IVOA Roadmap for 2021A

This outlines the roadmap for development activities by the various IVOA working and interest groups in 2021 between the May and Oct/Nov Interops.

• IVOA Roadmap for 2021A
  • Applications WG
  • Data Access Layer WG
  • Data Model WG
  • Grid and Web Services WG
  • Registry WG
  • Semantics WG
  • Data Curation & Preservation IG
  • Education IG
  • Knowledge Discovery IG
  • Operations IG
  • Radio IG
  • Solar System IG
  • Theory IG
  • Time Domain IG
  • Standard and Processes
  • Science Priorities

Applications WG

• MOC 2.0: Work towards standardizing Space-Time MOCs.
  • Working Draft published May 2021
  • Moving to RFC Summer 2021
    • Waiting on 2nd implementation
• VOTable 1.5
  • Would love to demonstrate that a new minor version can be turned around fairly quickly.
  • Stimulate diiscussion of existing issues (https://github.com/ivoa-std/VOTable/issues).
  • Continue improving contributors' comfort level with the change process within github.
• Clean up applications WG wiki pages.
  • Remove stale links
  • Ensure guidance on current work is up to date
• Migrate HiPS and SAMP documents to Github

Python

• Continue to engage with Astropy community
• Support open development in PyVO
• Maintain votable parsing in Astropy core
  • Includes supporting VOTable 1.4

Data Access Layer WG

standards on the recommendation path

• DataLink-1.1
  • WD progressing, new WD release (Q3-2021) after closing a few Pull Requests
    • this might set the line for v.1.1
  • RFC by Autumn Interop
  • further issues/features identified already for subsequent revision
• ADQL-2.1
  • Ready for Proposed Rec (Q2 2021)
  • RFC opening soon
  • REC by Autumn Interop
• DALI-1.2
  • multipolygon still pending
  • otherwise ready for PRec+RFC (Q3-2021)
• ConeSearch-1.1 [in connection with TD IG]
  • work will progress to close issues
  • a new WD before Autumn 2021 Interop
• ObjVisSAP
  • PR-1.0 nearly there
  • implementations ready, RFC should be possible by Autumn Interop
• ProvTAP
  • continues work towards mature WD status (by Autumn Interop)
• TAPRegExt [in connection with Registry WD]
  • Now in GitHub repo
  • WD release in Q3/Q4-2021
• SIAP-2.0 / SODA-1.0
  • Now in GitHub repo
  • work on new WDs based on existing feedback (WDs by 2021 Autumn Interop)
• EPN-TAP [DM WG connection]
  • Validator being prepared
  • Some tidy-up expected after validator work
  • Should move to RFC in Q3 2021
• ObsLocTAP [managed by DM WG]
  • RFC for PR-1.0 period closed. Should move to REC by end June
  • Proposed for endorement at IAU General Assembly in August 2021

• SLAP-2.0 -> LineTAP solution
  • preliminary internal (to authors) WD
  • progress expected to be reported at Autumn 2021 Interop
• SSAP -
  • Spectroscopy data access could potentially lead to new minor revisions in advance of any integration with a more general SIA2
• ProvSAP (idle)
• Following Radio IG, TD IG activities for requirements
  • refer to the roadmaps of these IGs for details
• file-oriented catalog data access: start of discussion on Parquet

Data Model WG

• DM workshop conclusions
  • Fix RFC comments on Meas/Coord
  • Mapping syntax
    • Common proposal
    • Work on the doc
    • Work on libraries
  • MANGO to be updated after the workshop
  • Resume working on Cube/MetaData
  • PhotDM1.1 (VODML + others small improvements)
• ObsLocTap in REC (Done)
• Obscore evolution (TD, Radio)
• EPN-TAP (see DAL)

Grid and Web Services WG

Authentication and Authorization

• Group Membership Service moves to PR
  • it has two reference implementations: CADC and IA2
• SSO version 1.2 is under discussion
  • Describe the approach for obtaining token credentials (SSO)
  • Describe the approach for validating token credentials (SSO)
  • Define an IVOA "Realm" and how it determines the scope of services for which a token is applicable. (SSO)
• Credential Delegation Protocol under discussion: introduce delegation based on tokens.

VOSpace

VOSpace 2.1: an update of the standard is under discussion with some minor (and major) proposed changes.

Science Platforms

• After theTheory IG and GWS workshop on science platforms at Interop 2021
  • we had a large participation from scientists not related to IVOA

Registry WG

Operations and Software:

• Ongoing validation: continually validate registry records across the IVOA and provide feedback to validators, registry maintainers, and standards authors/editors as relevant
• Support and Maintenance: Support the Registry of Registries, provide testing and feedback for new publishing registries that come online and major upgrades to existing registries, especially the changes to the VizieR registry scheduled for this timeframe.
• pyvo and regsearch: provide expertise for expanding the registry searching capabilities of the pyvo python client.

• VODataService 1.2 through PR
• SimpleDALRegExt 1.2: make PR, identify roadblocks with SSAP time series and work on additional reference implementations as require
• Facilitate creation and updates of VOResource versions of standards records as we update the GitHub repository, and provide them to the Registry of Registries

Semantics WG

The Semantics WG hopes to get the UCD list 1.4 approved by the TCG early in the semester; it has been ready content-wise for quite a while. We will then start work on the UCD list 1.5, for which some statistical terms are already in the pipeline.

For SimpleDALRegExt 1.3, we will try to get the http://www.ivoa.net/rdf/refframe and http://www.ivoa.net/rdf/product-type vocabularies into shape. The first is also necessary for Coords in DM, for the second we will take care it will remain topical and useful for its original source in Obscore.

For VODataService 1.2, we will accompany the acceptance process for the http://www.ivoa.net/rdf/messenger vocabulary, working with the SSIG to see if additional messengers from the are already required.

With Vocabulares 2.0 now passed, we will work with Registry to get the note on adopting the UAT as an IVOA vocabulary endorsed and then produce an Erratum to VOResource 1.1, explaining how to actually apply it in VO resource records.

We hope to publish a first draft of a vocabulary of object types in June. This will reflect the current state of SIMBAD's work on updating their object classes.

Somewhat more remote is a vocabulary of instruments and facilities (where it is not unlikely that we will find that this goes beyond what vocabularies should reasonably do). If it is feasible, it would provide interoperable identifiers for such entities (e.g., for the VOResource elements and the respective fields in SSAP, SIAP, or Obscore), as well as pointers to names and identifiers them in legacy lists.

Data Curation Preservation IG

Education IG

* Organise newcomers session for next Interop * Organise newcomers session for Southern Spring Interop * Start regular online meetings for advanced VO users

Knowledge Discovery IG

Operations IG

• Software Identification:
  • SoftID Note was published as NOTE-softid-1.0 just after May Interop
  • Encourage and monitor service and client takeup
• Tackle non-compliant services:
  • Support service operators to use validation and improve services
  • Update validators as required
  • Chase up common/persistent issues
• Provide feedback on standards
  • Continue to work with DAL to feed back operational experience to standards update/development
• Ongoing activities:
  • Monitor VO health (conformance, reliability, performance)
  • Curate IvoaValidatorsSummary
  • Provide forum for ongoing discussions
• Schedule occasional telecons as required. Possible topics:
  • Non-compliant service review and activities
  • DAL/Ops standards feedback (and what to do about it)
  • Validator developments

Radio IG

• Implementation Note posted to GitHub
  • completion by fall interop ?
• ObsCore extension for radio data under discussion
  • WD proposed by fall interop
• new media type proposal for radio data formats
  • to be discussed
• discovery of single dish and time/frequency data (PSR or whatever) * better strategy by fall interop

Solar System IG

• Existing List of Objectives
  • Identified the top two priority objectives for immediate action
  • Assess and assign priorities to all remaining objectives
• Priority 1 Objective: Identifying observation facilities (ground and space). This is a complicated problem requiring integration and maintenance of data from multiple sources. The short-term goal is to produce a "usable product" as soon as possible, even if that is just a massive spreadsheet initially. Ultimately, this needs to be a reference service. By the November Interop:
  • Scope the problem
  • Draft the short-term design
  • Determine contacts for identification authorities
• Priority 2 Objective: Standard List of Coordinate Systems and Reference Frames. By Nov. Interop:
  • Evaluate the terminology and capabilities from the NASA/NAIF SPICE system that can be applied to the IVOA case.
  • Determine timeline to meet implementation with STC-2.

Theory IG

Follow up Theory/GWS workshop on Cosmological Simulations on Science Platforms:

• Plan at least one more workshop before next interop (Nov 2021), similar format as the one during interop May 2021
• Get feedback and input on possibility for standardizing access methods for cosmological simulations. Possibilities are
  • Standardizing metadata descriptions of common data types: particles, meshes
  • Review applicability of the current theory-related standards: SimDM and SimDAL
  • Standardizing code api-s for accessing specific simulation formats
• Work with GWS, giving examples for how to do code-to-data for simulations on science platforms

Time Domain IG

On coverages

• MOC2.0 WD: 2 implementations and validator - RFC (TD & Apps)
  • Info collected under: https://wiki.ivoa.net/twiki/bin/view/IVOA/MocInfo?
  • Everyone is welcome to comment under https://github.com/ivoa-std/MOC
• Use of Time-Frequency Catatalogs for by solar & planetary radio science - evaluate/ investigate further on the extension of MOC to add frequency / energy / wavelength (TDIG & SS & Radio IGs)

• FRBCat and TNS - follow-up on the possibility of adding a TAP service (TD & Radio IGs)
• Data Central’s Data Aggregation Service to quickly inspect FRB candidates - Follow-up on time series explorer (TD + DAL)
• Astro-COLIBRI - follow-up on usage of IVOA stds where possible, e.g ObsLocTAP, ObjVisSAP

• ObsLocTAP - follow-up on status

• Note under: https://github.com/ivoa/TimeSeriesDiscoveryAndAccess
• Update to include the SSA - keeping in mind the std is likely to evolve in the near future (TDIG & DAL)

Standard and Processes

Science Priorities