role of the registry

[Tony Linde]

 > The registry was conceived as a resource location service.

No, it was conceived as a resource description service, only one part of 
which was location.

 > document describes resource metadata.

The RM document was only ever a starting point, not an end in itself. It 
has only ever described the core metadata, not the detail. The schema 
documents contain the detail.

In the longer term, the goal was always that individual groups would 
determine their own extensions to the base resource schema but the 
registry group contained the expertise to do that initially. I would 
hope the workgroups are now able to take over that task such that 
registry extension schemas become part of their service standards.

T.

Robert Hanisch wrote:
> I don't really have the time right now to engage in this lively debate, but
> it does bother me to see history being rewritten in order to support certain
> points of view.
> 
> The registry was conceived as a resource location service.  The formative
> document describes resource metadata.  The name of the working group is
> Resource Registry.  There has been debate for a long time on how far to push
> the registry in the direction of detailed service-level metadata.  The
> origins were simple, however.  The "radical change to the way the VO works"
> is coming from adding increasing complexity and overhead to a simple
> concept.  This is not unique to the registry, but it is clear in the case of
> the registry that even the simple stuff is not done well or completely.
> 
> I have never been convinced by the arguments for including things like table
> column names and UCDs in the registry.  The use case recently cited, that of
> dynamically building SEDs by locating catalogs with relevant columns would,
> I think, never be trusted by astronomers doing research.  They trust NED
> SEDs because astronomers working for NED collect and curate the
> measurements.  In the VO case, they need to assess the quality of a resource
> before deciding to use/trust its contents.
> 
> I suggest that everyone take a deep breath, step away from their desks for a
> while, and try to recall what the VO is really about.  Key issues are data
> discovery, interoperability, and a low barrier to participation.
> 
> This should be an interesting Interop meeting!
> 
> Bob
> 
> 

-- 
Tony Linde
Phone:  +44 (0)116 223 1292    Mobile: +44 (0)785 298 8840
Fax:    +44 (0)116 252 3311    Email:  Tony.Linde at leicester.ac.uk
Post:   Department of Physics & Astronomy,
         University of Leicester
         Leicester, UK   LE1 7RH
Web:    http://www.star.le.ac.uk/~ael

Project Manager, EuroVO VOTech   http://eurovotech.org
Programme Manager, AstroGrid     http://www.astrogrid.org