XML draft format for warnings and advisories in Japan 9 Dec Yuichi YAMAKOSHI Planning Division, JMA
1 Background - Latest activities and information systems in Japan Improvement of services Earthquake Early Warning System Very detailed warnings for individual municipalities Rapid progress in information and communications technology Roles of various media and the use of their characteristics
2 JMA’s ongoing project to develop XML format for warnings and advisories Project goals Format conversion: from various forms of conventional text to a unified and comprehensive format Uniform format: for information on various natural disasters from observations to forecasts Flexible format: computer-processable form allowing the addition of new elements for future services Availability to users: a generally accepted system is cost-effective in the long run Project collaborators Technical support from the XML Consortium on XML standardization Coordination with governmental organizations and the mass media
3 Already-operational CAP: Is CAP applicable to JMA’s project? Comparison of JMA’s project and CAP Purpose: Distribution of disaster prevention information Target: All natural hazards (other than human-induced accidents) Content: User requirements for information; compartmentalization and quantification possible by JMA with CAP The essence of JMA’s warnings is expressible with CAP; torrential rain, flooding, storm surges, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions Very detailed observations and forecasts cannot be expressed with CAP; quantitative estimates and time-sequential values
4 Comparison of JMA’s project and CAP All Hazards CAP JMA’s project detail quantitative estimates time-sequential values public safety law enforcement natural hazards such as severe weather, earthquakes, and tsunami
5 About JMA’s XML format for warnings and advisories - Part I Characteristics and key points of JMA’s XML format A data dictionary derived by analysis and restructuring of conventional information elements Automatic development of an XML schema from the data dictionary Structure of JMA’s XML format Three elements: control part, head part (similar to CAP) and body part (quantitative expression part for each area of meteorology, seismology, volcanology) Reusable basic elements in every part: atmospheric temperature, pressure, magnitude, etc. Extensibility; allows new elements to be added in the future.XSD.XLS data dic.XML schema <Control> -Title -Datetime - … <Head> -Headline -TargetArea - … <Body> *meteorology *seismology *volcanology Basic elements,, … Ref.
6 About JMA’s XML format for warnings and advisories - Part II Issues discussed in development Data type for physical values in basic elements: float type (not string type) How can invalid values and missing data be described in XML? Management of XML schema: name spacing and version number How can forward and backward compatibility between schema and instance be maintained? Applications of JMA’s XML format Computer-processable structure: Various values can be stored from plain text to code values, i.e., binary data Processable with user applications e.g., Prefectures: outlook for the entire area Municipalities: detailed analysis in individual areas.XSD[jmx1].XML(v.1.0).XML(v.2.0).XSD[jmx2].XML(v.1.2) ??.XSD <element name=“Pressure” float type=“float”>.XML /.XML Detail
7 In the future Consider specific applications for CAP in Japan Easy creation of XML code in CAP format from JMA’s data dictionary Data dictionary will be a big asset to JMA’s introduction of XML Thank you Merci
8 気象庁 Japan Meteorological Agency