Talk:Candidate Technical Topics

-- Michael Decker (MDecker) 10:03, 23 August 2011 (MDT)

CF-API:

• need to read and write CF-compliant files easily
  • add a python interface to ucar libcf? http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/libcf/

Performance/Virtual Datasets

• non-compressed data preferred
• many files vs. single file for queries
  • mapping: many files -> single identifier
    • Kari: might be too slow
    • Michael: should not matter so much for performance
    • queries might get very large
    • need to limit query size on server side (datafed browser: client side management currently)

Common NetCDF Python Interface, NetCDF4

• Kari cloned PyNIO interface for Windows, so no problem right now for cross platform development
• solve other problems first, keep an eye open
• NetCDF4 makes things more complicated, might not be mappable to WCS easily

Delivery of other data formats, other input formats

• need to map other formats to WCS and/or CF concept
• differentiate between format (NetCDF) and convention (CF)
• chain with WMS server for default views/previews

Tracability and revision tracking of Datasets

• always try to get current data when dealing with real time data, always expect your data to be old
• would be nice to have WCS field for "last updated" date, same for NetCDF/CF (global attribute?)
  • we can make something up on our own for a start
  • try to propose that for CF (and WCS)

Delivery of Point Station data

• put config into SQL database as much as possible (views, stored procedures, etc)
  • try to maintain unit tests for this

Access restrictions to WCS

• HTTP Basic authentication
• API key
• does not have to be 100% secure, more about connecting with the users, knowing who they are
• firewalling for small user groups

Relationship with other Servers

• write a wrapper for other data formats

WCS 2.0

• more modular, core and extensions
• potentially easier to use/implement
• CF-NetCDF extension coming

Processing Services

• community provides online processing service for their discipline, for example averaging
  • not part of W*S, but separate service
  • protocol: web processing service http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wps

Time filtering

• day of week, hour of day, day of month,...
• describe non-standard features in capabilities document?
• might be difficult to get into official standard?
• does not interfere with standard if you don't use it