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imgCIF / CBF Status


I think it's appropriate, given that it's still early in the year to
recap where I think we are:

It seems to me that we're very close to, but still not quite at, a
simple proto-type working format (i.e. the version 0.1 discussed at
the Brookhaven workshop.).

1. CBF. The CBF definition itself seems to be agreed (by absence of 
disagreement), at least until we gain further experience from working
with the proto-type format.

2. imgCIF: The basic dictionary is written, but I would still like to discuss
the implications for programs parsing imgCIF/CBF files, and the structuring
of the present categories.

   Also it is probably worth considering further how large data-sets will be
   described. At present it is common practice to put one detector image
   in one file. Initially I think that imgCIF / CBF should follow this
   practice (but leave the possbility to evolve to many images in the
   same file). 

   It seems to me that describing the full data-set would best be done
   with an imgCIF / CIF file which is in some form a list of file pointers
   to the other images. Could this all be done within the existing
   structuring ? Eventually all this structuring and the associated
   files might be within one imgCIF / CBF file.

3. Diffraction geometry definitions. There's a small minimum set of
   useful information in most exising file headers. If we can get the
   imgCIF part done, then there remains only defining this minimum
   set to have a format "competitive" with existing formats. 

4. Data compression. The byte offsets scheme is available, and again
   we can gain experience with it. For the Huffman compression, I 
   want to investigate further the most efficient storage scheme
   and decoding efficiency, so I prefer that this is not implemented
   straight away.
  
4. Software interface. This has not really been discussed, since the
   workshop. Where do we stand ?

5. Web pages. I quickly set-up some pages at the ESRF prior to the
   NOBUGS 2 workshop in November. At the workshop Bob, Andy Howard,
   Jim Pflugrath, and myself had a mini-meeting. We felt that the
   "permanent pages" should be moved to Rutgers, as originally
   agreed at the Brookhaven workshop, although "working" pages which
   are being changed were probably best left local. How shall we do 
   this ?
 


Comments and opinions ?


  Andy

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