definition of registry

[Robert Hanisch]

Don't let the lawyer jokes get to you, Elizabeth!

Is it worth making a distinction between "about" and "contained by"?
"Metadata" is information about other information.  And do we need to
restrict ourselves to resources "available to a grid"?  Or do we assume that
any resource on the Internet is also on the grid?

I guess I would suggest

    A registry is a dynamic database of metadata describing a set of
Internet-available resources.

Whether there is a network of registries and what their relationships are is
an implementation issue, not something inherent in the definition.

One could go on to describe a bit more about the use of the registry, to
elaborate:

    A registry is used to identify and locate resources satisfying
user-specified criteria, and to direct more detailed information requests to
the relevant services.

Helpful?

No more lawyer jokes, Andy!

Cheers,
Bob


----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabeth Auden" <eca at mssl.ucl.ac.uk>
To: "Tony Linde" <ael at star.le.ac.uk>
Cc: "'IVOA Registry mailing list'" <registry at ivoa.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 1:06 PM
Subject: RE: definition of registry


> > > Registry: (noun) a dynamically updatable database containing
> > > metadata about and contained by resources available to a
> > > grid. A single registry may be one of a network of mutually
> > > queriable registries.
> >
> > What does 'and contained by' mean?
>
> Metadata "about" resources: basic and curation metadata (id, name, title,
> contact, location, etc)
>
> Metadata "contained by" resources: metadata contained in the data archive,
> data processor, data storage, etc.  This is the dreaded "metadataFormat".
> If the resource were a star catalogue, the "contained by" metadata would
> be ramax, coordinates, wavelength, magnitude, etc.  I would really like a
> better way to express this concept.
>
> cheers,
> Elizabeth
>
>
>