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[fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 19th 04, 08:06 PM
William Pence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

ANNOUNCEMENT: Start of the Public Comment Period on the
FITS MIME type proposal

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".

The latest 17-May-2004 draft of the MIME type proposal is available for
comment at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/fits/mime/. The draft is available
there in postscript, PDF, and plain text formats. Listings of the
differences with the previous 2 drafts of the document are also available.

Please submit your comments here on the sci.astro.fits newsgroup, or on the
related FITSBITS moderated mail list. If you previously submitted comments
that have not been incorporated in this latest draft, and if you feel that
they still need to be addressed, then please submit the comments again.

The previous informal discussions about this FITS MIME proposal on the
'fitsmime' mail list at NRAO may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsmime/. Other related postings here
on the FITSBITS mail list may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsbits/. In particular, see the
postings in December 2002, June 2003, and March 2004,

Approval Procedures
-------------------

Under the recently updated "Rules and Procedures" of the IAU FITS Working
Group, the first step in the official approval process of any FITS proposal
will be a formal Public Comment Period to take place here on the
sci.astro.fits newsgroup (and on the moderated FITSBITS mail list that
mirrors all on-topic postings). At the end of this public comment period
the 3 regional FITS committees (North America, Europe, and Japan) will vote
on the proposal. Following that the IAU FITS Working Group will then
conduct a final vote to approve or disapprove the proposal. These rules and
procedures are more fully described at
http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/iaufwg/iaufwg_rules.html.

It is important to keep in mind that the proposal currently under discussion
is simply whether or not to submit the FITS MIME document to the IETF
(Internet Engineering Task Force) for consideration as an Internet Standard.
The proposal will then go through another whole review process before it
can be adopted as an Internet Standard. This process is describe in more
detail in RFC 2026 which is available at http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2026.txt.


William Pence
Chairman, IAU FITS Working Group
--
__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)

  #2  
Old May 20th 04, 07:47 PM
Tim Pearson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

On May 19, 2004, at 12:06 PM, William Pence wrote:

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public
Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for
FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".


I believe that specifying two media types, application/fits and
image/fits, is confusing and unnecessary. A single type,
application/fits, should suffice.

The proposal does not provide clear, unambiguous instructions for
determining whether a given FITS file should be described as
application/fits or image/fits. The apparent intent of the proposal is
that the choice of media type should be used to convey information
about the file that cannot be determined merely by examining the
contents of the file. I think this is a mistake that will lead to
confusion and incompatibilities in implementation.

I understand that the authors of the proposal do not agree with me, but
I think this issue still needs further clarification.

Tim Pearson

Timothy J. Pearson
Astronomy Dept 105-24, Caltech, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

  #3  
Old May 20th 04, 07:47 PM
Tim Pearson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

On May 19, 2004, at 12:06 PM, William Pence wrote:

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public
Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for
FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".


I believe that specifying two media types, application/fits and
image/fits, is confusing and unnecessary. A single type,
application/fits, should suffice.

The proposal does not provide clear, unambiguous instructions for
determining whether a given FITS file should be described as
application/fits or image/fits. The apparent intent of the proposal is
that the choice of media type should be used to convey information
about the file that cannot be determined merely by examining the
contents of the file. I think this is a mistake that will lead to
confusion and incompatibilities in implementation.

I understand that the authors of the proposal do not agree with me, but
I think this issue still needs further clarification.

Tim Pearson

Timothy J. Pearson
Astronomy Dept 105-24, Caltech, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

  #4  
Old June 3rd 04, 04:12 PM
William Pence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

This is a reminder that there are approximately 2 weeks remaining in
the formal Public Comment Period on the FITS MIME type proposal...

On Wed, May 19, 2004 at 03:06:27PM -0400, William Pence wrote:
ANNOUNCEMENT: Start of the Public Comment Period on the
FITS MIME type proposal

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".

The latest 17-May-2004 draft of the MIME type proposal is available for
comment at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/fits/mime/. The draft is available
there in postscript, PDF, and plain text formats. Listings of the
differences with the previous 2 drafts of the document are also available.

Please submit your comments here on the sci.astro.fits newsgroup, or on the
related FITSBITS moderated mail list. If you previously submitted comments
that have not been incorporated in this latest draft, and if you feel that
they still need to be addressed, then please submit the comments again.

The previous informal discussions about this FITS MIME proposal on the
'fitsmime' mail list at NRAO may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsmime/. Other related postings here
on the FITSBITS mail list may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsbits/. In particular, see the
postings in December 2002, June 2003, and March 2004,
--
__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)


  #5  
Old June 3rd 04, 04:12 PM
William Pence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

This is a reminder that there are approximately 2 weeks remaining in
the formal Public Comment Period on the FITS MIME type proposal...

On Wed, May 19, 2004 at 03:06:27PM -0400, William Pence wrote:
ANNOUNCEMENT: Start of the Public Comment Period on the
FITS MIME type proposal

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".

The latest 17-May-2004 draft of the MIME type proposal is available for
comment at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/fits/mime/. The draft is available
there in postscript, PDF, and plain text formats. Listings of the
differences with the previous 2 drafts of the document are also available.

Please submit your comments here on the sci.astro.fits newsgroup, or on the
related FITSBITS moderated mail list. If you previously submitted comments
that have not been incorporated in this latest draft, and if you feel that
they still need to be addressed, then please submit the comments again.

The previous informal discussions about this FITS MIME proposal on the
'fitsmime' mail list at NRAO may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsmime/. Other related postings here
on the FITSBITS mail list may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsbits/. In particular, see the
postings in December 2002, June 2003, and March 2004,
--
__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)


  #6  
Old June 15th 04, 05:28 PM
William Pence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

This is a reminder that the final day for submitting comments on the FITS
MIME type proposal is tomorrow, Wednesday June 16.

On Wed, May 19, 2004 at 03:06:27PM -0400, William Pence wrote:
ANNOUNCEMENT: Start of the Public Comment Period on the
FITS MIME type proposal

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".

The latest 17-May-2004 draft of the MIME type proposal is available for
comment at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/fits/mime/. The draft is available
there in postscript, PDF, and plain text formats. Listings of the
differences with the previous 2 drafts of the document are also available.

Please submit your comments here on the sci.astro.fits newsgroup, or on the
related FITSBITS moderated mail list. If you previously submitted comments
that have not been incorporated in this latest draft, and if you feel that
they still need to be addressed, then please submit the comments again.

The previous informal discussions about this FITS MIME proposal on the
'fitsmime' mail list at NRAO may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsmime/. Other related postings here
on the FITSBITS mail list may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsbits/. In particular, see the
postings in December 2002, June 2003, and March 2004,
--
__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)


  #7  
Old June 15th 04, 05:28 PM
William Pence
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

This is a reminder that the final day for submitting comments on the FITS
MIME type proposal is tomorrow, Wednesday June 16.

On Wed, May 19, 2004 at 03:06:27PM -0400, William Pence wrote:
ANNOUNCEMENT: Start of the Public Comment Period on the
FITS MIME type proposal

This is to announce the official start of the 4-week formal Public Comment
Period on the proposal to register 2 new Internet MIME media types for FITS
data files: "image/fits" and "application/fits".

The latest 17-May-2004 draft of the MIME type proposal is available for
comment at http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/fits/mime/. The draft is available
there in postscript, PDF, and plain text formats. Listings of the
differences with the previous 2 drafts of the document are also available.

Please submit your comments here on the sci.astro.fits newsgroup, or on the
related FITSBITS moderated mail list. If you previously submitted comments
that have not been incorporated in this latest draft, and if you feel that
they still need to be addressed, then please submit the comments again.

The previous informal discussions about this FITS MIME proposal on the
'fitsmime' mail list at NRAO may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsmime/. Other related postings here
on the FITSBITS mail list may be viewed in the archive at
http://listmgr.cv.nrao.edu/pipermail/fitsbits/. In particular, see the
postings in December 2002, June 2003, and March 2004,
--
__________________________________________________ __________________
Dr. William Pence
NASA/GSFC Code 662 HEASARC +1-301-286-4599 (voice)
Greenbelt MD 20771 +1-301-286-1684 (fax)


  #8  
Old June 17th 04, 06:08 AM
Steve Allen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

On Thu 2004-05-20T11:47:34 -0700, Tim Pearson hath writ:
I believe that specifying two media types, application/fits and
image/fits, is confusing and unnecessary. A single type,
application/fits, should suffice.

The proposal does not provide clear, unambiguous instructions for
determining whether a given FITS file should be described as
application/fits or image/fits. The apparent intent of the proposal is
that the choice of media type should be used to convey information
about the file that cannot be determined merely by examining the
contents of the file. I think this is a mistake that will lead to
confusion and incompatibilities in implementation.

I understand that the authors of the proposal do not agree with me, but
I think this issue still needs further clarification.


There are other existing MIME types which do not provide unambiguous
instructions for determining what they contain or how to process them.
In particular see

application/applefile
http://www.iana.org/assignments/medi...tion/applefile

multipart/appledouble
http://www.iana.org/assignments/medi...rt/appledouble

These two apple MIME types are described by a single document. In a
way they are like a MEF file which may be intended to convey one
principal image, or which may contain almost any other form of data.
As with FITS, the apple data types were designed to do things far more
general than the simple classifications that MIME provides.

I take the above as an indication that the IANA namespace need not be
conserved so preciously as to inhibit potential users of the MIME
types from doing useful work. Indications are that the existing usage
of FITS is already so broad that there is no way to provide an
absolutely firm dividing line between what is and is not simply an
image in the MIME sense.

Many FITS files definitely fit the MIME categorization of image, and
my impression is that the VO community would be adversely affected if
image/fits were not registered.

--
Steve Allen UCO/Lick Observatory Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Voice: +1 831 459 3046 http://www.ucolick.org/~sla
PGP: 1024/E46978C5 F6 78 D1 10 62 94 8F 2E 49 89 0E FE 26 B4 14 93

  #9  
Old June 17th 04, 06:08 AM
Steve Allen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default [fitsbits] Start of the FITS MIME type Public Comment Period

On Thu 2004-05-20T11:47:34 -0700, Tim Pearson hath writ:
I believe that specifying two media types, application/fits and
image/fits, is confusing and unnecessary. A single type,
application/fits, should suffice.

The proposal does not provide clear, unambiguous instructions for
determining whether a given FITS file should be described as
application/fits or image/fits. The apparent intent of the proposal is
that the choice of media type should be used to convey information
about the file that cannot be determined merely by examining the
contents of the file. I think this is a mistake that will lead to
confusion and incompatibilities in implementation.

I understand that the authors of the proposal do not agree with me, but
I think this issue still needs further clarification.


There are other existing MIME types which do not provide unambiguous
instructions for determining what they contain or how to process them.
In particular see

application/applefile
http://www.iana.org/assignments/medi...tion/applefile

multipart/appledouble
http://www.iana.org/assignments/medi...rt/appledouble

These two apple MIME types are described by a single document. In a
way they are like a MEF file which may be intended to convey one
principal image, or which may contain almost any other form of data.
As with FITS, the apple data types were designed to do things far more
general than the simple classifications that MIME provides.

I take the above as an indication that the IANA namespace need not be
conserved so preciously as to inhibit potential users of the MIME
types from doing useful work. Indications are that the existing usage
of FITS is already so broad that there is no way to provide an
absolutely firm dividing line between what is and is not simply an
image in the MIME sense.

Many FITS files definitely fit the MIME categorization of image, and
my impression is that the VO community would be adversely affected if
image/fits were not registered.

--
Steve Allen UCO/Lick Observatory Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Voice: +1 831 459 3046 http://www.ucolick.org/~sla
PGP: 1024/E46978C5 F6 78 D1 10 62 94 8F 2E 49 89 0E FE 26 B4 14 93

 




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