MEDFORD in a Box: Improvements and Future Directions for a Metadata Description Language

TL;DR

This paper introduces MEDFORD-in-a-Box (MIAB), a documentation ecosystem that makes MEDFORD metadata language easier for non-programmers by pairing an updated parser with expanded validation and BagIt export capabilities, plus a VS Code extension to streamline metadata creation. It expands MEDFORD with improved interoperability, including external references, unique object naming, cross-object connectivity, and a redesigned macro system, all underpinned by a decoupled architecture using the Language Server Protocol. Key contributions include token-type validations, robust BagIt packaging with data-quality checks, external import mechanisms, and EXIF-based metadata utilities, which collectively promote correct, consistent, and reusable metadata to enhance reproducibility. The approach aims to boost adoption across domains beyond coral reef research by providing instructional materials, import plugins, and broader tooling, ultimately enabling FAIR data practices with reduced manual transcription and better provenance tracking.

Abstract

Scientific research metadata is vital to ensure the validity, reusability, and cost-effectiveness of research efforts. The MEDFORD metadata language was previously introduced to simplify the process of writing and maintaining metadata for non-programmers. However, barriers to entry and usability remain, including limited automatic validation, difficulty of data transport, and user unfamiliarity with text file editing. To address these issues, we introduce MEDFORD-in-a-Box (MIAB), a documentation ecosystem to facilitate researcher adoption and earlier metadata capture. MIAB contains many improvements, including an updated MEDFORD parser with expanded validation routines and BagIt export capability. MIAB also includes an improved VS Code extension that supports these changes through a visual IDE. By simplifying metadata generation, this new tool supports the creation of correct, consistent, and reusable metadata, ultimately improving research reproducibility.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Example of defining and using a macro in v1.0 of the MEDFORD Language. There are two separate syntaxes for using a macro, one of which allows for additional text directly before or after the macro name, as the curly braces make the name of the macro clear.
• Figure 2: Example of macros being used to replace repetitive portions of data. Here, macros are being used to store consistent portions of filenames and file paths. Note how every macro use in this example is surrounded by curly braces; this deconvolutes the name of the macro from the characters after it, as otherwise any parser will have no means to identify the macro name CoralPhotoDir from the string '@CoralPhotoDir01'@CoralPhoto.
• Figure 3: Example of the overlap between macro definition and macro usages. Since MEDFORD payloads can extend multiple lines, the researchers placed their '@Institute macro usages on new lines, much as an actual institutional address would be written. However, this creates lines that begin with the macro header characters '@ -- therefore, creating macro definition lines. The parser cannot distinguish between these cases.
• Figure 4: Example photograph alongside its EXIF metadata.