雖然資料量之累積和資料蒐集技術皆已有所提昇，地理資料之取得與應用仍然是開發地理資訊系統專案所耗費最高時間成本的一個環節。地理資料共享的概念是利用詮釋資料描述現存之地理資料，且透過網際網路進行流通，將可避免地理資料不必要的重覆建置。近年來空間資訊產業已逐漸朝向開放式環境的概念發展，傳統檔案式的詮釋資料架構在已無法滿足目前諸如目錄服務、資料倉儲與服務導向架構等應用需求。本研究以ISO19115標準之階層式詮釋資料架構對於地理資料提出資料集系列（Dataset Series）、資料集（Dataset）與圖徵（Feature）等三個層級的描述與解讀方式，將可改善詮釋資料生命週期（1）生產階段（2）管理階段與（3）供應階段之運作成效。
地理資料共享環境之供應者端、使用者端與地理資料端三方面之間的溝通是仰賴於詮釋資料做為媒介。供應者端必須在詮釋資料的生產與管理階段進行詮釋資料檔案之建置與維護，然而動輒上百項的詮釋資料項目已影響進行的意願。使用者端則是在詮釋資料之供應階段需要獲得資料描述資訊而進行地理資料之存取及後續應用，但目前的搜尋機制往往無法適切的提供詮釋資料內容。地理資料端在開放式的環境中將以GML格式對外流通，必須取得合適的圖徵層級詮釋資料內容，伴隨圖徵資料一併提供。基礎於本研究對於階層式架構各層級之間的繼承特性，再配合複製、擴充、聚合和覆寫等項目內容處理方式，本研究之成果可降低供應者端項目填寫的數量，提供使用者端資料存取過程中所需要的資訊，以及在階層式架構中剖析與解讀地理資料端圖徵資料所對應之詮釋資料。換言之，階層式架構在生產、管理及供應等階段能夠以檔案或物件的觀點進行詮釋資料之描述與剖析，本研究之規劃架構將可因應開放式地理資訊系統的資料流通環境之需求。

Although the technology for managing and collecting large amount of geographic data has steadily improved, the acquisition and application of geographic data owned by other organizations remain to be costly investment. By using metadata to describe existing data and distribute over internet, data sharing mechanism can effectively avoid unnecessary duplication. As spatial information technology moves towards open environment in recent years, innovated issues like catalogue services, data warehouse and service-oriented architecture have brought big challenges to the traditional metadata framework. By introducing the hierarchical metadata concept in the ISO19115 standard, namely, dataset series level, dataset level and feature level, we intend to investigate how the hierarchical framework can improve the operation of production phase, data management phase and data distribution phase during the life cycle of geographic metadata.
In internet environment, metadata serves as a communication media among data providers, users and geodata. Data providers are required to create and maintain metadata files in the production and management phase, but the tremendous creation loading of metadata often impedes the completion of metadata. Users rely on metadata to search and access geographic data, but users surely need a more efficient way for locating appropriate georesources. On the other hand, while distributed on the basis of features, all data should be associated with appropriate feature-level metadata and these two types of data should be provided together. Based on the inheritance characteristics of the hierarchical metadata framework and operations among different levels of metadata, including clone, extension, aggregation and overwriting, the proposed framework successfully reduces the work loading of metadata entry. Furthermore, the hierarchical metadata framework provides a more efficient way to acquire and parse necessary feature-level metadata during distribution process. Hierarchical metadata framework proves to be able to describe and process required metadata at the level of dataset and features during the production, management and distribution phase of metadata. In other words, hierarchical metadata framework takes geodata as “files” or “a set of geographic objects” to describe or parse the metadata content, and suit the Open GIS application envrionment. The proposed framework therefore can serve as a solid foundation to meet open and distributed GIS demands.

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