FITS Java library with WCS routines?

[Neil.Killeen at csiro.au]

Petr

I think it would be very valuable for someone to write the Java
wrappers to WCS.   Here in Melbourne Uni we are thinking
about exactly the same issue as we look at deploying
SIA etc in a generic way - being able to use Java makes
the deployment of these web services much more straight
forwards than if we use a C or C++ backend.

The Starlink AST library is comprehensive and offers more functionality
than WCS (e.g. conversions between frames which WCS is not concerned
with).  However, it is also provided in C is it not, and Starlink is
no longer funded.  

I'd prefer also to see a set of Java wrappers for WCS. However,
it means that someone will need to maintain them and keep
them upto date with new WCS releases.  


regards
Neil


-----Original Message-----
From:	owner-apps at eso.org on behalf of Petr Kubanek
Sent:	Fri 4/11/2005 9:32 AM
To:	apps at ivoa.net
Cc:	
Subject:	FITS Java library with WCS routines?

Hi everbody,

I'm working on INTEGRAL data VO acceess, using Oracle DB to store image 
metadata and Tomcat on Linux/Solaris as servlet container. I manage to 
write few servlets that offer SIA, VOTable cataloq access and more.

For offering cutout service, I need to transform WCS coordinates to 
pixel coordinates. As far as I have searched:

- there is nom.tam.fits Java package, which offers FITS access (and 
after some patching it even works with INTEGRAL fits, which are huge and 
gzipped). As was noted by Starlink, that library isn't ideal - its 
interface sometimes throw exception and sometimes returns null, so far I 
have searched there is no way how to get if given FITS key exists, etc..

- there is ast package in starlink, which I don't like a lot (JNI, e.g. 
it runs only on Linux & Solaris). And ast is "kind of dinosaurus", which 
offers all posible services (drawing of RA & DEC lines,..) - I don't 
like that, I prefer pure Java library which will do only for which it's 
paid, e.g provide WCS transformations from pixel and to pixel coordinates.

Does anybody of you know about some better implementation of FITS 
library with WCS access? If not, I volunteer to try write such. But I 
don't like idea of reinventing wheel - so if somebody knows about one, 
please let me know.

And second think - I patched a bit Starlink library for VOTable 
generation, so for servlet for access to table I need youst few more 
lines then it's in columns I need to get from DB. Hovewer, I think about 
writing JSP tag library, which will do that. My idea is to write JSP 
page which will look like:

<@vo:table name="xyz">
    <@vo:column name="ra" ucd="pos.equ.ra"/>
    <@vo column name="dec" ucd="pos.equ.dec"/>
....
</vo:table>

which will generate VOTable/HTML table/text file, as will be requested 
in parameters.

Does anybody consider such think?

Regards

Petr Kubanek

-- 
Integral Science Data Center           Astronomical Institute
Chemin d'Ecogia 16                     Fricova
CH-1290 Versoix, Geneva, Switzerland   251 56 Ondrejov, Czech Republic
Office +41 22 379 2198                 pkubanek at asu.cas.cz
Petr.Kubanek at obs.unige.ch              http://lascaux.asu.cas.cz




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