Directory Interchange Format (DIF)

Product of an Earth Science and Applications Data Systems Workshop (ESADS) held February 24-26, 1987 on catalog interoperability (CI). The workshop recommended that a '...first step towards data system interoperability, Catalog Interoperability (CI), the ability to find information about data held at other sites... ', be made. The DIF does not compete with other metadata standards. It is simply the 'container 'for the metadata elements that are maintained in the IDN database, where validation for mandatory fields, keywords, personnel, etc. takes place. The DIF is used to create directory entries which describe a group of data. A DIF consists of a collection of fields which detail specific information about the data. Eight fields are required in the DIF; the others expand upon and clarify the information. Some of the fields are text fields, others require the use of controlled keywords (sometimes known as 'valids '). The DIF allows users of data to understand the contents of a data set and contains those fields which are necessary for users to decide whether a particular data set would be useful for their needs. http://datadiscoverystudio.org/geoportal/rest/metadata/item/049b13aa89b444379d2bcd9be6d1064e/html