RE: TASS data in aavso format

["Albertson, Chris" <CAlbertson@primeadvantage.com>]

Aaron and all,

Tom's right, the reason data is not sent to the AAVSO is simply
because noone has sent it.  Let me add to Tom's comments.  

IMO, the way to do this is to post a proposal to the TASS mail
list saying "Here is what I plan to do."  If you have a good
idea people will tell you, If your plan could be improved I'm
sure you will hear about that too.  It's good to post ideas
early and often, the good ones will get support the bad ones will
get pointed out to you.  

Maybe more importantly, if your ideas about how the "data mining"
script should work represent the consensus of interested TASS list
members then you have a stronger claim to call what you submit to AAVSO
"TASS' observations".  Working only by yourself what you would send to AAVSO
could best be called "Aaron's observations of the TASS database".
The problem is more then simply reformatting existing data. 
You will need to calibrate the data.  This is a moderately hard
problem.  The full database is stored in a Postgresql DBMS.
(see www.postresql.org)  I wrote some of the software that puts data
into the database but Michael Richmond took that software, fixed it up
and built the current database.  I can help explain the structure of the
database tables if need be and Michael (I assume) can give you an account
with which you can access the data.  

For the Mk IV camera there is no database yet.  I have proposed a design
for one but all the work is still to be done.  If AAVSO reporting is
important then maybe the AAVSO's reporting requirements can have an
influence on the database design.  So it would be good to here from you
what those requirements are.  Forexample do they need the name of the
observer or the air mass for each data point?

My proposed Mk IV design has a database local to each camera site that holds
data generated by that site.  There is in addition, a collection of
"central"
"TASS wide" databases that each hold different subsets of data taken form
each
of the local databases.  In this scheme perhaps the AAVSO reporting function
can
be thought of as just one more specialized "central" database.  This
database
would scan (monthly?) each of the local databases for any observations of
AAVSO stars, perform some kind of quality control then fire off a report
to the AAVSO.

My proposed "distributed Mk IV database", I think is well suited to an
group ruled by anarchy.  All of the local and central databases can be kept
in whatever form (Postgresql DBMS, paper tape, FITS tables or whatever) as
long as all database can accept and produce an agreed upon data interchange
format.  Maybe we should start thinking about this format.  I propose FITS
ASCII format tables.


  
> At 02:53 PM 10/26/00 -0400, Aaron Price wrote (in part):
> 
> If so, I will be glad to write a program to convert your data
> to AAVSO format. I have alot fo experience programming database
> scripts for the AAVSO format requirements. :) Maybe that is 
> something I can contibute while I get my CCD skills up to par.