Error column in VOResource

[Ray Plante]

On Tue, 18 May 2004, Tony Linde wrote:
> the registry is a one stop shop for all metadata.

I disagree with this statement in general.  Besides various pratical 
reasons of scaling and scope, there is an issue of volitility.  

Making the registry a one-stop shop for metadata demands a tight coupling 
with the services they describe.  Any change in the service must be 
reflected back into the registry.  If the registry is simply about 
discovering services, the coupling is looser, and the service is more 
flexible to changes in implementation.  

It can be argued that the tighter the coupling, the more costly the system 
in terms of software development and coordination of people.  A tightly 
coupled design may be appropriate for a particular VO project that can 
manage that coordination; however, it's less appropriate for the IVOA as a 
whole.  

It's an interesting issue that I expect we'll learn more about with 
experience.

cheers,
Ray