Data Processes
This section of the Additional Information tab provides ways of describing how both machines and humans interact with your data.
Overview
This section stores metadata regarding human (i.e. user interfaces) and machine-readable access points for your resource. While human-accessible entry points provide direct links to your resource's key data processes such as search, browse, and download, machine-accessible endpoints can be used to identify locations from which tools can programmatically access your data (e.g. APIs, OAI-PMH, or SPARQL endpoints). Although not all fields are required, you should always provide
a name,
a base URL,
the access method, and
the type of the data process.
The following sections outline each of the fields within this section and how they should be used.
URL
The URL for this process. For user interfaces, this would be the link to the process being described (e.g. search page). For other access methods, this would be the base URL used to create the API or other machine-actionable queries.
Name
A free-text label for the data process being performed. For user interfaces, example processes would be links to search pages, advanced search, browsing of data, data download, and data submission. For other access methods, it might be the name of the API or other machine-accessible endpoint.
Type
Does this process only read the resource, or does it modify it? Options are: read, write, or read and write.
Example URL
This field is generally only applicable to access methods other than user interfaces (i.e. programmatic access methods). You may provide a URL to an example of the endpoint, e.g. a particular working API query.
Access Method
For all human interactions, please select User Interface. Otherwise, chose the appropriate machine-accessible access method, or "Other machine-accessible method" if your method is not available in the list.
Documentation URL
A link to documentation that describes how to use the data process, e.g. a search documentation page if you are describing a search page.
Examples
Adding an API endpoint
Below is how the Dryad API is viewed in the FAIRsharing Dryad record.
This is created by adding a new "data process and condition" item within the Additional Information tab in the FAIRsharing record. This is the edit form for that same item:
Adding a User Interface item
Below is an example user interface section taken from our Dryad record. It is the data submission link, which is a "write" process type and which has specific documentation to describe the submission process.
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