XML Schema for the Simulation Data Model

[Rick Wagner]

Hi,

> It would be good if we can cristalise out of this and following  
> discussions
> a list of issues that warrant more thought. There is a page on the  
> wiki
> dedicated to this, written as a kind of FAQ and currently very  
> underused:
> http://www.ivoa.net/twiki/bin/view/IVOA/ 
> IvoaTheory_SNAPDataModelDiscussion
>
> This page can also serve as a documentation of the discussions we  
> have and
> the decisions we have made. This may shortcut discussions that will  
> no doubt
> come up when we want to present the models to the wider IVOA  
> community. If
> they can read about the discussions we have had and see the  
> arguments in a
> somewhat concise manner they do not have to bring these up again.
>
> Please feel free to add questions/comments there.

Agreed. I have posted my previous email (about target objects) and  
another comment there.

> Further, let us if possible focus the discussion on the model that  
> is under
> development on the theory pages. If there are arguments for  
> changing it
> let's present these changes with their motivation explicitly. And  
> if an
> alternative model is presented, let's try to describe it in terms of
> adjustments to the existing model, as we have tried doing now. Then  
> at least
> there is a consistent history and we can avoid the impression of  
> starting
> from scratch.

My need is to stand up a registry of galaxy cluster simulations done  
a using single piece of code, and the results of a code comparison  
project, which has ostensibly the same turbulence simulation (same  
initial conditions) done with several codes. I think these are  
excellent examples of the data we are trying to represent. My goal in  
drafting a separate model, and in particular an XML Schema, was to  
create something that I knew would fit this data, and then compare it  
to the SNAP model.

My impression is that the SNAP data model development went too long  
without being tested against a range of different simulations. This  
was unavoidable, since no one is going to beat down doors to write  
instance documents against a schema, and it takes someone familiar  
with a simulation to represent it in a different model. Now that I've  
gotten this far, I can do a better job of providing suggestions for  
the SNAP data model.

--Rick