[webservices] A question of location ID, how to represent empty IDs in XML?

[Joachim Saul]

Chad Trabant wrote on 31.07.2014 07:42:
> On Jul 28, 2014, at 9:03 AM, Philip Crotwell <crotwell at seis.sc.edu> wrote:
>> On Mon, Jul 28, 2014 at 10:18 AM, Joachim Saul <saul at gfz-potsdam.de> wrote:
>>> The most important consistency is with the SEED standard.
>>
>> I would argue that consistency for end users is the only thing that
>> matters. Consistency with the SEED spec may be a means to that end,
>> but if the end users do not perceive it as being consistent, it isn't
>> consistent.
>>
>> To me, that means we need to look at the bigger picture. Ideally we
>> would have location ids that could be represented by exactly the same
>> characters in:
>>    stationXML
>>    miniseed
>>    URLS
>>    client displays
>>    databases
>>   and even email
>> in a way that is explicit, consistent and natural for the end user.
>
> I completely agree that this should be our ultimate goal.  The idea of making this change in XML is to set us on just such a path.
>
> Here are some others I would add to the list:
>
>    use in command lines
>    use in other data formats

That's a pretty ambitious list considering...

Chad Trabant wrote on 31.07.2014 06:57:
> There are many more clients than there are servers, many clients written by users and out of our direct control.  Requiring every client to know some post-parsing processing rules is a terrible idea, [...]

We are still talking here about a metadata format, aren't we? And you want to prescribe how users shall display empty location codes in GUI displays? You must be kidding...

The issue is *not* about other data formats. It is up to every developer to save empty location codes in whatever way they like in their formats, databases, bulletins etc. That is absolutely no problem and hence doesn't require a solution.

Here the issue is about representing data in XML. Since we have a well accepted and widely implemented channel naming standard *already*, and since users are working with StationXML *already*, what we need *now* is a clarification about the proper representation of *current* channel naming in StationXML.

Joachim