|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
[fitsbits] New DUMP FITS extension
On Thu 2007-08-16T15:51:18 -0400, William Pence hath writ:
The question is what do we (the FITS community in general, and the IAUFWG in particular) do now? I don't see an urgent need to do anything, for nothing has changed. The point of all the work done by Preben Grosbol, Don Wells, Bill Pence, etc. in creating the IAUFWG was to establish that there is a standard for FITS and there is a process for approving new usages. But as with most international agreements (including all the similar notions on the internet such as MIME media type) there is no means to contrain the ways in which people use, or abuse, it. There already exist a large number of files which conform to FITS but which are not usable except by those "who just know how". This usage just adds one more, with the very apt name "DUMP". Within the process there is likelihood that new usage will be created wherein all the data and metadata are universally interpretable. Outside the process all that can be guaranteed is that the bits are preserved, with the implicit hope that the internal documentation of such users is sufficient that their successors will still understand. -- Steve Allen WGS-84 (GPS) UCO/Lick Observatory Natural Sciences II, Room 165 Lat +36.99855 University of California Voice: +1 831 459 3046 Lng -122.06015 Santa Cruz, CA 95064 http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/ Hgt +250 m |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
[fitsbits] New DUMP FITS extension | William Pence | FITS | 1 | August 17th 07 10:15 AM |
[fitsbits] New DUMP FITS extension | William Pence | FITS | 0 | August 16th 07 08:51 PM |
[fitsbits] New DUMP FITS extension | Doug Tody | FITS | 0 | August 16th 07 08:23 PM |
FITS long integer support (was [fitsbits] ADASS FITS BoF onSunday) | Eric Greisen | FITS | 10 | October 26th 04 08:14 AM |
FITS long integer support (was [fitsbits] ADASS FITS BoFon Sunday) | William Pence | FITS | 6 | October 22nd 04 08:23 PM |