Frequently Asked Questions concering the RCS.
Table of content
CDF-related questions
What is a "skeleton table"?
A "skeleton table" is an ASCII format file used to generate a "master" binary CDF file.
The "master" binary CDF file can be then used as a template to produce series of CDF files with the same structure.
See also "How to generate a "master" CDF binary file?".
How to generate a "master" CDF binary file?
The CDF generation principle for RPW is described here.
For more information about the CDF and skeleton/master mechanism, visit http://cdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
How to deliver a skeleton CDF file to the ROC?
The mechanism to deliver skeleton CDF to the ROC is presented in the "ROC Engineering Guidelines for External Users" (REGU) document (see ROC-GEN-SYS-NTT-00019-LES, available in ROC Documents).
In summary:
- Skeleton CDFs must be delivered in the ASCII format
- Skeleton CDFs can be only "pushed" by teams in the "rcs" branch of the ROC "DataPool" Git respository
Once a local copy of the is available (see next question below to know how to get it), the skeleton file(s) to submit must be saved into:
- The "DataPool/ROADS/RODP/CDF/Excel" folder for skeletons relative to the RODP CDF datasets
- The "DataPool/GSE/ROC-SGSE/CDF/Excel" folder for skeletons relative to the ROC-SGSE CDF datasets
WARNING
Be sure that skeleton files are committed in the "rcs" branch, before pushing to the remote repository.
Then, enter the following commands in the given order:
- git add skeleton_filepath1 skeleton_filepath2 ... (where "skeleton_filepath1", "skeleton_filepath2", etc. are the relative path to the skeleton files to submit)
- (git pull)
- git commit -m "write here a comment to describe what it is done"
- git push
The first command will add the skeleton files to the next commit (i.e., here the next files to be uploaded). The second command is optional but highly recommended, and ensure that there is no conflict between the local and the remote repository. The third command perform a local commit (see Git documentation about the commit concept). The fourth command "push" (i.e., upload) the files to the remote repository on the ROC Gitlab server.
NOTES:
- The comment is mandatory in the "git commit" command.
- The command "git add --all" can be used to include automatically all the files to commit (use with caution).
ROC Gitlab-related questions
How to get a local copy of the ROC "DataPool" Git repository?
The RCS skeleton CDF files must deliver to the ROC team using Git.
The "DataPool" Git respository to use is hosted on the ROC Gitlab server. Before working with this repository, be sure that you have the right access permissions (if not, please contact the ROC team using the roc.support mailing list). To know how to access to this repository, see next question.
To get a local copy of the "DataPool" repository (i.e., clone), enter the following command from a terminal:
git clone https://gitlab.obspm.fr/ROC/DataPool (HTTPS)
or
git clone git@gitlab.obspm.fr:ROC/DataPool (SSH)
If everything goes right, you should have a local folder "DataPool" in your system.
WARNING
By default, Git will download the "master" branch only. This branch is protected and contain the skeleton/master CDF files actually used by the ROC.
In order to submit their skeleton CDF files, the RCS teams must use the dedicated "rcs" branch.
To switch to the "rcs" branch, enter the following commands in the given order :
- git checkout -b rcs
- git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/rcs rcs
- git pull
The first command creates the local branch "rcs" and switches to this new branch. The second one synchronizes the local branch with the remote branch "origin/rcs" on the ROC Gitlab server. The third command downloads (i.e., merges) data from the remote branch "origin/rcs" into the local branch "rcs.
NOTES:
- All of the "git ..." command must be run from the DataPool/ folder
- The "git pull" command should always be run at first, in order to ensure that the remote and local branches are always synchronized
- To switch from a branch to another, use the "git checkout name_of_the_branch" command.
How to access to the ROC "DataPool" Git repository?
- Connect a first time to the gitlab server https://gitlab.obspm.fr, using your LDAP login/pass (i.e., the same used to access to the roc-dev server.)
- Send an email to the roc.support list when it is done, and the ROC team will give you the access to the repository
- You should then be able to see the https://gitlab.obspm.fr/ROC/DataPool repository
INFO
- The step 1 is only required at the first connexion to register your account into the gitlab server.
- You will have only the read/write access to the "rcs" branch of the repository ; this branch must be used to deliver your CDF skeletons. The « master » branch is used by the ROC and cannot be changed by teams.
- You might use ssh keys to access to the repository. In this case, just send your public key to the roc.support list and the ROC team will add it to the authorized key list.
ROC JIRA-related questions
How can I access to the ROC JIRA projects?
The access is restricted. Creating an account can be requested to Xavier Bonnin.
Where can I submit an issue related to the RCS or the ROC pipelines (software, data products, documentation, etc)?
You can use the dedicated ROC-DATAPROD JIRA Page: https://jira-lesia.obspm.fr/projects/ROCDATPRO/summary.
When creating a new issue, be sure to indicate at least:
- A summary
- A description
- An assignee
- The type of task
- The priority
- Eventually the related components (if any)
The following convention shall be used about issue:
| Entity concerned by the issue | Issue summary prefix | Mandatory component(s) |
|---|---|---|
| BIAS | "[BIA] - " | BIAS |
| SCM | "[SCM] - " | SCM |
| LFR | "[LFR] - " | LFR |
| TDS | "[TDS] - " | TDS |
| THR | "[THR] - " | THR |
| ROC | "[ROC] - " | ROC |
| All entities | "[ALL] - " |
ROC RCT-related questions
How can I deliver my RCT file?
The mechanism to deliver the RPW Calibration Table files (RCT) is described in the "ROC Engineering Guidelines for External Users" document (REGU) [ROC-GEN-SYS-NTT-00019-LES].
The latest issue of the REGU is available in the ROC Documents page.
Miscellaneous questions
Where I can find the list of acronyms relative to the ROC project?
The list of acronyms are available here: Acronyms and Definitions