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<processing-meta> Processing Metadata

Optional container element, used to hold the processing metadata elements, which describe processing information descriptive of the XML-tagged document (document instance).

The element <processing-meta> provides a more complete in-the-XML description of the tag set associated with a document than can be understood by the article content elements alone. A <processing-meta> names (through attributes) the tag set, table model, and MathML options a document follows and (through elements) some of the modeling restrictions or extensions the document claims to follow.

Processing Metadata is not considered to be part of the content of an article, or part of the metadata for citing an article; it is metadata about how the XML is constructed — not about how the article is structured. This metadata is information at the “file level” and thus not part of <article-meta>, but inside the article as a peer to <front>, which is the article and journal metadata container in JATS.

New processing metadata container element (<processing-meta>) was added to the models of <article>, <sub-article>, and <response> as a child element, the peer of <front> and <front-stub>.
The elements inside <processing-meta> name tag set extensions (superset) and restrictions (subset, secondary schema, etc.) that the XML document claims to follow. More than one restriction or extension is allowed. The restrictions on a <sub-article> or <response> need not be the same as on the parent <article>.
The attributes on <processing-meta> describe the modeling choices made by this document in terms of tag set family, base tag set, table model, and math tagging.

<processing-meta> Content

This optional container element is used to hold the processing metadata elements, which describe processing information descriptive of the XML-tagged document (document instance). The <processing-meta> element contains the following elements:

<restricted-by> — Identification of one of the guidelines or other restrictions (such as a tighter subset schema) the document claims to be following. The content of <restricted-by> may be a name such as “jats4r” or “pmc”, or a URI, for example, the URL of a particular JATS4R recommendation. The element is repeatable so that multiple restrictions can be claimed.
<extended-by> — Identification of a JATS extension or superset that the document claims to be following. The content of <extended-by> may be a name, such as “taxpub”, or a URI. The element is repeatable so that more than one extension can be claimed.
<custom-meta-group> — To hold other processing metadata a JATS user might want to express in the XML file.

Tag Set Identification Attributes

Since the @dtd-version attribute has never provided a complete description of which version of the tag set controls a document, several attributes were added to the <processing-meta> element to describe the version choices more fully:

@tagset-family	Which of the JATS tag set families is the basis for this document’s tag set? (e.g., “jats” or “bits”)
@base-tagset	Which of the JATS standard tag sets is the basis for this document? (e.g., “publishing” or “archiving”)
@table-model	Which table model is used by the tag set for this document? (e.g., “xhtml” or “oasis”)
@mathml-version	Which version of MathML is used by the tag set for this document? (e.g., “3.0” or “2.0”)
@math-representation	A list of the (possibly many) ways mathematical expressions may be represented in this document (e.g., both MathML and TeX [“mathml tex”])

Which of the JATS tag set families is the basis for this document’s tag set? @tagset-family is an optional attribute; there is no default. The attribute has a set value list:

bits	BITS (Book Interchange Tag Suite)
jats	JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite)
sts	STS (Standards Tag Suite)

Which of the JATS standard tag sets is the basis for this document? @base-tagset is an optional attribute; there is no default. The attribute has a set value list:

archiving	Journal Archiving and Interchange Tag Set (Green)
publishing	Journal Publishing Tag Set (Blue)
authoring	Article Authoring Tag Set (Pumpkin)

Which table model is used by the tag set for this document? @table-model is an optional attribute; there is no default.

both	Both XHTML-inspired and OASIS CALS models are used
none	No table models are used
oasis	The OASIS XML Exchange (CALS) table model
xhtml	The XHTML-inspired table model

Which version of MathML is used by the tag set for this document? @mathml-version is an optional attribute; there is no default.

2.0	MathML 2.0 is used
3.0	MathML 3.0 is used

A list of the (possibly many) ways mathematical expressions may be represented in this document, for example, both MathML and TeX (“mathml tex”) or using MathML, SVG graphics, and narrative text (“mathml images plain-text”).

This attribute has an NMTOKENS value, meaning a space-separated list of values, so that a document can declare that their documents use both TeX and images, for example, or MathML, gif images, and TeX. Likely values include:

mathml   tex   latex   images   plain-text

Related Elements

A journal article (<article>) may be divided into several components:

<processing-meta> (the metadata that concerns the XML file rather than the contents of the document);
<front> (the metadata or header information, which contains both journal metadata [<journal-meta>] and article metadata [<article-meta>]);
<body> (the textual and graphical content of the article);
<back> (any ancillary information such as a glossary, reference list, or appendix);
<floats-group> (single container element some publishers and archives use to hold all floating elements such as figures and tables that are referenced in the article body or back matter); and
either a series of <response> elements or a series of <sub-article> elements. (A <response> is a commentary on the article itself, such as a summation by an editor, an answer to a letter-article, or words from the author responding to peer-review comments. Sub-articles are articles such as news pieces, abstracts, or committee reports that are completely contained within a main article.)

May be contained in

The following, in order:

<restricted-by> Restricted-by Model, zero or more
<extended-by> Extended-by Model, zero or more
<custom-meta-group> Custom Metadata Group, zero or more

<!ELEMENT  processing-meta
                        %processing-meta-model;                      >

(restricted-by*, extended-by*, custom-meta-group*)

<article  dtd-version="1.4"  xml:lang="mul"
  article-type="editorial" >
 <processing-meta lang-grouping="yes"
   tagset-family="jats"
   base-tagset="archiving"
   mathml-version="2.0"
   table-model="xhtml">...</processing-meta>
 <front>...
 <article-meta>...
  <content-language>fr</content-language>
  <content-language>en</content-language>...
 </article-meta>
 </front>
 <body>...</body>
 <back>...</back>
</article>

<article  dtd-version="1.4"  xml:lang="en"
  article-type="research-article"
  xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"
  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
  xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 >
 <processing-meta
   tagset-family="jats"
   base-tagset="archiving"
   mathml-version="3.0" 
   table-model="both">...</processing-meta>
 <front>...</front>
 <body>...</body>
 <back>...</back>
</article>

<article  dtd-version="1.4"  xml:lang="en"
  article-type="editorial"
  specific-use="migrated"
  xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"
  xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
  xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 >
 <processing-meta
   tagset-family="jats"
   base-tagset="archiving"
   mathml-version="2.0" table-model="oasis" >

  <custom-meta-group content-type="conversion"> 
   <custom-meta xlink:href="www.bigtrees-conversion.com">
    <meta-name>Conversion Vendor</meta-name>
    <meta-value>Big Trees Conversion, Inc.</meta-value>
   </custom-meta>
  
   <custom-meta>
    <meta-name>QA Contractor</meta-name>
    <meta-value>Find-and-Fix Ltd.</meta-value>
   </custom-meta>
  </custom-meta-group>
 
  <custom-meta-group content-type="legal-approval"> 
   <custom-meta>
    <meta-name>approver initials</meta-name>
    <meta-value>DAL</meta-value>
   </custom-meta>
  
   <custom-meta>
    <meta-name>Legal Signoff date</meta-name>
    <meta-value>2022-10-31</meta-value>
   </custom-meta>
  </custom-meta-group>
 </processing-meta>
 <front>...</front>
 <body>...</body>
 <back>...</back>
</article>

Related Resources

See: Hierarchy diagram - Processing Metadata

Journal Archiving and Interchange Tag Library NISO JATS Version 1.4 (ANSI/NISO Z39.96-2024)

<processing-meta> Processing Metadata

Usage/Remarks

@tagset-family

@base-tagset

@table-model

@mathml-version

@math-representation

Base Attributes