Background

The SKA Project Data Model (PDM) defines a logical data model with entities and relationships that represent all the information required to schedule and observe a fully calibratable observation on an SKA telescope.

Currently, the sole consumer of this library is the Observation Execution Tool (OET), the application which provides high-level scripting facilities and a high-level scripting UI for the SKA. The Python scripts run by the OET convert Scheduling Blocks, as modelled by this library, into Configuration Data Model (CDM) JSON payloads that configure and control the telescope.

Context

The implementation context is as follows: a design has been developed for the SKA Project Data Model (SPDM); the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) provides simulated implementations of all important SKA systems; a working version of the Observation Execution Tool (OET) is available.

In operation, the OET will be given a Scheduling Block (SB), the atomic unit of an observing program, and will run a script to execute it at the telescope.

_images/SPDM_design.png

The script executed under the OET will, among other things, parse the SB JSON and split the information into the Configuration Data Model (CDM) JSON components required to configure the telescope.