John Gøtze

FORM XML

I am playing with FORM, the Danish Government Business Reference Model, which is an overview of what government does, which services it provides, and which legislation that regulates these services. FORM is available in a set of XML documents and schemas. There is currently only a Danish version of FORM.

The following are my own notes about FORM data details. I invite FORM experts to validate the information here.

Introducing the FORM IDs

The tag <Nummer> is both an #ID and a classification number. It increments in 5s (00, 05, 10,…) for some reason. The longer it gets, the more data it carries …

<Nummer>00</Nummer> designates a ServiceOmraade
<Nummer>00.05</Nummer> designates a HovedOmråde
<Nummer>00.05.05.SR</Nummer> designates a OpgaveOmraade
<Nummer>00.05.10.10.SR</Nummer> designates a Tjeneste

<StyringsNiveauNummer>SR</StyringsNiveauNummer> designates which of 3 types (SR, SK, UD) a record belongs to.

Introducing the FORM Data Model

The data structure in FORM follows this schema:

OpgaveKatalog
   - ServiceOmraade
      - StyringNiveau
      - HovedOmråde
         - OpgaveOmraade
            - Tjeneste

The reference model has a number (12) of areas, ServiceOmraade (Main Service Areas)

Each of these contains 3 StyringNiveau (Governance Level). Under these, there are a number (138 in total) of HovedOmråde which subdivides into several OpgaveOmraade (433 in total) that contains a number (1765 in total) of Tjeneste. Expressed in XML, FORM uses the following structure:

<FORM>
   <OpgaveKatalog>
      <ServiceOmraade>
        <Nummer>05</Nummer>
        ...
        <StyringNiveau>
        ...
        <HovedOmråde>
        <StyringsNiveauNummer>SR</StyringsNiveauNummer>
        ...
        <OpgaveOmraade>
        <Nummer>05.05.05.SR</Nummer>
        ...
        <Tjeneste>
        <Nummer>05.05.05.05.SR</Nummer>
        ...
        </Tjeneste>
         </OpgaveOmraade>
         </HovedOmråde>
         </StyringNiveau>
      </ServiceOmraade>
   ...
   </OpgaveKatalog>
</FORM>

A Tjeneste (A Service)

Let us look closer at a Tjeneste:

<Tjeneste>
   <Nummer>00.10.05.15.UD</Nummer> <-- the #ID for this Tjeneste (service) -->
   <Navn>European Committee for Standardization (CEN)</Navn>  <-- the name of the Tjeneste -->
   <StyringsNiveauNummer>UD</StyringsNiveauNummer> <-- so this is the UD type -->
   <StyringsNiveauKode>3</StyringsNiveauKode> <-- hmm, redundant information, I think; UD is always 3)
   <Tekst>The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) udvikler europæiske standarder og tekniske specifikationer for industri og forbrugere bortset fra elektriske standarder</Tekst> <-- "Description" -->
   <UID>b3f13531-9160-11de-b7df-0050c2490048</UID>  <-- some identifier, not sure where it comes from/is used -->
   <Redaktion> <-- editors -->
      <Oprettet>
         <Dato>RE090820</Dato> <-- that is a date! not used always -->
      </Oprettet>
      <VersionNummer>ok1.3</VersionNummer> <-- version number) -->
   </Redaktion>
   <Aktoer> <-- actors; -->
      <Ministerium> <-- type of agency - could also be "RigsFaellesskab","StyrelseOgDirektorat","AndenStatsligPart","Region","Kommune" -->
         <Myndighed>Økonomi- og Erhvervsministeriet</Myndighed> <-- agency -->
      </Ministerium>
   </Aktoer>
</Tjeneste>

Another service description follows. Note that this one includes <Retskilder> (legal info, “Lov” = Law):

<Tjeneste>
   <Nummer>40.15.05.05.UD</Nummer>
   <Navn>Udførelse af politiets kriminalpræventivt arbejde</Navn>
   <StyringsNiveauNummer>UD</StyringsNiveauNummer>
   <StyringsNiveauKode>3</StyringsNiveauKode>
   <Tekst>Fx formidling til uddannelses og fritidsorganisationer</Tekst>
   <UID>b3f13531-9160-11de-bd6b-0050c2490048</UID>
   <Redaktion>
      <VersionNummer>ok1.3</VersionNummer>
   </Redaktion>
   <Retskilder>
      <Lov>
         <Titel>Lov om politiets virksomhed</Titel>
         <URL>A20040044430</URL>
      </Lov>
   </Retskilder>
   <Aktoer>
      <Ministerium>
         <Myndighed>Justitsministeriet</Myndighed>
      </Ministerium>
   </Aktoer>
</Tjeneste>

The <URL>A20040044430</URL> tag is a reference to (the online version of) a specific piece of legislation, here the Law on Policing (or whatever, not formal English translation). In this case, the full URL reference is http://www.retsinformation.dk/_GETDOCI_/ACCN/A20040044430-REGL.