DDI users across the world face the problem of producing DDI Codebook compliant descriptions of datasets in the form of XML-files. Errors in the structure of the file are common if the validation of the file is done only by a human inspector. Therefore, many kinds of DDI/XML-validators have been developed to ensure data repositories can produce valid DDI descriptions that follow DDI Codebook structure

As a data archive, we too have faced the problem of producing compliant DDI descriptions. Therefore, we began developing our own DDI/XML-validator to solve the problem, and at the same, ease the workload of our employees that process the data. The validator that we developed is integrated into our operational database platform, which guides and aids us in our daily workflow.

The reason why we chose to develop our own validator instead of utilizing existing solutions, was because we wanted to have a tailor-made solution that fits our platform flawlessly. Our validator consists of a back-end micro-service and a user interface, which checks if the file is well-formed as well as follows DDI's and FSD's specifications.

In our presentation we'll discuss the background information related to DDI/XML validation and showcase our newly built software.