Clarification on ObsCore 1.1 Specification

[Phelokazi Dube]

Dear IVOA ,
I hope you are doing well.
I am currently working on implementing an ObsCore/ObsTAP service for the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), using DaCHS as our Virtual Observatory publishing platform.
As part of this work, I am aligning our implementation with the IVOA Recommendation "Observation Data Model Core Components and its Implementation in the Table Access Protocol," Version 1.1, dated 09 May 2017."
While reviewing the specification, I came across inconsistencies for which I would appreciate clarification.
1. pol_xel datatype — INTEGER or BIGINT?
In Table 4 (TAP Implementation of ObsCoreDM), the datatype for pol_xel is specified as adql:BIGINT. However, the version change history indicates that the datatype was changed from BIGINT to INTEGER. Could you please confirm which datatype is intended for pol_xel?
2. pol_states — Mandatory or optional?
In Appendix B, Table 5 (Data Model Summary), the pol_states field is marked MAN = NO, indicating that it is optional. However, Section B.6.5.1 (List of Polarization States) describes pol_states as a mandatory field, with NULL permitted when polarization is not applicable. Could you please clarify whether pol_states is mandatory or whether its optional?
We would like to ensure that our SALT ObsCore implementation follows the intended specification, particularly regarding the database schema and the datatypes exposed through TAP. Thank you.
Kind regards,
Phelokazi Dube

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