Meeting Notes 2004.05.25

Standard Naming Exercise

Minutes for 2004.05.25

We completed going through two columns of the Variable List spreadsheet, including filling out those columns for all the updated AOSN variables. The completed columns are Parameter (what's being measured) and Domain (in what medium it's being measured).

There were several parameterlessons and DomainLessons that derived from this effort. In the end, the attendees felt the two columns which resulted from our efforts were reasonably consistent, complete, and computable.

Interestingly, the results did not closely follow any other particular standard, although some standards (notably GCMD, SWEET) offered several terms or concepts that we borrowed.

After this process was completed, we discussed where this process could go next. Options included:

• standardizing another column

• • discussing the units column and standards, in particular

• standardizing the variable names themselves

• combination of the first two

• figuring out how to put this information to practical use

These options are discussed in more detail in the NextSteps page.

We quickly ran into some of the issuesandquestions we started out with at the beginning of the exercise. other points that came up as we considered the NextSteps were:

• Practical uses:

• • web form pick lists -- how do get this into a form that can be easily used by applications?

  • getting standards like GCMD and SWEET updated

• Consider reviewing units next time, or sometime soon.

• • many of our external standards include some handling of units (only Unidata's is solely units-oriented)

  • consider documenting standard practices (as opposed to standard SI units,e.g., decibars)

We agreed to meet again in two weeks minus 1 day, Monday June 7, at 8:30.