Re: [dxwg] question > is a software solution a dcat:Dataset? (#1221)

> Can a software solution be considered as a dcat:Dataset?

I guess it depends on the definition of "data" used.

As mentioned earlier by @aidig , according to [DCMI Metadata Terms](https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/dublin-core/dcmi-terms/) and [DataCite Metadata Schema 4.3](https://schema.datacite.org/meta/kernel-4.3/), software ("A computer program in source or compiled form.") is not considered to be a dataset ("Data encoded in a defined structure."):

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/11427611/76295604-34a43200-62b5-11ea-996c-d4a3e56f5f56.png)

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/11427611/76295769-792fcd80-62b5-11ea-9d07-524cdec3df6a.png)

I would like to add that according to the [Information Artifact Ontology](http://www.obofoundry.org/ontology/iao.html), software is not considered to be a dataset either.

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/11427611/76296932-471f6b00-62b7-11ea-85eb-912ec94f1c3d.png)

Some definitions are listed below.

In short, the interesting point is here that data items are defined as "intended to be truthful statements about something", so it is more narrow then just any resource.

If DCAT is supposed to be used for describing "anything", than the meaning of dcat:Dataset seems to become as broad as as the meaning of what others would call an "information resource", defined as:

- asset, record, document, or item in physical or digital form that contributes to human knowledge [ISO 5127:2017]
any collection of concepts expressed in a form that can be communicated to others [Hay]
a piece of information, such an employee record, a customer list, or a financial report, that is valuable to a company or organization" [CBED]

[CBED] Cambridge University Press: information resource. Cambridge Business English Dictionary (2011), https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/information-resource
[Hay] Hay, David C.: Chapter 10: Documents and other Information Resources. In: Enterprise Model Patterns: Describing the World (UML version) (2010)
[ISO 5127:2017] ISO/TC 46: ISO 5127:2017 Information and documentation — Foundation and vocabulary. International Standard (2017), https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:5127:ed-2:v1:en


<dl>
    <dt>information content entity</dt>
    <dd>A generically dependent continuant that is about some thing.</dd>

<dt>data item</dt>
   <dd>a data item is an information content entity that is intended to be a truthful statement about something (modulo, e.g., measurement precision or other systematic errors) and is constructed/acquired by a method which reliably tends to produce (approximately) truthful statements.</dd>

   <dt>data set</dt>
   <dd>A data item that is an aggregate of other data items of the same type that have something in common. Averages and distributions can be determined for data sets.</dd>

   <dt>directive information entity</dt>
   <dd>An information content entity whose concretizations indicate to their bearer how to realize them in a process.</dd>

<dt>plan specification</dt>
<dd>A directive information entity with action specifications and objective specifications as parts that, when concretized, is realized in a process in which the bearer tries to achieve the objectives by taking the actions specified.</dd>

<dt>software</dt>
<dd>Software is a plan specification composed of a series of instructions that can be interpreted by or directly executed by a processing unit.</dd>
</dl>





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Received on Tuesday, 10 March 2020 09:46:07 UTC