SDTS

The purpose of the SDTS is to promote and facilitate the transfer

of digital spatial data between dissimilar computer systems, while

preserving information meaning and minimizing the need for information external to the

transfer. The SDTS provides a solution to the problem of spatial data transfer from the

conceptual level to the details of physical file encoding. Transfer of spatial data involves

modeling spatial data concepts, data structures, and logical and physical file structures.

To be useful, the data to be transferred must also be meaningful in terms of data content and

data quality. SDTS addresses all of these aspects for both vector and raster data structures.

The SDTS is a robust way of transferring earth-referenced spatial data between dissimilar

computer systems with the potential for no information loss. It is a transfer standard that

embraces the philosophy of self-contained transfers, i.e. spatial data, attribute, geo-

referencing, data quality report, data dictionary, and other supporting metadata all included

in the transfer.

Part 2 specifically addresses the need for common definitions of spatial features, in

particular both topographic and hydrographic. Annex A contains definitions for standard

Entity Type terms. Annex B contains definitions for standard Attribute terms. Annex C

contains cross-reference lists between Included Terms and Standard Terms.

See: http://mcmcweb.er.usgs.gov/sdts/

Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)