The IC-ENC Validation team have had many years of experience using the validation software tools, which report potential issues with ENC files in the form of error messages.
Due to the complexity of the validation rules, the validation tools often report errors erroneously or in an ambiguous manner. The validation tools are also subject to routine changes, as a result of updates to the S-58 standard, which means that the ‘ground rules’ never remain fixed for very long.
As a way of standardising the validation process, IC-ENC has created a Knowledgebase which provides a database containing detailed information on thousands of error messages generated by the various validation software tools and ECDIS systems used during the validation process. This information includes explanations and examples of each error message encountered, whilst providing the significance of each error and actions to be taken. In addition, each error has a classification which defines the IC- ENC policy, i.e. whether the ENC needs to be corrected or not.
The Knowledgebase is updated regularly as new error messages are encountered and validation tools are updated.
The database is available for use by the IC-ENC Validation team and all IC-ENC members via the IC-ENC Members Area.
Changes can be raised by Members using this form which is available to download from the IC-ENC Members Area.
ENC Conversion Knowledgebase
As we start to move towards the S-100 era, we have built our Conversion Readiness Service to support Members with their transition from S-57 to S-101. As part of this service, we have created an ENC Conversion Knowledgebase to help Members navigate the S-57 to S-101 conversion process.
The ENC Conversion Knowledgebase contains a number of conversion log messages which have been identified during S-57 to S-101 conversion. The database provides detailed information for each conversion log message, such as the software version it was identified in, an example, explanation, recommended action and reference back to IHO documentation, particularly S-65 Annex B (S-57 to S-101 conversion guidance). Currently, the database contains conversion log messages from CARIS and ESRI production software, but we plan to include conversion log messages from other software tools in due course.
In preparation for the start of S-100 production, we have started to develop an S-100 Knowledgebase.
Currently, this database contains the S-1XX ingest and registration checks which are performed by the Data Management Database (DMD) workflow tool when S-1XX data is sent to IC-ENC. These include checks against the S-101, S-102, S-104 and S-111 Product Specifications which validate the CATALOG.XML metadata file included in each S-100 exchange set.
Once the S-100 Validation Checks (S-158 standard) are published and integrated into S-100 validation software tools, this database will be expanded to include the validation software error messages.
