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What is the EDCS...

The Environmental Data Coding Specification (EDCS) provides mechanisms to unambiguously specify objects used to model environmental concepts. The EDCS supports the encoding and communication of qualitative and quantitative information associated with physical environments, both real and virtual. The EDCS can be used in conjunction with any data model, data structure, or database to unambiguously define the type or characteristics of environmental objects. The EDCS contains the following nine dictionaries of environmental concepts:

• classifications: specify the type of environmental objects
• attributes: specify the state of environmental objects,
• attribute value characteristics: specify information concerning the values of attributes,
• attribute enumerants: specify the allowable values for the state of an enumerated attribute,
• units: specify quantitative measures of the state of some environmental objects,
• unit scales: allow a wide range of numerical values to be stated,
• unit equivalence classes: specify sets of units that are mutually comparable,
• organizational schemas: useful for locating classifications and attributes sharing a common context, and
• groups: into which concepts sharing a common context are collected.

For more information on EDCS, please visit the EDCS home page.