markup language |
A language for annotating a document to enable each component to be appropriately formatted, displayed, or used. |
metadata |
Information or labels that describe data. |
middleware |
An intermediate level of computer software typically used to provide a common interface to heterogeneous lower level components. |
MIME |
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) The most common protocol for encoding, transmitting, and decoding non-text files via e-mail. |
Mirage |
VO-enabled tool for exploratory analysis and visualization of images and multi-dimensional numerical data. |
mosaic, mosaicking |
A virtual observation made by combining multiple observations at
different positions resulting in a combination of images that abut
and/or overlap into a single larger image. |
MySQL |
An open source SQL relational database management system ( RDBMS). |
name resolver |
A service that translates object names into astronomical coordinates. |
namespace |
1. The set of names in a naming system.
2. In XML, a collection of names, identified by a URI reference, that are used in XML documents as element types and attribute names. |
NED |
(NASA Extragalactic Database) An astronomical resource containing
extensive information on extragalactic objects. NED also provides a name resolver. |
NESSSI |
(NVO Extensible Scalable Secure Service Infrastructure) A VO web service that runs secure, asynchronous services on the Grid. |
OAI |
(Open Archive Initiative) A protocol that defines an interface for the sharing of metadata. |
OASIS |
(On-line Archive Science Information Services) A VO Tool to access and display astronomical image and catalog data. |
object-oriented |
Programming based on the concept of an “object”, a data structure
associated with specific routines that define the behavior of the
object. |
ontology |
A formal description of the vocabulary used in a field, especially
describing the relationships between various concepts within that
subject. |
open source |
Software, usually free, created by a development community where the source code is distributed as well as compiled code. |
OpenSkyQuery |
A VO Service that enables crossmatching of astronomical catalogs and selection of catalog subsets. |
operating system |
The program framework in which all other programs run on a computer, e.g. Windows XP, MacOS? X, Linux, etc. |
parameters |
Inputs to or elements in a system which can be varied. |
parse |
To separate into more easily understood parts. |
peer-to-peer |
Communication between two or more computers where the protocol is symmetric between the participants so that each participant can make
the same requests or give the same responses. This contrasts with
client-server protocols |
Perl |
A programming language frequently used for web scripts and to process data passed via HTML forms. |
PHP |
(PHP [personal home page] Hypertext Preprocessor) A scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. |
PLASTIC |
(PLatform for AStronomical Tool InterConnection? ) A protocol that allows collaboration between multiple processes running on the user’s desktop. |
platform |
The combination of a computer’s operating system software and hardware. |
portal |
A web site that serves as a starting point to other destinations or services on the web. |
protocol |
A set of rules that define the interactions between two or more components. |
proxy |
A piece of software that acts on behalf of a user or another piece of software. An agent is a client proxy. |
proxy certificate |
A certificate that is used in the place of another, typically with a limited lifetime. |
query |
To interrogate a collection of data such as records in a database. |
RDBMS |
(Relational DataBase? Management System) A DBMS that uses represents data using a relational database. |
RDF |
(Resource Description Framework) A recommendation from the W3C for creating metadata structures that define data on the web. |
registry |
The “yellow pages” for the VO. Collects and stores basic information
about archives, data collections, databases, and other resources. |
relational database |
A database that stores data in a structure consisting of one or more
tables (aka relations) of rows and columns, which may be interconnected. |
resource metadata |
The metadata that describes services and data resources available in the VO. |
REST |
(Representational State Transfer) An approach to web services that uses the standard HTTP GET and POST protocols. |
RMI |
(Remote Method Invocation) A Java protocol for distributed computing. |
ROME |
(Request-Object Management Environment) A VO tool to manage the execution of a task that requires many subtasks. |
RPC |
(Remote Procedure Call) Protocols for distributed computing where the interaction is represented as the client computer invoking discrete services/calls on the server. |
RSS |
(Rich Site Summary). An XML format for sharing content among different Web sites such as news items. |
Ruby |
An object-oriented programming language. |
SAX |
(Simple API for XML) A standardized interface for parsing XML documents using callbacks. |
schema |
1. A description of the structure and rules an XML document must satisfy.
2. In SQL, a description of the tables and columns in the database. |
script |
A simple program usually written in an interpreted language. |
semantics |
The expression of the meaning of symbols or names. In the VO, the actual scientific meaning of data and services. |
serialization |
The process of converting an object into a format that can be stored or transmitted across a network. |
server |
A computer system in a network whose services may be invoked by one or more clients. |
servlet |
A program, typically Java, that runs on a web server in response to a web request. |
SESAME |
A web service interface to the SIMBAD name resolver. |
sexagesimal |
Numeral system with number 60 as the base. |
SExtractor |
(Source Extractor) A tool that detects sources in astronomical images. |
SIA, SIAP |
(Simple Image Access Protocol) A VO protocol thatsupports queries for images available in a given data collection near a given position on the sky. |
SIMBAD |
(Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical
Data) An astronomical database provides extensive information on both
galactic and extragalactic objects. SIMBAD also provides a name resolver. |
Simple Spectral Access |
See SSAP. |
SkyNode |
A VO protocol (and the services that implement it) that provides an ADQL interface to astronomical databases. |
SkyPortal |
A web site that supports translation of a user ADQL query into queries of one or more SkyNodes. |
SkyServer |
Web service that presents data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. |
SkyView |
Web site and VO-enabled distributable tool that generates images from survey data. |
SMTP |
(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) A protocol used to send and receive email. |
SOA |
(Service Oriented Architecture) An approach to distributed computing
that focuses on services that communicate with each other. |
SOAP |
(Simple Object Access Protocol) A protocol for invoking remote services by exchanging XML -based messages. |
socket |
The low-level software element that makes a connection to the network. Normally a client connects to a socket on a server. |
source code |
The version of a program normally written or edited by a programmer and
either compiled into an executable program, or run directly using an
interpreter (see interpreted languag). |
SQL |
(Structured Query Language) The standard language used to communicate with RDBMS s |
SQL Server |
Microsoft’s RDBMS software. |
SRB |
(Storage Resource Broker) Middleware developed at the San Diego Supercomputing Center that provides standardized access to a number of very large data resources. |
SSAP |
(Simple Spectral Access Protocol) A protocol that returns a set of spectra in a specified region of the sky. Similar to SIA but has many more options. |
SSDL |
(SOAP Service Description Language) SSDL is a SOAP -centric description language for web services that enables protocol -based integration. |
SSL |
(Secure Sockets Layer) A protocol for managing the security of a message transmission over the Internet. |
standalone application |
A computer program capable of operating without external resources. |
STC |
(Space-Time Coordinates) An IVOA standard for describing a region or position in both space and time. |
STILTS |
(STIL Tool Set) A set of VO tools for processing of tabular data based on the UK Starlink Tables Infrastructure. |
TLA |
(Three Letter Acronym) A tribute to the use of acronyms in the computer field. |
token |
An item in a string of text that can be separated out by a parser, such as a single word in a sentence or a number in a comma-delimited list. |
TOMCAT |
An HTTP server that can run Java servlets. |
TOPCAT |
(Tool for OPerations on Catalogs And Tables) An interactive graphical
viewer and editor for tabular data, designed for but not limited to
astronomical tables. |
Treeview |
A VO-enabled viewer for hierarchical file structures. |
UCD |
(Unified Content Descriptors) A formal vocabulary for astronomical data that is controlled by the IVOA. |
URI |
(Uniform Resource Identifier) An address standard for a resource available on the Internet. |
URL |
(Uniform Resource Locator) The global address of documents and other
resources on the World Wide Web. The first part of the address specifies
the protocol to be used when accessing the resource, the remainder describes its network location. |
validator |
A tool that checks some element of a system for conformance to a standard. |
virtual data |
Data product that is dynamically generated when needed. |
VOClient |
A software suite callable from many languages which implements data access in the VO. |
VOEvent |
A VO standard for representing, transmitting, publishing and archiving the discovery of a transient celestial event. |
VOEventNet |
A peer-to-peer cyberinfrastructure to enable rapid and federated observations of the dynamic night sky. |
VOPlot |
A VO Tool for visualizing astronomical data from VOTable sources. |
VOSpace |
A distributed storage concept for the VO. |
VOStat |
A VO and web-enabled statistics package. |
VOTable |
An XML -based encoding scheme for astronomical tables and catalogs, established by the IVOA in order to provide an unambiguous way to transmit tables between computer programs |
W3C |
(World Wide Web Consortium) An international consortium where member
organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to
develop web standards. |
WCS |
(World Coordinate System) A detailed specification of the conversion
between coordinates within a file and physical coordinates, especially
between pixel and celestial coordinates in an image. |
WCS Fixer |
A VO web service that corrects the WCS information in a given FITS image. |
web service |
Software available over the web using a standardized XML messaging system. |
WESIX |
A VO web service to the standard astronomical image analysis package SExtractor together with a crossmatching service. |
wget |
Free software package for retrieving files using HTTP, HTTPS and FTP. |
workflow |
A sequence or network of tasks and associated information needed to pass from one task to another to accomplish some goal. |
WS |
see web service |
WSDL |
(Web Services Description Language) An XML document that describes and locates a web service. |
XMatch |
see crossmatch |
XML |
(eXtensible Markup Language) A markup language that provides a file format for representing data. |
XML-RPC |
(XML-Remote Procedure Call) A web service protocol that utilizes XML technology to implement an RPC protocol. |
XOP |
(XML Binary Optimized Packaging) A standard specifying how binary data should be represented in XML. |
XPath |
(XML Path Language) a language that describes how to locate specific content within an XML document. |
XQuery |
A standard language for querying XML data. |
XSL |
(eXtensible Stylesheet Language) A standard for describing how to transform XML documents into other documents in either XML or other formats. |
XSLT |
(eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) A conversion tool that implements XSL. |
YAML |
(YAML Ain’t Markup Language) A data serialization language based on XML and other languages. |