The document outlines the importance of OGC API standards for spatially enabling web APIs and emphasizes their role in enhancing interoperability of location-referenced information across various sectors. It describes a five-step process for API development and compliance, and highlights the broad community and innovation initiatives backed by the Open Geospatial Consortium. The document encourages organizations to adopt these standards to ensure that their data remains findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.

1. Spatially Enabling Web APIs
through OGC Standards
Dr. Gobe Hobona, PhD
Director of Product Management, Standards
Open Geospatial Consortium
#OGCAPI

2. What is OGC?
A hub for thought leadership, innovation, and standards for all
things related to location
Our Vision
Building the future of location with community
and technology for the good of society
Our Mission
Make location information Findable, Accessible,
Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR)
Our Approach
A proven collaborative and agile process combining consensus-based
standards, innovation project, and partnership building

3. Location information is everywhere

4. 5-Step Process to Spatially Enabling your API
1. Identify the type of location-referenced information that you would like to
publish or access
2. Identify the relevant OGC API Standard at ogcapi.ogc.org
3. Familiarize yourself with the requirements documented in the relevant OGC
API Standard
4. Use the OpenAPI definition document of the OGC API to help build your
implementation
5. Test your implementation for compliance to the relevant OGC API Standard

5. What is an OGC Standard?
• A document, established by consensus and approved by the OGC
Membership, that provides rules and guidelines, aimed at the optimum
degree of interoperability in a given context.
Photo taken March 2018

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7. ‘Why’ OGC API Standards?
• APIs are a very effective and popular enabler of rapid software development
• API variations without standardized elements can degrade interoperability
• Open Standards improve interoperability between independent
implementations
• OGC API Standards enhance geospatial interoperability between Web APIs

8. OGC API Development Principles
Spatially enable Web APIs in a consistent way
• Spatial Data on the Web Best Practices
• Leverages OpenAPI
• Focus on developer experience and usability
• Modular building blocks for access to spatial data that can be used in data
APIs
• Open development; Public GitHub, Early implementations,
In-depth validation

9. Approved and Candidate OGC API Standards

10. Certification as OGC Compliant
• Executable Test Suites
• OGC Compliance Badge
• Product Database
For more information
compliance@ogc.org

11. What to expect
… as an API Developer

12. ogcapi.ogc.org

13. Everything is on GitHub, including the discussions

14. All defined in OpenAPI

15. Overview of OGC API - Features
Resource Path
HTTP
method
Landing page / GET
Conformance declaration /conformance GET
Feature collections /collections GET
Feature collection /collections/{collectionId} GET
Features /collections/{collectionId}/items GET
Feature /collections/{collectionId}/items/{featureId} GET

16. Overview of OGC API - Processes
Resource Path
HTTP
method
Landing page / GET
Conformance declaration /conformance GET
Process list /processes GET
Process description /processes/{processID} GET
Process execution /processes/{processID}/execution POST
Job status info /jobs/{jobID} GET
Job results /jobs/{jobID}/results GET
Job list /jobs GET
Job status info /jobs/{jobID} DELETE

17. Overview of OGC API - Environmental Data Retrieval
Resource Path
HTTP
method
Landing page / GET
Conformance declaration /conformance GET
Description of the collections of
spatio-temporal data available from
this API. /collections GET
Identifies a collection of spatio-
temporal data with the unique
identifier {collectionId} /collections/{collectionId} GET
Identifies an Information Resource of
type {queryType} associated with
the {collectionId} collection. /collections/{collectionId}/{queryType} GET

18. Deployment as Building Blocks

19. Example Case Study: OGC API - Features
https://ogcapi.bgs.ac.uk
Publishing of geological data at the British Geological Survey

20. Example Case Study: OGC API - Processes
Analytical processing of RADARSAT satellite imagery
https://www.cubewerx.com/analytics

21. Example Case Study: OGC API – Environmental
Data Retrieval
Weather forecasting at the US National Weather Service

22. Innovation

23. Aviation
Geospatial
Data Cubes
COG & ZARR
CITE
Model Driven
Standards
Moving
Features
Geometries &
Features JSON
Attracting
Developers
Data Centric Security
Sensor Integration
Testbed-17
Topics

24. Upcoming Code Sprint
• 1st to 3rd March 2022 (Tentative Date): Joint OGC OSGeo ASF Code Sprint
Free registration, Free participation
Visit
ogcapi.ogc.org

25. What to expect
… as an end-user

26. Example Client Applications
25

27. 5-Step Process to Spatially Enabling your API
1. Identify the type of location-referenced information that you would like to
publish or access
2. Identify the relevant OGC API Standard at ogcapi.ogc.org
3. Familiarize yourself with the requirements documented in the relevant OGC
API Standard
4. Use the OpenAPI definition document of the OGC API to help build your
implementation
5. Test your implementation for compliance to the relevant OGC API Standard

28. Summary
#OGCAPI
• OGC API Standards are becoming a key requirement for Web APIs offering
location-referenced information
• Early impact has already been seen across government, private and academic
sectors
• Organizations should spatially enable their Web APIs through OGC API
Standards to ensure the data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and
Reusable (FAIR)

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Using OGC Standards
Copyright © 2021 Open Geospatial Consortium
Thank You
Community
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JULY
Australia
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Singapore
APRIL
Helsinki & North
MARCH
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DECEMBER
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OCTOBER
Jakarta
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India
MAY
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300k+ online community
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