Final Message

[Ray Osborn]

Maria Heinig tells me that you have all made the requisite travel and
accommodation arrangements, so we should have a good turnout for the
workshop.  I include a slightly amplified agenda to the earlier one I sent
out.  However, this is meant to be an extremely informal workshop, so the
timings of the agenda items may change radically depending on how useful the
various discussions are.  The half-hour set aside for the introductions to
each session is the maximum time, not the required time.  Please don't feel
obliged to talk for that long unless you want to.  I know that some of you
not included in the agenda are also prepared to give short presentations.
We'll discuss when to schedule them on Monday morning.

The whole meeting will take place in Bldg 360, which is the building marked
in blue in <http://www.pns.anl.gov/ipnsdir.htm>.  Unfortunately, the rest of
that map is out of date since it doesn't include the Guest House so check
out <http://www.anl.gov/OPA/ilsitemap.html> as well if you need directions
from the guest house.

For those of you without cars, I will be in the lobby of the Guest House at
9:00 on Monday to drive you to IPNS.  Otherwise, please go to Bldg 360 and
proceed to the second floor conference room A224.

Please feel free to contact me at home at (630) 515-8418 if you encounter
any problems during the weekend.

Have a safe journey, and I look forward to seeing you on Monday morning.

Ray
-- 
Dr Ray Osborn                Tel: +1 (630) 252-9011
Materials Science Division   Fax: +1 (630) 252-7777
Argonne National Laboratory  E-mail: ROsborn at anl.gov
Argonne, IL 60439-4845

  
---------------------------------
NeXus 2000
==========

Sept 11-13
IPNS Bldg 360, Room A224
Argonne National Laboratory


Monday Sept. 11
===============

09:30 Introduction and Review of NeXus API
      Ray Osborn

10:00 Discussion of existing functionality and experiences

        What¹s working and not working?
        What is the feedback from the user community?
        Is there a need for extra features (e.g.  NXdelete)?
        Are existing compression schemes adequate?
        Do we need to improve multi-file support
        What design changes might be necessary (e.g. axis definitions)?
        Is there a need for an additional utility API
        What standalone utilities currently exist?
        Should we be providing central support for NeXus utilities?
        What utilities are these (browsers, plotters, analysis)?
      
12:00 Lunch (Argonne Cafeteria)

13:30 Migration to HDF5
      Przemek Klosowski

14:00 Discussion of migration policy

       Is HDF5 sufficiently mature?
       Does it run on enough platforms (e.g. VMS)?
       Does it have enough functionality and performance?
       Should we change NeXus to take advantage of its new features?
       What are the design issues in moving to HDF5 (e.g. NXlink)?
       How do we handle backward-compatibility?
       How do we address lack of third-party support (e.g. IDL, Matlab)?

17:00 Informal demonstrations of utilities (Part I)

18:00 Break for evening

Tuesday Sept. 12
================

09:30 Issues raised by a Java API
      Mark Koennecke

10:00 Discussion of Java API

       Is it advisable to have a NeXus version of java?
       What issues does it raise concerning the NeXus design (i.e. OOP)?
       Who should write it and maintain it?
       Should we aim to write Java applications?
       How do we link to other Java developments?

12:00 Lunch (Argonne Cafeteria)

13:30 Defining NeXus files in XML
      Chris Moreton-Smith

14:00 Discussion of XML and higher-level API's

       Is it useful to have NeXus defined in XML?
       What are the advantages and disadvantages?
       How do we exploit the advantages?
       Do we need XML to NeXus converters?
       Should we define instruments in XML?
       Can XML be utilized in higher-level API's (cf NXdict)?

17:00 Informal demonstrations of utilities (Part II)

18:00 Break for evening

Wednesday Sept. 13
==================

09:30 Installation procedures
      Nick Maliszewskyj

10:00 Discussion of how to organize future developments

       How do we improve the installation procedures?
       Should we provide rpm's?
       Is the current CVS process working OK?
       Do we need to expand the number of people contributing?
       If so, do we need levels of access (e.g. submissions/authorization)?
       Do we need hard documentation or is the web sufficient?

11:30 Discussion of future workshops
       Venue and format of first open NeXus workshop in 2001

12:30 End of Meeting