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arXiv 1004.4430astro-ph.IM
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使天文软件的访问更有效

Making Access to Astronomical Software More Efficient

P. Grosbol, D. Tody

摘要:

通过档案和虚拟观测站获取天文数据是必不可少的,但并不能解决所有问题。适当的数据分析软件的可用性通常对研究人员发布结果的效率同样重要。一些遗留系统(如IRAF、MIDAS、Starlink、AIPS、Gipsy)以及其他一些即将上线的系统都可以使用,但它们的用户界面差别很大,可能不再得到充分支持。用户可能需要多个系统或独立的软件包来完成完整的分析,这会带来大量的开销。关于“未来天文学软件环境”的OPTICON网络和USVAO讨论了这些问题,并概述了解决目前在获取软件包方面的许多问题的总体结构概念。它预见了一个分层结构,明确分离天文数字代码和IT基础设施。通过依靠现代IT概念进行消息传递和分布式执行,它提供了从台式机到计算机集群的全面可扩展性。通用参数传递机制和通用接口将通过Python等单一脚本语言轻松访问各种天文软件,包括遗留软件包。目前正在根据拟议的标准结构开发一个原型,作为概念验证。随后将定义标准接口以及可供用户社区评估的参考实现。为了使这种环境取得长期成功,稳定的接口规格和主要天文机构的采用以及对基础设施的合理支持是必不可少的。天文学软件包的开发和维护将遵循开放源代码的互联网概念。

英文摘要:

Access to astronomical data through archives and VO is essential but does not solve all problems. Availability of appropriate software for analyzing the data is often equally important for the efficiency with which a researcher can publish results. A number of legacy systems (e.g. IRAF, MIDAS, Starlink, AIPS, Gipsy), as well as others now coming online are available but have very different user interfaces and may no longer be fully supported. Users may need multiple systems or stand-alone packages to complete the full analysis which introduces significant overhead. The OPTICON Network on `Future Astronomical Software Environments' and the USVAO have discussed these issues and have outlined a general architectural concept that solves many of the current problems in accessing software packages. It foresees a layered structure with clear separation of astronomical code and IT infrastructure. By relying on modern IT concepts for messaging and distributed execution, it provides full scalability from desktops to clusters of computers. A generic parameter passing mechanism and common interfaces will offer easy access to a wide range of astronomical software, including legacy packages, through a single scripting language such as Python. A prototype based upon a proposed standard architecture is being developed as a proof-of-concept. It will be followed by definition of standard interfaces as well as a reference implementation which can be evaluated by the user community. For the long-term success of such an environment, stable interface specifications and adoption by major astronomical institutions as well as a reasonable level of support for the infrastructure are mandatory. Development and maintenance of astronomical packages would follow an open-source, Internet concept.

机构、总结、中文摘要均由AI分析而来,可能存在错误,请以论文正文为准。

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