And downloadable in a compact form (e.g. ZIP, 7z).
Should be suitable for its nominal purposes of research and reporting by
Reporters
Data Analysts
Citizen Scientists
Regulators
Should be released
In a frequent and timely manner.
With “delta” datasets available, with “delta” being differences between the current and previous releases.
The “delta” datasets should contain the following machine-readable “images”:
“Previous” image.
“Current” image.
“Changed” image with only the values that are different being reported.
Should NOT reside:
Behind a pay-wall.
Behind a registration-wall.
Should be accessible:
Interactively.
ReST-fully via an API.
Should be curated in a manner consistent with:
The norms of professional, responsible data-warehousing.
For example, the elimination of extraneous TAB, LINEFEED, or DIACRITIC characters that should NOT appear within a column.
The resolution of disparate geographical projections (e.g. NAD27, NAD83) into a unified geographical projection (WGS84) suitable for mapping via geographic information systems or platforms such as Google Maps (WGS84).
The needs of others to reliably export the data to alternative formats (e.g. CSV, XML, JSON).
