OGC seeks public comment on KML 2.3 standard

19 December 2014 – The membership of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) seeks public comment on the candidate OGC KML 2.3 Standard.

KML is an XML grammar used to encode representations of places and objects for display in an earth browser, such as a 3D virtual globe, 2D web browser application, or 2D mobile application. KML can be used to accomplish various map and Earth image functions, such as: annotate places, specify icons and labels to identify geographic locations, create different camera positions to define unique views for KML features, define image overlays to attach to map views, and define the location and orientation of textured 3D objects.

The main KML enhancements provided in version 2.3 are:

1. Addition of a new feature, KML Tour, which enables a user to specify aspects of a controlled virtual flight through a series of geographic locations, including speed, mode of flight (smooth or bounce), sound tracks and how KML features are updated throughout the tour.
2. Addition of new geometries: Track and MultiTrack. A KML Track can capture and display the path and other aspects of  a moving object over a specified period of time.
3. Enhancements to KML’s Extension Mechanism, allowing for the direct use of XML content from third-party schemas. KML 2.3 is now based on XML Schema 1.1 enabling authors of KML Application Profile extensions to experimentally add foreign element and attribute content interleaved among existing KML elements.

The documents for the candidate OGC KML 2.3 Standard are available for review and comment at ( http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/requests/128 ). Comments are due by 18 January, 2015.

The OGC is an international consortium of more than 500 companies, government agencies, research organizations, and universities participating in a consensus process to develop publicly available geospatial standards. OGC Standards support interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless and location-based services, and mainstream IT. OGC Standards empower technology developers to make geospatial information and services accessible and useful with any application that needs to be geospatially enabled. Visit the OGC website athttp://www.opengeospatial.org.