[fitsbits] updates to the FITS standard document

[Mark Calabretta]

On Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:28:13 +0200 (CEST)
Lucio Chiappetti <lucio at lambrate.inaf.it> wrote:

Hi Lucio,

> 2) a task force within the IAU FITS WG has been considering the inclusion
>     of a number of registered conventions as part of the standard.
> 
>     For 6-7 of them we have (or nearly have) a text to be included in
>     the FITS Standard Document. According to the rules, this will be
>     subject to a Public Review Period here on FITSBITS, with the goal
>     to have the IAUFWG vote (on each convention) during July.
> 
>     Considering that the conventions are in use since several years
>     (so their operablity and interoperability is surely proven), and
>     were discussed when registering the conventions themselves, to
>     speed up things the Public Review Period will be reduced to 3 weeks.

Noting that the process of registering conventions was concerned only
with ensuring the adequacy of their documentation, not the adequacy of
the conventions themselves, I just want to clarify whether we are being
asked to consider adopting these conventions, unaltered, as standards,
or whether they are subject to change.

In particular, I note that the INHERIT convention attracted more than
the usual amount of discussion on fitsbits and iaufwg, with many
respondents expressing strong reservations about it.  At the urging of
its proponents, INHERIT was ultimately registered as a convention on the
basis of its wide usage within a particular sector of astronomy, not
necessarily as the model for a new component of the standard.

With eight years worth of hindsight, the links accessible from
http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/registry/inherit.html make for interesting
reading.  It seems clear now that those members of the FWG who took an
interest should have been allowed to record a short summary (say 150
words) of their arguments for or against the conventions.

> 3) Another technical team has been considering a *new* convention for long
>     keyword name and extended character set. Since this is a new proposal,

A new component of the *standard* presumably.

Regards,
Mark Calabretta