1 (edited by SteveGoddard 06-09-2012 13:01:45)

Topic: Making Sense of the Data

Hi All,
Making slow progress on pulling data from NBN. I am looking to combine this data with our in-house data for reports that we generate for local authorities and consultants.

My focus is on getting all data for a given point or polygon. I am currently using just an access key and no username/password.

The problem I have is the sheer quantity of data returned - much of it seems to be at too low a resolution to be meaningful / useful.

How have you all addressed this issue?

I really need to run more filters in the initial query but I don't seem to have that functionality? To even get my query to work (without maxing out the available memory in PHP) I have had to put a very limited date filter in and no buffer on my point. Is there anyway to exclude data with < 4 figure gridrefs? Would getting better access to all the various surveys help?

Any and all advice gratefully recieved!

Thanks,
Steve

=====================================================
Steve Goddard - IT Officer
Biodiversity Information Service for Powys & Brecon Beacons National Park
T: 01874 610881 - E: steve[at]b-i-s.org - W: www.b-i-s.org

2

Re: Making Sense of the Data

Hi Steve,

I had a bit of a play with Web Services in PHP some time ago, but chucked it on the back-burner after i struggled to get anything to work consistently (my lack of knowledge not the services)!

In any case you should be able to filter resolution but it may be dependent on the actual web service you are trying to call, filtering by record resolution is tucked away in the Geographic filtering documentation here.

However, i would also certainly recommend getting full res access where available as i often struggled with either very few records or too many!

Let us know how you get on, i think it's something i'd like to pick back up when there's time..

Natural History & Biodiversity Data Enthusiast

3 (edited by SteveGoddard 13-09-2012 10:54:50)

Re: Making Sense of the Data

Thanks BDeed - the res filter is very useful and will help a lot.

Does anyone know if it is possible to exclude specific datasets? I can see how to include specific ones but not an exclude option...

Thanks again,
Steve

=====================================================
Steve Goddard - IT Officer
Biodiversity Information Service for Powys & Brecon Beacons National Park
T: 01874 610881 - E: steve[at]b-i-s.org - W: www.b-i-s.org

4

Re: Making Sense of the Data

Hi Steve,

I don't think it is currently possible to exclude specific datasets, with so many i think it could be a valuable addition. At MBB we do what i think you are trying to achieve which is to pull down NBN data to combine with our own in the production of a report (site/search area specific).

In order to remove our own data to avoid duplication Rich has written some software that problematically removes anything of ours that comes back, you may wish to contact him for more in-depth detail!

Regards,

Ben

Natural History & Biodiversity Data Enthusiast

5

Re: Making Sense of the Data

Thanks Ben glad it's not just me.

It's a real pain not to be able to do this. I really want to minimise the reply from the SOAP services rather then parse it afterwards.

I've stopped development work on this for the moment - waiting for the big update in December before I pick it up again. Let's hope this feature just might be included!

Thanks again,
Steve

=====================================================
Steve Goddard - IT Officer
Biodiversity Information Service for Powys & Brecon Beacons National Park
T: 01874 610881 - E: steve[at]b-i-s.org - W: www.b-i-s.org