[GeoJSON] GeoJSON Digest, Vol 64, Issue 1

[Karl Grossner]

Sean (and list),

Love the 'little...for a while' reference :^)

I can see why extending the core to include time would be a stretch right now, particularly since it can probably be managed pretty well with LD and "properties" -- it's then an application level task to interpret a "timestamp" or "timespans" property. 

The idea of co-equal spatial and temporal extents in a single standard is really appealing to my inner ontologist, but any pragmatic means for modeling 'Iron Age Britain' and "Neolithic Levant' as GeoJSON (or GeoJSON-LD) features will do, and that seems within sight. I do agree that attempting fuzzy spatial extents is a similar 'core-or-not' issue.

I will stay tuned and have some sort of working Topotime/LD example to show soon -- by mid-May 'for sure.'

I also agree that CIDOC doesn't relate technically at this point but thought it worth noting that they are 'in the space' actively looking to model space-time. The seemingly increasing traction of CIDOC in some fields makes what they do at least tangentially relevant to me -- always looking for conceptual common ground.

cheers, kg


----- Original Message -----

> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: Time and GeoJSON, redux (Sean Gillies)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> Dear Karl,
> 
> I worked on a little historical gazetteer project for a while and continue
> to be very interested in time. While I'm not in favor of making time part
> of the GeoJSON core, I think it would be a cool application for GeoJSON-LD.
> 
> I don't agree that CIDOC-CRM or Topotime white papers are good starting
> points for this discussion. Rather, I think the right starting points are:
> 
>   1. The frequently asked question "how do I represent time series and/or
> GPX data in GeoJSON?"
>   2. How can we extend GeoJSON so that "story map" applications (such as
> http://storymap.knightlab.com/) are simple to develop and so that this kind
> of data can benefit from the ecosystem around GeoJSON (Leaflet, GitHub
> support, etc.
> 
> Fuzzy dates and historical calender system bugs complicate the latter,
> certainly, and I feel that GeoJSON should avoid fuzzy dates as it avoids
> fuzzy locations. Also, the choice of a standard temporal reference system
> will be interesting.
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 3:13 PM, Karl Grossner <karlg at stanford.edu> wrote:
> 
> > At least three efforts at developing standard representations of
> > explicitly temporal objects have begun and are in an early stage of
> > development: Topotime [1], the CRMgeo extension to CIDOC-CRM [2], and the
> > nascent PeriodO [3]. All of these view temporal objects as inherently
> > spatial and vice-versa. Gazetteer-related projects including Pelagios 3
> > [4], which is developing an "index of toponyms attested," will have some
> > standardized form of representing attested temporal dimensions of a toponym
> > and/or its referrent feature.
> >
> > GeoJSON is an important standard for representing geographic features, but
> > the specification does not address temporality explicitly. My view is that
> > it should, going forward. At present, temporal attributes of a feature can
> > be added as a property, but isn't the temporal extent of a feature co-equal
> > as a descriptor with its spatial extent? Software can be written (and is)
> > to parse values from ad hoc "properties" : { ... }, but will it be useful
> > to elevate temporal description to the level of "geometry" in the standard?
> >
> > As a co-developer of Topotime, engaged in collaborative discussions with
> > some of the other projects mentioned here, I'd like to start a discussion
> > here of how such spatial-temporal representations can or should relate to
> > GeoJSON, and the emerging GeoJSON-LD. I've written a few further thoughts
> > about it on a blog post [5].
> >
> > Thoughts?
> >
> > [1] http://dh.stanford.edu/topotime
> > [2] http://www.cidoc-crm.org/docs/Technical%20Report435-CRMgeo.pdf
> > [3] http://caa2014.sciencesconf.org/browse/author?authorid=233410
> > [4] http://pelagios-project.blogspot.com/
> > [5]
> > http://kgeographer.com/wp/joining-space-and-time-in-geographic-features/
> >
> > +++++
> > Karl Grossner
> > karlg at stanford.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > GeoJSON at lists.geojson.org
> > http://lists.geojson.org/listinfo.cgi/geojson-geojson.org
> >
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Sean Gillies
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> End of GeoJSON Digest, Vol 64, Issue 1
> **************************************
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