archive release notes Version 2.0 of the Science Data Archive (SDA) user interface (UI) is a complete reimplementation of the archive system and underlying code using a different backend database server. There have been several minor changes to the interface as well, however the functionality of the UI should remain the same. A complete list of enhancements and changes are described in the changes since v1.16 section below.
Users should continue to be aware that the ACS archive group recommends the Mozilla or Firefox browsers for Linux and Windows and the Safari browser for Mac OS X for optimal performance. These can be downloaded from links below.
Also described below are the hardware and software requirements for v2.0, the basic functionality of v2.0, the known bugs and limitations of v2.0, and the wish list for the future UI releases.There are no specific hardware requirements for operating the UI. Any computer that accommodates efficient WWW browsing will be sufficient for basic UI functionality. However, computers should have sufficient memory and processing speed to display and manipulate drizzled WFC images, which can be as large as 250 MB.
The UI is a WWW-based interface to the SDA database and image storage media (RAID). The UI has been designed with strict adherence to the XHTML and DOM HTML (through JavaScript/ECMAscript bindings) standards, so it will perform well with any WWW browser that fully supports these standards. The recommended browsers for the UI are:
Netscape 4.7x (for any platform) and Internet Explorer 5.x (for Windows and Unix) do not properly execute the UI and are therefore not supported by the ACS archive group.
Proper use of the UI requires the following browser options be set:
These options are default settings on most browsers. For Mozilla and Netscape, they are changed via the "Edit Preferences" menu option --> "Advanced" category --> "Scripts and Windows" subcategory.
Finally, a FITS image viewer must be installed to properly display FITS images through the UI. Such viewers include:
To enable your browser to spawn the FITS viewer, edit your browser preferences to include a MIME type of "image/x-fits" for extension "fits " and the correct path to the executable for the FITS viewer.
The UI has two basic functions:
The search and retrieval of images are performed via a dynamically generated data inventory page. Searches for detected objects are performed through the catalog query form. This form has a tabbed format, meaning that the basic steps of a query (defining search criteria, selecting output fields, and viewing results) are accessed through a tabbed menu.
The SDA stores selected images generated by CALACS and APSIS. The CALACS images are produced by on-the-fly calibration through MAST. Only the calibrated FLT and CRJ files, which are the input products of APSIS, are stored in the SDA. All other CALACS files must be retrieved through MAST. The APSIS image products that are stored in the SDA are:
All archived CALACS and APSIS images can be downloaded through the UI's data inventory and/or displayed with standard FITS image viewers spawned by the WWW browser. The detection images generated by APSIS can be viewed as color PNG files through set summary pages linked to the data inventory. The ancestors and descendents of each archived image can be traced, thereby providing the user a pedigree of every archived APSIS run.
Objects in each GTO image are identified and characterized photometrically, astrometrically, morphologically, and cosmologically by APSIS. The object catalogs generated by APSIS (detection, filter, photometry, and BPZ) are transformed into searchable database tables. Object queries are formed by constraining selected parameters from each of these catalogs.
Version 2.0 offers several tools for inspecting and analyzing the results of object queries:
This release represents the completion of the migration of the underlying database system from Sybase to PostgreSQL. Several minor changes were made to the user interface as well. The following is a list of changes and enhancements to the UI that have been implemented since v1.16:
Version 2.0 of the UI contains most of the functionality and features requested by the GTO team at the onset of development. The few required features not yet implemented include:
Colors of catalogued objects are displayed in the query results only when the query is constrained by color. Under such circumstances, the objects' colors are displayed automatically. Colors are not yet included in the list of optional output parameters from the Photometry Catalog.
Version 2.0 processes SDA queries in a linear fashion with remedial hierarchical grouping. These limitations should not handicap simple queries, but more flexibility is needed to enable more complicated ones. Consult the Query Examples page for advice on how to construct queries within the current logic and grouping limitations of the UI.
Wish list for future releases of the UI include, but are not limited to:
