[TAP] sync vs async

[Douglas Tody]

Hi Tony -

I agree completely - but consensus often means compromise if the
use-cases of the partners differ.  The result is most likely a somewhat
broader standard than one would get if it were optimized to address
only one group's use cases.  Hence for something like table access we
might want both functionality which is optimized for the most common
astronomy use cases (e.g., basic catalog access, spatial queries,
cross-match), as well as more powerful but complex and fragile
functionality (e.g., ADQL with extensions, VOSpace integration into
TAP) which is capable of addressing the more advanced use cases.
To do everything we need to do, both may be required.

It may be a mistake though to try to debate our respective use cases
within the IVOA forums.  Once a national project is funded, it has a
responsibility to identify the primary use cases it intends to address
for its user community, and deliver software to the target community
supporting those use cases.  We respect the right of another national
project such as AstroGrid to decide for itself how to address the
needs of its user community - we do not try to tell you guys how to
do your job.  But it has been quite a difficult matter to get the
functionality included in TAP which we in NVO require to support our
user community.

 	- Doug


On Thu, 5 Mar 2009, Linde, A.E. wrote:

> I’m sure every project could claim that its own approach is best for the end
> scientist: they must think so or they wouldn’t choose the approach they
> have. But it’d be more helpful to stick to arguing use cases and performance
> facts. The IVOA should be about finding consensus approaches that help all
> projects work together.
> 
> T.
> 
> 
> On 05/03/2009 16:19, "Doug Tody" <dtody at nrao.edu> wrote:
>
>       The main difference
>       between NVO and the other VO projects seems to be that we also
>       consider basic data access by scientists and science application
>       writers to be a high priority, and want to provide simplified
>       access
>       to support such applications.
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Tony Linde
> Project Manager
> Department of Physics & Astronomy
> University of Leicester
> 
>