TAP-1.1 columns.column_index info

[Mark Taylor]

On Fri, 12 Jan 2018, Marco Molinaro wrote:

> Dear DAL/Apps-ers,
> in updating the TASMAN TAP_SCHEMA manager application,
> on the way to let the app user decide the column ordering
> (i.e. filling up the TAP_SCHEMA.columns.column_index values)
> we are going the following way: let the user define ordering on
> the important/preferred columns while leaving "unordered" the
> other columns.
> 
> That is: we may have a bunch of NULLs alongside integers as the
> column_index values.
> 
> TAP-1.1 latest revision is not preventing this.
> My only question is: will applications be OK with this?

Fine by me.

> The intent is to have the NULL-annotated-column_index
> columns fall (potentially) unordered after the ordered
> ones when rendered into the client.

That's what TOPCAT will do in that case
(at least I believe so, I'm not sure it's actually been tested).

--
Mark Taylor   Astronomical Programmer   Physics, Bristol University, UK
m.b.taylor at bris.ac.uk +44-117-9288776  http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/