The mapping of elements such as Feature Types and Attributes of one conceptual schema (e.g. GML Application Schemas, Database Schemas or UML models) to another is a cornerstone of data harmonization. The HUMBOLDT Alignment Editor (hale製tudio) is a tool for defining and evaluating conceptual schema mappings. hale製tudio allows domain experts to create logically and semantically consistent mappings and to transform geodata based on these mappings. Furthermore, a major focus is put on the documentation of the schema transformation process and its impacts, e.g. in the form of lineage information attached to the resultant transformed data.
hale製tudio uses a high-level language for expressing the mappings. They can later be used by the Conceptual Schema Transformer processing component to execute a data transformation, e.g. from a non-harmonised data source to a INSPIRE-compliant data set.
To make this complex process more accessible to domain experts and to increase the quality of the transformations, hale製tudio allows working with sample geodata (instances) for visualization and validation.
The value that hale製tudio provides to data custodians, i.e. maintainers of geographic datasets, is manifold: