When a user deletes a feature or an observation it is not actually deleted from the database but it is only marked as deleted. This is done for performance reasons and to provide the possibility to undelete deleted content.

To really and irreversibly delete data the Application Server provides the possibility to purge deleted features and observations.

The task of purging features and observations is started on request of a user and is then performed on the Application Server as background process. The Application Server provides no possibility to stop that process or otherwise manage the process.

When a feature is purged following data is irreversibly deleted

•The feature itself (including base data, type specific data, spatial data etc.)

•If the feature is linked by another feature or observation through a property of type feature link, the value of the property will be deleted.

•If the feature is a platform feature all the features belonging to that platform will be released (not be linked to the platform any more)

•If the feature is group feature all the group members will be released (not member of that group any more)

•If the feature is used in calculated feature algorithm it will be removed (possibly breaking the algorithm)

•If the feature instantiated other features, those instantiated features will be released, i.e. it is not traceable any more where the instantiated feature came from.

•If the feature is member of a platform, group or network or platform it will of course also be removed from that.

•Alias names in alias schemes

•Comments on the feature

•All privileges defined for the feature

•Any approval workflows assigned to the feature will be deleted

•Observations of the feature - see below for more details

When an observation purged following data is irreversibly deleted

•The observation itself (including base data, type specific data, spatial data etc.)

•Any assigned Approval workflows

•All observation alarms