Description of the tool
The Data Vocabularies Tool is a browser-based application for managing and publishing data vocabularies. It contains data component libraries, i.e. data specifications for harmonizing information used jointly by different actors. The Data Vocabularies Tool can also be used for managing API or content descriptions of various data resources.
The Data Vocabularies Tool was released in January 2018. Further development is continuous and carried out in cooperation with registered users of the tool.
Purpose of the tool
The Data Vocabularies Tool is intended for
- information officers in an organisation
- data architects and modelers
- anyone searching for information in the data repositories of public administration
- administrators of registries and data repositories who wish to make their data machine-readable
- system vendors building new systems that use data and data models from the information systems and applications of public administration.
The Data Vocabularies Tool is used for
- data modelling that aims at semantic interoperability necessary for modern digital services
- describing information contents in a such way that the meaning of the information can be defined using terminologies and transmitted in a machine-readable format, using permanent identifiers
- creating so-called application profiles, i.e. specific structures of defined information that describe the contents of an information system; application profiles are used in describing API’s, for example.
- creating and managing information content as open linked data.
The intended benefits of the Tool
- Data vocabularies facilitate the semantic interoperability of information in a formal manner.
- Information contents are readable by both humans and machines.
- Information contents can be freely browsed and used in accordance with terms of the usage agreement.
- Facilitates collaborative data modelling work between several actors.
- Every actor can in their own work utilize previously created and harmonized information contents.
- Facilitates linking between information contents and subsequently the linking of information to international or other (preferably official) standards the actors wish to use.