Minutes DAL2, Cambridge, 28-Sep-2007, 11:00-12:15

Chair:   K. Noddle
Minutes: M. Dolensky

DAL Session Page and Presentations
http://www.ivoa.net/twiki/bin/view/IVOA/InterOpSep2007DAL

DAL Wiki Home
http://www.ivoa.net/twiki/bin/view/IVOA/IvoaDAL


DAL2 session:
=============

1. Introduction & Defining a standard (K. Noddle)

sets session goals: scope of TAP & timeline

Notes on Defining a DAL Standard
http://www.ivoa.net/twiki/bin/view/IVOA/DefiningDalStandards

2. Information-schema like approach to service metadata (P. Dowler)

Comments:
An extensive discussion eveloved about the point whether a TAP client should know about the DB structure on the server and whether it needs to be able to query that structure and whether the structure can be expressed in VOTable format.
  
There is a quest for prototype implementations before making a final design decision whether to require metadata tables describing the DB structure underlying each service instance.

There is discussion whether it is always feasible to create and maintain the metadata tables.

It wasn't possible to reach consensus whether to require a queryable metadata structure based on the proposed information schema or to return the information as a VOResource and/or VOTable (one could be wrapped into the other).

Action: 
Pat,Mark,Doug,Ray,Francois: Write sample VOTable which puts DB metadata into this format

Decision on how to proceed with TAP v1.0 will be taken thereafter.

-Markus