Definitions

Introduction

Purpose

Information services can be categorised based on the characteristics of the service itself. For example a service may:

• make meteorological information available,
• be intended for use in aerodrome operations,
• be due to be retired.

A service provider include the relevant service category information in the artefacts that describe services e.g.

• service descriptions,
• service definitions,
• service overviews.

Sharing this information

• helps service consumers discover services based on a filter of available services in a SWIM registry,
• supports the service consumer's decision on whether the service is suitable for use in a given context. 

Interoperability

In order to support interoperability, it is important that the service categories are understood by those who use them. This means that:

• each service category should be defined
• the definition should be shared.

This often happens by publishing a service categorisation scheme. The schemes form an essential part of the service eco-system within the interoperability architecture as they help to define the landscape of services.

Service categorisation schemes

Various service categorisation schemes have been published.

The service categorisation schemes generally contains

• the term
• the definition
• the reference that can be used (e.g. URN/URL)

It is possible that a category may contains sub-categories. e.g. 'Aerodrome Infrastructure' may be a sub-category of 'Base Infrastructure'.

They are available in different formats:

• HTML - an online reference
• SKOS - a file that can be downloaded and integrated into systems

How to use

The schemes can be used in the artefact that describe services.

The best practice is to:

• add as many categories as applicable
• use the URN/URL for the service category and to
• indicate the scheme used.