.org/serv/gbif-tools. It supports the DiGIR protocol and DarwinCore schema, and also implements some parts of the Dublin Core metadata element set. This tool allows uploading datasets which are in document format, such as spreadsheet, to a content management tool. From there they automatically become parsed, validated, and entered into an database connected to an embedded DiGIR provider.

This tool is based on Zope, Python, and MySQL. It is suitable if you do not have knowledge of databases and want to maintain your data in document formats, or want to enable individual scientists to directly manage their own data on a shared web server.

BioCASE - BioCASE wrapper

This software and package has been developed by the BioCASE project, and can be downloaded from http://www.biocase.org/provider/. BioCASE is particularly suited for European nodes because of the support available to them. Also, if the basic Darwin Core schema feels too restrictive, the rich ABCD schema supported by BioCASE will certainly cover the needs.