DAL 2010

[Doug Tody]

Hi Pat -

We probably want to add a time series interface to this list.  SED and
time series are both first year science initiatives for VAO so we are
keen on getting both to at least the working draft stage to support
VAO prototyping and science applications.  SED, SSA, and time series
are all closely related which should help to move things along.

PQL and SIAV2 are also high priority and as you say need to get
going again soon.  It would be good to have a usable first version
of ObsTAP before the next iteration on PQL so that we can consider
how to integrate ObsDM query support, but as you say that is nearing
completion.

Re the SSA maintenance release - updates to both the data model and
SSA spec were done some time ago and put up on the TWiki.  We just
need to start up some discussion again.

 	- Doug


On Fri, 10 Sep 2010, Patrick Dowler wrote:

>
> Now that summer is over I want to get some discussions going and make some
> progress in the DAL-WG. I encourage everyone with an interest in defining and
> implementing data access *and* in writing applications that use the data
> access services to contribute. Although we will have most of the discussions
> on this mailing list, I am looking into the plausibility of having some more
> specific discussions via telecon in order to make progress in key areas.
>
> * Where are we now?
>
> The Standing Committee on Science Priorities has outlined a few high priority
> science cases that we as a community need to tackle.
>
> First, the ObsTAP project is nearing completion. This is mainly a DM-WG
> project (ObsCore DM) but for use in a TAP service we need to define an
> extension schema so TAP services can advertise that they support this (and
> other) data models.
>
> The next priority is to deliver services to support the SED science cases.
> This has already been identified to require the photometry data model (PhotDM)
> and is closely related to SSA; in the coming months we will need to study the
> science cases and determine what is required in DAL to expose this model and
> support the use cases.
>
> The final science use case that impacts DAL is for users to be able to search
> by list of sources and types of sources; this sounds like functionality that
> is available via TAP but likely requires wider implementation, additional
> content, and orchestrated use of multiple services.
>
> We currently have several standards under development or being considered for
> update. Inconsistencies have been identified in SpecDM that require an update
> to the model and may require an update to the SSA specification. We also have
> several ongoing efforts that have been languishing (PQL, SIAv2), transfers from
> other groups (SimDAP), and several new proposals (simple event access, simple
> light curve access).
>
> * priorities for DAL
>
> - TAP (or DAL) extension schema
> - possible SSA maintainence release (1.x?) when SpecDM changes are known
> - new SSA (1.x or v2?) to support the SED science case
> - SIAv2
> - SimDAP
> - understanding new ideas/proposals and where they fit in
>
> There is not much to discuss here unless I inadvertently left something out.
> In a follow-up message, I will present a modest proposal for a roadmap of DAL
> activities (relatively short-term), which I am sure will prompt some
> discussion.
>
> Once we have defined the various parts, I will re-organise the DAL-WG wiki
> pages to make them a useful point of coordination.
>
>