Capability Map
What capabilities data catalogs have, which any catalog needs, which only its type and task need, and where they live in platforms.
Metadata Export: DCAT, schema.org and Other Formats
Why a catalog should serve dataset descriptions in standard formats, how DCAT differs from schema.org, and how to check that an export not only responds but can actually be read.
Metadata Completeness and Depth
Which dataset description fields everyone needs and which only some sectors need, how custom fields and data dictionaries work in platforms, and how to check that a description is filled in for real, not just to tick a box.
APIs and Bulk Download
How a program reads a catalog (search, a full metadata dump, access to the data itself and change notifications); when each is needed, how platforms do it and how to check a live portal.
Built-in Data Storage
Whether to store files in the catalog or only link to them, how not to lose a file or swap it after publication, when a database table with an API is needed, and how storage works in CKAN, Dataverse, InvenioRDM, DSpace, cloud services and without a portal.
Persistent Identifiers, DOIs and Versions
Why a dataset needs a permanent address and a DOI, what kinds of identifiers exist and what they cost, how a version differs from an update, how platforms do it, and how to check that a link will open the same dataset years later.
Citation Export
How a catalog helps people cite a dataset: what a citation consists of, how to show it to a person and serve it to a program, how to cite changing data, and how platforms do it.
Access Control, Roles and Publishing Workflow
Who publishes and who reviews, how roles, drafts and moderation work, how to open a description without opening the file, who can create an account, and how CKAN, Dataverse, InvenioRDM, DSpace, NADA, GeoNetwork, cloud services and publishing without a portal handle it.
Deployment Speed and Maintenance
How long it takes to launch a catalog and how much effort it takes to keep it alive for years.
Other Capabilities
Search, preview, multiple languages, harvesting other catalogs, usage statistics and feedback: when each is needed and where it lives in a platform.