GWS II discussion topics

[Russ Allbery]

Dave Morris <dave.morris at metagrid.co.uk> writes:

> The session will look at the changes suggested by the Rubin team based on
> their experience implementing SODA.

> See
> https://sqr-063.lsst.io/

> We invite everyone to join the discussion. In particular we would like to
> hear from developers or maintainers of clients and services.

Hi everyone,

Thank you, Dave, for the talk introduction! However, I think there may be
some confusion about the intent of this talk that I can hopefully clear
up. (I'm jumping in here because typing long email messages is difficult
for Frossie at the moment.)

While I did summarize in SQR-063 some elements of the SODA standard that I
found surprising, the purpose of Frossie's talk tomorrow is not to propose
specific changes to the standard based on that document. That level of
detail work is probably better-suited to a working group discussion and
drafts.

The talk, instead, is intended to prompt and motivate a higher-level
discussion about how we can evolve IVOA standards over time. SQR-063
provides some examples as part of that motivation, but I'm sure other
developers will have other examples of places where they would ideally
like to make larger changes to the standards. I think the specifics are
interesting primarily to frame the broader question of how the standards
should evolve. Should standard changes be highly conservative to ensure
that existing software does not need to change? Should the standard try to
embrace changes in common practices and development frameworks when those
changes may require incompatible protocol changes? How should we navigate
the trade-offs between these approaches?

In short, what do we want the IVOA standards to look like in five years,
ten years, or twenty years in terms of their alignment with common web
frameworks and newly-emerging development ecosystems? That's the question
we want to ask.

I think if we get into the weeds of discussing the specific examples in
SQR-063 in detail, that won't be the best use of precious meeting time. If
we agree on the ways in which IVOA standards should evolve with time, we
can hash out the details with specific wording afterwards. If we try to
discuss the specifics before we agree on direction and general principles,
we're likely to be talking at cross-purposes and will not make much
progress.

-- 
Russ Allbery (eagle at eyrie.org)             <https://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>