Data (such as the current location of trains on a network) which is being constantly updated, where a query needs to be against the latest version of the data.

Source: ODH

A use of public sector information usually by third persons for purposes other than initial purposes within the public tasks for which data were originally collected, produced, or disseminated. It is rare that data gathered for a particular purpose does not have other possible uses. Once gathered, for whatever reason, data can be re-used again and again, in ways that were never envisaged when it was collected, provided only that the data-holder makes it available under an open licence to enable such re-use.

A W3C recommendation that adds a set of attribute-level extensions to HTML, XHTML and various XML-based document types for embedding rich metadata within web documents.

A family of international standards for data interchange on the web. RDF is based on the idea of identifying things using web identifiers or HTTP URIs and describing resources in terms of simple properties and property values.

The original data, in machine-readable form, underlying any application, visualisation, published research or interpretation, etc. An expression that refers to data in its original state that has not been processed, aggregated or manipulated in any other way. It is also defined as ‘primary’.

Sources: ODH, EU OD

A type of question accepted by a database about the data it holds. A complex query may ask the database to select records according to some criteria, aggregate certain quantities across those records, etc. Many databases accept queries in the specialised language SQL or dialects of it. A web API allows an app to send queries to a database over the web.

Anyone who distributes and makes available data or other content. Data publishers include government departments and agencies, research establishments, NGOs, media organisations, commercial companies, individuals, etc.

Any undertaking active in the areas set out in point (b) of Article 1(1) of the OD Directive over which the public sector bodies may exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of their ownership of it, their financial participation therein, or the rules which govern it.

Data that is collected, produced, reproduced, processed, disseminated, or controlled by the public sector bodies in many areas of their activity while accomplishing their institutional tasks.  The work of government involves collecting huge amounts of data, much of which is not confidential (economic data, demographic data, spending data, crime data, transport data, etc).

Public sector body’ means the State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or associations formed by one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law.