M5.18 SDD import/export module functional

To ensure the future compatibility of the platform with other initiatives in the world, it was decided to integrate the existing tools into the cybertaxonomy platform by using a unique already-existing public standard exchange format for descriptive data: the TDWG-SDD XML schema. This choice was made in accordance with the late efforts of several existing tools (DiversityDescriptions, Xper², Lucid, FRIDA) to allow interoperability with SDD.

To allow the CDM to communicate with other descriptive systems through the TDWG-SDD XML schema, import functionalities into the CDM java libraries were implemented.

The SDD import was developed in keeping with the other import functionalities in the CDM library 'cdmlib-io'. Activators for test examples, SDD file sources and CDM database destinations, were implemented in the 'app-import' library.

For the first version of the import, the following descriptive data can be retrieved from SDD and stored into a CDM database: metadata about the SDD file: how it was generated and when, dataset information: name, author, editor, date of modification, copyright, taxon names, descriptive system with the definition of characters: categorical, quantitative and text characters, taxa descriptions using the descriptive system: associated with a taxon if the description refers to a taxon name, publications and their association with descriptions, images references.

The import of the following elements will be implemented in the next version: character dependencies and groups, single access keys, specimen descriptions.

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