IVOA Recommendation: IVOA Registry Interfaces Version 1.0

TL;DR

This paper specifies standardized interfaces for astronomical data registries, enabling discovery and resource management through web services and metadata schemas, facilitating interoperability in the Virtual Observatory ecosystem.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive set of registry interfaces based on WSDL and OAI-PMH protocols, enhancing resource discovery and metadata harvesting in the Virtual Observatory.

Findings

Defines standard web service interfaces for VO registries

Supports harvesting via OAI-PMH protocol

Extends VOResource schema for registry metadata

Abstract

Registries provide a mechanism with which VO applications can discover and select resources--e.g. data and services--that are relevant for a particular scientific problem. This specification defines the interfaces that support interactions between applications and registries as well as between the registries themselves. It is based on a general, distributed model composed of so-called searchable and publishing registries. The specification has two main components: an interface for searching and an interface for harvesting. All interfaces are defined by a standard Web Service Description Language (WSDL) document; however, harvesting is also supported through the existing Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting, defined as an HTTP REST interface. Finally, this specification details the metadata used to describe registries themselves as resources using an extension of the VOResource metadata schema.