v1.1.2

Updates in v1.1.2

The File Level Metadata reporting format was updated in August of 2025 to address feedback from adopters. The changes made in v1.1.2 focused on clarifying usage instructions for the fields header_rows and column_or_row_name_position in the File Level Metadata and the field missing_value_code in the Data Dictionary. No changes were made to the templates directly, therefore, these changes are backwards compatible and parsable by the ESS-DIVE Fusion Database.

Issues addressed in pull request #44 were led and implemented by @dylanporyan. Revisions were based on recommendations from Brieanne Forbes (@brieanne-forbes), Amy Goldman (@AEGoldman), and Bibi Powers-McCormack (PNNL) captured in #43.

• Provide usage examples for header_rows and column_or_row_name_position fields in the File Level Metadata quick guide and README: example 1, example 2, example 3
• Clarify the header_rows field definition (File Level Metadata) to avoid misinterpretation.
• Provide clarity on the usage for missing_value_code field (Data Dictionary), including that the field is to be used to specify a single missing value code.

v1.1.1

Updates in v1.1.1

In March 2025, a patch version of the File Level Metadata reporting format was made to improve the overall experience with the associated reporting format documentation. The following pull request was incorporated into the v1.1.1 version release:

• Remove .DS_Store file and add to .gitignore by @bpbond in #40

v1.1.0

Updates in v1.1.0

The File-level Metadata reporting format was updated in April of 2024 to address usability challenges and feedback from early adopters. All templates and instructions have been updated accordingly. These changes are backwards compatible and parsable by the ESS-DIVE Fusion Database. The revisions are as follows:

• Removing excess optional fields
  • In an effort to streamline the file-level metadata file, we have removed the following optional fields from the documentation: UTC offset, Contact, Date Start / Date End, Coordinates, Latitude / Longitude
  • The optional field missing value codes, which can be used to declare the codes representing missing values, has been added to the data dictionary file so that it can be used at the variable level.
• Adding variables to allow for better handling of header rows that do not contain variable information
  • The optional variables header rows and column or row name position can be used to provide the number of rows that occur either before or after variable names. Including these variables is important to increase the parsability of files with additional metadata rows that precede data entries. For more instruction on how to use these variables, please refer to our updated File-level metadata reporting format instructions.
• Adding standard reporting format keywords to be used in the standard field
  • The optional standard keyword in the file-level metadata file can be used to declare a standard or format that a file follows. If a file uses an ESS-DIVE reporting format, we now recommend using the corresponding FLMD standard name.
• Modifying variable naming convention to snake case
  • The original FLMD field names used both underscores and capitalizations and did not follow a specific naming convention. In v1.1.0, we have updated the formatting of field names to follow snake case guidelines, for example File_Name -> file_name; Column_or_Row_Name -> column_or_row_name. No spelling or underscore placement has been revised. Our goal is to increase consistency and harmonize across the reporting formats. While templates and instructions have been updated to reflect this convention change, the original capitalization will still be accepted as long as spelling and use of underscores is consistent.

v1.0.0

This is the initial release of the ESS-DIVE file-level metadata reporting format

About the reporting format

File-level metadata provides granular information at the data file level to enable comparison of data files within a data set and the ability to search for and locate files across the data collection. The recommended file-level metadata (FLMD) schema will describe the contents, scope, and structure of the data file within the ESS-DIVE repository. This metadata is fully consistent with and augments the metadata collected to describe each data set.