[fitsbits] 'Dataset Identifications' postings (digest)

[Arnold Rots]

Maybe it helps to state the practical purpose of the identifiers.
It's put in there to inform users as to what dataset identifier to use
if and when they insert such identifiers into their manuscripts.

The purpose of that is to facilitate the linkage between the
literature and the archived datasets.  Those links are currently being
maintained by a number of data centers (and the ADS) but it is rather
labor-intensive.  This mechanism would allow for automatic harvesting.

More responses below.

  - Arnold

LC's No-Spam Newsreading account wrote:
> On Tue, 23 Mar 2004, Arnold Rots wrote:
> 
> > The proposal is to introduce the DS_IDENT keyword as a convention for
> > dataset identifiers and to define one particular set of values for
> > this keyword - the ones under the autority of the ADS, i.e.,
> 
> what does it make them "under the authority of the ADS" ? A specific
> agreement between ADS and Observatory archive and/or paper author
> and/or journal and/or IAU ?

The fact that they start with "ADS/".  It is indeed tied in with an
agreement between ADS, data centers, journals, aimed at enabling ADS
and data centers to harvest literature-dataset links.

> 
> > 2. <observatory> must be taken from the list maintained by the ADS
> 
> > 5. the keeper of the <observatory> data will provide a specific set of
> > services that allow identifier verification, harvesting, and access to
> > the datasets
> 
> What is an observatory here ? A ground based institution (but in that
> case won't it be better to have a telescope-instrument identifier ?) OR
> a satellite OR the OFFICIAL data centre of such satellite data ?

You will find the current list at:
	http://vo.ads.harvard.edu/dv/facilities.txt

> 
> This seems to rule out "private" datasets (as I defined in my earlier
> posting) - which might be good - but what about "catalogue" datasets ?

At least under this authority ID (ADS).

> 
> 
> > If someone else wants to define another class of identifiers (i.e.,
> > other than the "ADS/" class), that is fine, but it would probably be
> > sensible to make sure that the values and useage comply with IVOA
> > standards (as the ADS ones do) in order to maximize usefulness and
> > recognition.
> 
>   what is IVOA ?

International Virtual Observatory Alliance

> 
>   is this a task for the FITS community (if not maybe we should stop
>   here, or confine the discussion to few FITS specific items), for some
>   other IAU body, or for somebody else ?

No, not really, but it deals with a convention involving a FITS
keyword which may have repercussion for future use of this keyword.

> 
> > ADS/Sa.CXO#obs/<ObsId>
> > 	Points to a particular observation
> > ADS/Sa.CXO#defset/<name>
> > 	Points to a specifically defined set of observations
> 
>   Once again these seem to point to something which can be assigned
>   only by an official data centre.

Yes.

> 
> > ADS/Sa.CXO#bibcode/<bibcode>
> > 	Points to all information we have for a particular paper
> 
>   Who is "we" in the above sentence, and what papers should be concerned ?

CDA

> 
>   Any paper published on a journal indexed by the ADS ?

No, the ones for which we know there is a Chandra link (in this example).

>   and who is storing the relevant data ? ADS, CDS, data centre, author ?

ADS and us.

>   Any paper on Chandra assuming that the author sends associated
>   reduced data to the Chandra data centre

Yes, any paper on Chandra data, but no, not linked to products
produced to the author - only the archived datasets produced by CXC
(where the author started from, presumably).

>   Any paper published by Chandra data centre staff only ?
> 
> > Of course, this begs two questions:
> > - Can two files have the same DS_IDENT value?
> > - Can one file belong to more than one dataset?
> 
>   Yes, but what about the case of the results of a paper regarding
>   the analysis of some particular observational data ?
> 
>   The original (starting) data will be stored at some data centre,
>   but the result will in general be privately owned by the authors,
>   and do not BELONG TO the original dataset, more they STEM OUT OF
>   the original dataset (parent-child relation)

That's correct.

> 
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Arnold H. Rots                                Chandra X-ray Science Center
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory                tel:  +1 617 496 7701
60 Garden Street, MS 67                              fax:  +1 617 495 7356
Cambridge, MA 02138                             arots at head.cfa.harvard.edu
USA                                     http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~arots/
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