Describing Astronomical Catalogues and Query Results with XML

This short document details the first attempt of XML usage for tabular output description following the Strasbourg meeting June 23-25, 1999, and discussions since that time. This proposition was presented at the IXth ADASS Meeting in October 1999 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaii

The present version is dated January 30, 2001.

Participants to the Strasbourg meeting (June 23-25, 1999)

Reference: ``Using XML for Accessing Resources in Astronomy''
by F. Ochsenbein1, M. Albrecht2, A. Brighton2, P. Fernique1, D. Guillaume3, R. Hanisch4, E. Shaya5, A. Wicenec2 2000, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series 216, 83
1 CDS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, France
2 ESO, Munich, Germany
3 Univ. Illinois, USA
4 STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA
5 GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, USA


You may send questions and comments to all participants at the e-mail address: (cds)


Contents:


1  Basic Principles

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a language used here to supply both data and metadata in the same document. Associated with an XSL style file, such documents can be displayed and processed by the new generation browsers supporting XML (like IE5).

We chose to use XML entities (i.e. <tag> ... </tag>) for pieces of data which are normally displayed to the end user, and attributes (i.e. <tag ... name="value" ...>) for specifications which are mostly control information.

Most of the control information is necessary for an automated interpretation for XML front-end tools.


2  Example

This example is an hypothetical output of a query on the GSC catalogue around some astronomical target.

If your browser supports XML, you may try:

<?xml version = "1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE ASTRO SYSTEM "astrores.dtd">
<ASTRO ID="v0.7">
 <DESCRIPTION about="http://astrores.xml.org/ASTRO-Spec-0.2">
   See mailing list
 </DESCRIPTION>
 
  <!-- DEFINITIONS
       a. COOSYS, the system of astronomical coordinates used
       b. for photometric system or others..
  -->
  <DEFINITIONS>
    <COOSYS ID="myJ2000"
     system="eq_FK5"
     equinox="2000."
     epoch="2000."/>
  </DEFINITIONS>

  <!-- The output is made of several tables related together -->
  <RESOURCE ID="I/254">
   <NAME>GSC1.2</NAME>
   <TITLE>The HST Guide Star Catalog, Version 1.2 (Lasker+ 1996)</TITLE>
   <DESCRIPTION>
       This is an excerpt of the GSC1.2.
       This version was re-reduced with PPM catalogue;
       see more details about the GSC catalogues at
       http://www-gsss.stsci.edu/gsc/gsc.html .
   </DESCRIPTION>

   <!-- Now comes the definition of each of the individual tables -->
   <TABLE ID="gsc_out">
     <NAME>gsc.out</NAME>
     <TITLE>Output from GSC1.2 Server</TITLE>
     <DESCRIPTION>
	Default result of GSC1.2 Server around a target
     </DESCRIPTION>

     <FIELD ID="_r"
        ucd="POS_ANG_DIST"
        unit="arcmin"
        datatype="F"
        width="7"
	precision="4">
       <NAME>_r</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Distance from target NGC40</DESCRIPTION>
       <VALUES type="actual">
          <MIN value="0.0"/>
	  <MAX value="10.0"/>
       </VALUES>
     </FIELD>

     <FIELD ID="gsc"
      datatype="A"
      width="10"
      ucd="IDENT" >
        <NAME>GSC-Id</NAME>
        <TITLE>Unique object id</TITLE>
        <DESCRIPTION>
	   The GSC-Id is made of 10 digits, the first 5
           representing the place number, and the last 5
           the object number on the plate.
        </DESCRIPTION>
     </FIELD>

     <FIELD ID="ra"
        ref="#id(myJ2000)"
        ucd="POS_EQ_RA"
        unit="deg"
        datatype="F"
        width="9"
	precision="5"
        format="%RAh %RAm %RAs">
       <NAME>RA(J2000)</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Right ascension in J2000, epoch of plate</DESCRIPTION>
       <VALUES type="actual">
          <MIN value="3.0"/>
	  <MAX value="3.6"/>
       </VALUES>
     </FIELD>

     <FIELD ID="dec"
        ref="#id($myJ2000)"
        ucd="POS_EQ_DE"
        unit="deg"
        datatype="F"
        width="9"
	precision="5"
        format="%DEd %DEm %DEs">
       <NAME>Dec(J2000)</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Declination in J2000, epoch of plate</DESCRIPTION>
     </FIELD>

     <FIELD ID="pos_err"
        unit="arcsec"
        datatype="F"
        width="4"
	precision="1"
        ucd="ERROR" >
       <NAME>PosErr</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Mean error on position</DESCRIPTION>
      </FIELD>

      <FIELD ID="Pmag"
        ucd="PHOT_PHG_MAG"
        unit="mag"
        datatype="F"
        width="5"
	precision="2">
       <NAME>Pmag</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>photographic magnitude (see n_Pmag)</DESCRIPTION>
      </FIELD>

      <FIELD ID="e_Pmag"
        ucd="ERROR"
        unit="mag"
        datatype="F"
        width="5"
	precision="2">
       <NAME>e_Pmag</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Mean error on photographic magnitude</DESCRIPTION>
      </FIELD>

      <FIELD ID="class"
        ucd="CLASS_CODE"
        datatype="I"
        width="1">
       <NAME>Class</NAME>
       <DESCRIPTION>Class of object (0=star; 3=non-stellar)</DESCRIPTION>
       <VALUES type="actual">
	  <OPTION value="0">star</OPTION>
	  <OPTION value="3">galaxy</OPTION>
       </VALUES>

      </FIELD>

         <LINK content-role="doc"
	    title="documentation"
	    href="http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/I/254"/>
         <LINK content-role="hints"
	    title="Hints for the display interface"
	    href="http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/I/254&amp;-hints"/>
      
    <!-- This section displays the data, in compact CSV form -->
<DATA><CSV colsep="|" headlines="2" ><![CDATA[
   _r |  GSC-id  |RA2000 |DE2000  |Err|Bmag|Err|m
arcmin|----------|deg    |deg   |arcsrc|mag|mag|
0.0146|0430201297|00 13 00.93|+72 31 19.9|3.6|8.59|0.20|0
0.9704|0430200545|00 12 50.07|+72 30 48.2|0.2|12.18|0.34|0
0.9730|0430200545|00 12 50.04|+72 30 48.1|0.2|12.09|0.20|0
1.5843|0430202363|00 12 44.05|+72 30 22.6|0.2|14.38|0.34|0
2.8586|0430200269|00 12 33.10|+72 29 22.6|0.3|14.96|0.20|3
2.9198|0430200153|00 13 24.64|+72 33 38.3|0.2|12.89|0.20|0
2.9215|0430200153|00 13 24.66|+72 33 38.4|0.2|13.06|0.34|0
3.0487|0430202336|00 12 53.35|+72 34 18.7|0.2|14.38|0.34|0
3.2247|0430200121|00 13 36.48|+72 29 30.2|0.2|12.39|0.21|0
3.2269|0430200121|00 13 36.46|+72 29 29.8|0.2|12.50|0.34|0
]]></CSV></DATA>
</TABLE>


</RESOURCE>
</ASTRO>


3  Document Definition (DTD)

<!-- DOCUMENT TYPE DEFINITION FOR THE ASTRONOMICAL RESOURCES
     Version 0.9 - 17-Apr-2000  == ID / IDREF definitions
     Version 0.8 - 16 Janv 2000 == LINK Modifications
     Version 0.7 - 20 Dece 1999 == Allan Brighton's Remarks
     Version 0.6 - 06 Nove 1999 == Addition of <CSV> tag
     Version 0.5 - 24 Sept 1999
     Version 0.4 - 28 july 1999
     Version 0.3 - 25 july 1999
     Version 0.2 - 12 july 1999
     Version 0.1 - 29 june 1999
     
     This DTD describes the architecture of XML documents
     for astronomical resources. Astronomical resources means
     in this context:
     	. excerpt tables or complete tables
	. lists of table descriptions
	. lists of server descriptions
     The aim is to give enough knowledge to the user interfaces 
     to manipulate these resources (units, formats, anchors, natural
     language descriptions, nomenclatures, value ranges...).
     
     Syntax policy
     =============
     - The element names are in uppercase in order to help the reading.
     - The attribute names are preferably in lowercase (exception
       for ID from the Xpointer standard)
     - The attribute values are not set directly in the DTD but indicated
       in comments to facilitate the reading and future extensions.
     
     Remarks about the ID attribute
     ==============================
     This DTD use the ID attribute defined by Xpointer standard
     in order to refer the elements between them:
     The attribute ID can take any authorized values in XML.
     Each ID MUST BE UNIQUE in the XML document.
     To refer to an element the Xpointer standard is used. For
     example attr="myJ2000" refers to the element that contains ID="myJ2000"
     in the current XML document. An alternative to this notation has
     been introduced with the classical $NAME variable (or ${NAME}). This
     notation will be prefered in case of substitutions (URL template,
     epochs depending of the row values,...
     ex: http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin?-c=$ra+$de&-r=10)

     Remarks about DATA element
     ==========================
     The DATA element can indicate different structures depending
     of the origin and the size of the DATA.
     	-> CSV embedded (Character Separated values)
	-> Full XML tagging
	-> anchor to external data
     In case of CSV syntax, headings are authorized to help the reading.
	
     The LINK element has been defined to set together any
     URL template for queries, documentation, additional
     information... It follows the Xlink syntax.

   This attribute does not work with IE...
   xmlns:ASTRO	CDATA	#IMPLIED
-->

<!ELEMENT ASTRO (DESCRIPTION?, DEFINITIONS?, INFO*, RESOURCE+) >
   <!ATTLIST ASTRO
   ID		ID	#IMPLIED 
   >

<!ELEMENT RESOURCE (DEFINITIONS*, NAME?, TITLE?, DESCRIPTION?, INFO*, 
		    FIELD*, TABLE*, LINK* ) >
   <!ATTLIST RESOURCE
   ID           ID           #IMPLIED 
   type		(results|meta) 	"results" >

<!-- Details of the used parameters -->
<!ELEMENT INFO (#PCDATA)>
   <!-- ID       To refer this element
        name     Argument's canonical name (ASU); 
		 when absent, the argument can't be used for back queries.
        value	 Argument's contents
   -->     
   <!ATTLIST INFO
   ID           ID          #IMPLIED
   name         CDATA          #IMPLIED
   value        CDATA          #IMPLIED >

<!-- To specify ranges or lists of values
     In case of use in <FIELD> tag, the type attribute
     can be used to indicate the kind of values.
     The multiple attribute specifies that it is
     not an exclusive list of value, and in this case
     the separator value indicates the character to
     separate several values
        type      legal|actual
        multiple  yes|no 
        separator a letter, by default "," -->

<!-- Astronomical table -->
<!-- Note: table may be empty .. thus ================ FIELD* -->
<!ELEMENT TABLE (NAME?, TITLE?, DESCRIPTION?, COOSYS*, FIELD*, LINK*, DATA?) >
   <!ATTLIST TABLE
   ID           ID           #IMPLIED >
   
<!-- 1) In TABLE tag: Catalog or table shortname
        ex: "GSC1.2"
     2) In FIELD tag: field name
        ex: "RA(J2000)" -->
<!ELEMENT NAME (#PCDATA) >

<!-- 1) In TABLE tag: Catalog or table description (paragraph)
        ex: "This is an excerpt of the GSC1.2. This version was re-reduced
             with PPM catalogue; see more details about..."
     2) In FIELD tag: field description (paragraph) -->
<!ELEMENT DESCRIPTION (#PCDATA) >
   <!ATTLIST DESCRIPTION
   about	CDATA	#IMPLIED >
   
<!-- 1) In TABLE tag: Catalog or table title in one line
        ex: "The HST Guide Star Catalog, Version 1.2 (Lasker+ 1996)"
     2) In FIELD tag: field description (paragraph)
        ex: "Right ascension in J2000, epoch of plate" -->
<!ELEMENT TITLE (#PCDATA) >

<!-- Definition of a field -->
<!ELEMENT FIELD (NAME?, TITLE?, DESCRIPTION?, VALUES*, LINK? ) >
   <!-- ID       To refer this element
        unit     Unit used for the field (see appendix)
        datatype Datatype of field value
	         F-float, D-double, I-integer, A-ascii
	         L-boolean (logical), E-exponential
        precision Precision of field value: number of significant digits
	         after the dot (ex: "3")
        width    number of characters          "8"
        format   indicate the format by a "%fmt" template (as "printf()"
	         in language C). Use for coordinate format, time and date
		 formats   (ex: "%RAh:%RAmd %DEd:%DEmd" - (see appendix)
        ref      Reference to the system for this field. For example it can be
	         a coordinate or a photometric system.
	         ex : #id("myJ2000")  -> The syntax comes from Xpointers
        name     Alternative to specify the name of the field if it uses
	         only ascii characters (see the NAME element for the
		 other possibility)
        ucd      Unified column descriptor    "POS_EQ_RA" (ESO/CDS work)
        type     To characterize the field
	         hidden   for fields used typically for server/client exchange
		 no_query for fields which specify some parameters
                          (e.g. the equinox of a coordinate system)
                 trigger  for fields which contain a parameter for an action
                          
	actualvalues Reference to the range or list of actual values
	         (it is an alternative to the <VALUES> entity in order to
		 be able to factorize them)
        legalvalues Reference to the range or list of legal values
	         (it's an alternative to the <VALUES> entity in order to
		 be able to factorize them)
   -->     
   <!ATTLIST FIELD
   ID           ID             #IMPLIED
   unit         CDATA          #IMPLIED
   datatype     (F|I|D|E|A|L)  #IMPLIED
   precision    CDATA          #IMPLIED
   width        CDATA          #IMPLIED
   format       CDATA          #IMPLIED
   ref          IDREF          #IMPLIED
   name         CDATA          #IMPLIED
   ucd          CDATA          #IMPLIED
   type         (hidden|no_query|trigger) #IMPLIED >
   
<!-- To specify ranges or lists of values
     In case of use in <FIELD> tag, the type attribute
     can be used to indicate the kind of values.
     The multiple attribute specifies that it is
     not an exclusive list of value, and in this case
     the separator value indicates the character to
     separate several values
        type      legal|actual
        multiple  yes|no 
        separator a letter, by default "," -->
<!ELEMENT VALUES (MIN*, MAX*, OPTION*, NULL?) >
   <!ATTLIST VALUES
   ID           ID             #IMPLIED
   multiple    (yes |no)       "no"
   type        (legal|actual)  "legal" >

<!-- Min of a value range
    value        the min
    inclusive    yes|no  (default: yes) -->
<!ELEMENT MIN (#PCDATA) >
   <!ATTLIST MIN
   value        CDATA          #REQUIRED
   inclusive    (yes |no)      "yes" >

<!-- Max of a value range
    value        the max
    inclusive    yes|no  (default: yes) -->
<!ELEMENT MAX (#PCDATA) >
   <!ATTLIST MAX
   value        CDATA          #REQUIRED
   inclusive    (yes |no)      "yes" >

<!-- Item of list of values. The content of the
     OPTION tag can be not empty to indicate
     a corresponding sentence (ex: value="I/239"
     and content: "Hipparcos catalog" 
     NOTE: OPTION may include VALUE for hierarchical menus.
	   (therefore OPTION can't have #PCDATA)
     -->
<!ELEMENT OPTION (OPTION*) >
   <!ATTLIST OPTION
   name		CDATA	       #IMPLIED
   value        CDATA          #REQUIRED >

<!-- Specify the value for the null representation
    value        the null representation -->
<!ELEMENT NULL (#PCDATA) >
   <!ATTLIST NULL
   value        CDATA          #REQUIRED >
      
<!-- Link to relevant information. 
     The LINK indicates a possibility to retrieve more data,
     in a mime type specified in the content-type attribute,
     for a purpose sketched in the content-role attribute;
     the title attribute is the text which can be proposed
     for e.g. a header of a button label, 
     and the value attribute can propose a text for each
     row (using the substitution possibilities)

     The link can be defined in one of the 3 forms:
     1. Via the href (e.g.. href="http://...?param=${id-field}..."    ),
     2. Via the action (e.g.. action="http://...")
	which acts as the html FORM tag: 
	the full link is the concatenation of:
	-> the action contents 
	-> each field of the <RESOURCE> with no type or marked as type="hidden"
	   is appended as ${name}=${value}
	   where ${name} stands for the contents of the name attribute
				      of in the FIELD tag
	      ${value} stands for the relevant value
     3. Via the gref (the GLU way of specifying the link)
     The link may contain $ symbols indicating variable substitution,
     (see "Remarks about the ID attribute" above)

     The purpose of the link defined by the content-role attribute may
     contain the following keys:
        query   URL template to query the resource
	hints   URL template to get additional information proposed
		by the server for use by the application
	doc     URL template to get documentation about the resource
	....    (other tbd's) -->

<!ELEMENT LINK (#PCDATA) >
   <!ATTLIST LINK
   ID           ID             #IMPLIED 
   content-role (query|hints|doc) #IMPLIED
   content-type CDATA 		#IMPLIED
   title        CDATA          #IMPLIED
   value        CDATA          #IMPLIED 
   href 	CDATA          #IMPLIED
   gref		CDATA	       #IMPLIED 
   action 	CDATA          #IMPLIED >


<!-- Data of the table. The data may be supplied via a link,
     as Character-Separed-Values (CSV) or 
     as a fully-tagged XML table (TABLEDATA).
  
  For CSV data, the possible attributes are
        colsep    column separator (by default \t) (ex: "|")
        recsep    record separator (by default \n) (ex: "\r")
   	headlines number of heading lines to ignore (comment lines)

  For TABLEDATA, made of rows, each row made of cells
      Empty tables (no row) are allowed; 
      but a row cannot be made of zero cell.
-->

<!ELEMENT TABLEDATA (ROW*)>
   <!ATTLIST TABLEDATA
   headlines    CDATA          #IMPLIED >

<!ELEMENT ROW (CELL+) >

<!ELEMENT CELL (#PCDATA)>
   <!ATTLIST CELL
   ref          IDREF          #IMPLIED >

<!ELEMENT DATA (TABLEDATA | LINK | CSV) >

<!ELEMENT CSV (#PCDATA)>
   <!ATTLIST CSV
   recsep       CDATA          #IMPLIED
   colsep       CDATA          #IMPLIED
   headlines    CDATA          #IMPLIED >


<!-- General definitions for default system coordinates and
     set of values -->
<!ELEMENT DEFINITIONS (COOSYS*) >
   
<!-- Coordinate system declaration -->
<!ELEMENT COOSYS (#PCDATA) >
   <!-- ID       to refer it                   "myJ2000"
        system    eq_FK4|eq_FK5|ICRS|ecl_FK4|ecl_FK5|
	          galactic|supergalactic|xy|barycentric|geo_app
        equinox  the equinox
        epoch    the epoch
	x	 Alternative for referring to RA
	y	 Alternative for referring to DE
   -->
   <!ATTLIST COOSYS
   ID           ID              #IMPLIED
   system       (eq_FK4|eq_FK5|ICRS|ecl_FK4|ecl_FK5|galactic|supergalactic|xy|barycentric|geo_app)      "eq_FK5"
   equinox      CDATA           #IMPLIED
   epoch        CDATA           #IMPLIED
   x            CDATA           #IMPLIED
   y            CDATA           #IMPLIED >
      


<!-- APPENDIX

     "unit" attibute values (FIELD element)
     ______________________________________
     %         percent  		10-2
     A         Ampere			A
     a         year			3.15576x10+7s
     al        light-year		9.46053x10+15m
     Angstroem Angstroem (0.1nm)	10-10m
     arcmin    minute of arc		4.62963x10-5
     arcsec    second of arc		7.71605x10-7
     atm       atmosphere		1.01325x10+5Pa (kg.m-1.s-2)
     AU        astronomical unit	1.49598x10+11m
     au        astronomical unit	1.49598x10+11m
     bar       ?bar(10+5Pa)		10+5Pa (kg.m-1.s-2)
     barn      barn(10-28m2)		10-28m+2
     bit       binary information unit
     byte      byte(8bits)	  
     C         Coulomb  		C (s.A)
     c         c(speed_of_light)	2.99792x10+8m.s-1
     cal       calorie  		4.1854J (kg.m+2.s-2)
     cd        candela(lumen/sr)	cd
     ct        count		  
     D         Debye (dipole)		3.33333x10-30m.s.A
     d         day			8.64x10+4s
     deg       degree			2.77778x10-3
     dyn       dyne(10-5N)		10-5N (kg.m.s-2)
     e         e(electron_charge)	1.60218x10-19C (s.A)
     erg       erg(10-7J)		10-7J (kg.m+2.s-2)
     eV        electron-Volt		1.60218x10-19J (kg.m+2.s-2)
     F         Farad			F (kg-1.m-2.s+4.A+2)
     G         G(gravitation)		6.67x10-11kg-1.m+3.s-2
     g         gram			10-3kg
     gauss     Gauss(10-4T)		10-4T (kg.s-2.A-1)
     H         Henry			H (kg.m+2.s-2.A-2)
     h         hour			3.6x10+3s
     hr        hour(use 'h')		3.6x10+3s
     Hz        Herz			Hz (s-1)
     inch      inch			2.54x10-2m
     J         Joule			J (kg.m+2.s-2)
     JD        Julian Day		8.64x10+4s
     Jy        Jansky(10-26W/m2/Hz)	10-26kg.s-2
     K         Kelvin			K
     k         k(Boltzmann)		1.38062x10-23kg.m+2.s-2.K-1
     kg        kilogram 		kg
     l         litre			10-3m+3
     lm        lumen			7.95775x10-2cd
     lx        lux(lm/m2)		7.95775x10-2m-2.cd
     lyr       light-year (c*yr)	9.46053x10+15m
     m         metre			m
     mag       magnitude		mag
     mas       milli-second of arc	7.71605x10-10
     me        electron_mass		9.10956x10-31kg
     min       minute			6x10+1s
     MJD       Mod. JD (JD-2400000.5)	8.64x10+4s
     mmHg      mercury_mm		1.33322x10+2Pa (kg.m-1.s-2)
     mol       mole			mol
     month     month		  
     mp        proton_mass		1.67266x10-27kg
     N         Newton			N (kg.m.s-2)
     Ohm       Ohm(V/A) 		Ohm (kg.m+2.s-3.A-2)
     Pa        Pascal			Pa (kg.m-1.s-2)
     pc        parsec			3.0857x10+16m
     ph        photon		  
     pi        pi(=3.14...)		3.14159
     pix       pixel		  
     R         R(gas_constant)  	8.3143kg.m+2.s-2.K-1.mol-1
     rad       radian			1.59155x10-1
     Ry        Rydberg(13.6eV)  	2.17989x10-18J (kg.m+2.s-2)
     S         Siemens(A/V)		S (kg-1.m-2.s+3.A+2)
     s         second			s
     sec       second (use 's') 	s
     solLum    solar luminosity 	3.826x10+26W (kg.m+2.s-3)
     solMass   solar mass		1.989x10+30kg
     solRad    solar radius		6.9599x10+8m
     sr        steradian		7.95775x10-2
     Sun       Solar unit 
     T         Tesla			T (kg.s-2.A-1)
     t         ton			10+3kg
     V         Volt			V (kg.m+2.s-3.A-1)
     W         Watt			W (kg.m+2.s-3)
     Wb        Weber(V.s)		Wb (kg.m+2.s-2.A-1)
     yr        year			3.15576x10+7s
     
     "format" attibute value (FIELD element)
     ______________________________________     
     COOd  entire coord. string in decimal degrees (76.96583 -76.44222)
     COO   entire coord. string in sex. format (05 07 51.8 -76 26 32)
     RA    RA in standard sexagesimal form (05 07 51.8)
     RAdeg RA in degrees (76.96583)
     RAh   hours of right ascension (05)
     RAhd  RA in decimal hours (5.13106)
     RAm   minutes of RA (07)
     RAmd  minutes of RA including any fractional minutes (07.9)
     RAs   seconds of RA (52)
     RAsd  seconds of RA including fractional seconds (51.8)
     DE    DE in standard sexagesimal form (-76 26 32.0)
     DEdeg DE in degrees (-76.44222)
     DEd   degrees of DE (-76)
     DEm   minutes of DE (26)
     DEmd  minutes of DE including fractional minutes (26.5)
     DEs   seconds of DE (32)
     DEsd  seconds of DE including fractional seconds (32.0)
     LON   longitudinal coord. in degrees (288.48372)
     LAT   latitudinal coord. in degrees (-32.30250)
-->

<!-- APPENDIX

     "time" formats (Astrobrowse and GLU Definitions)
     See 	http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ab/time.html
     ("UTC", "TAI", or "other")

     Symbol    Meaning                            Example
     ====================================================
     YYYY      4-digit year                       1999
     YYYYffff  4-digit year with fractional year  1999.0877
     YY        2-digit year                       99
     DDD       3-digit day of year                032
     DDDffffff 3-digit day of year with 6-digit   032.218142
               fractional day
     MM        2-digit month                      02
     DD        2-digit day of month               01
     DDfff     2-digit day of month with 3-digit  01.218
               fractional day
     hh        2-digit hour of day                05
     mm        2-digit minute of hour             14
     ss        2-digit seconds of minute          07
     ssff      seconds of minute with fraction    07.45
     hhffff    hours with decimal fraction        05.1242
     month     name of month in lowercase         february
     Month     name of month (capitalized)        February
     mon       abbrev name of month               feb
     JD        Julian Date                        2451210.71814178
     TJD       Truncated Julian Date              11210.2181417824
     MJD       Modified Julian Date               51210.2181417824
     SHF       SHF: short history file time key   602313260
     XTE       XTE mission day with fractional    1857.21818287037
               day
-->


4  The XSL used

This is a very preliminary example of a style sheet presenting the document (displayed by XML-compliant browser only)

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-xsl"   
                xmlns:HTML="http://www.w3.org/Profiles/XHTML-transitional">
  <xsl:template><xsl:apply-templates/></xsl:template>
  <xsl:template match="text()"><xsl:value-of/></xsl:template>


<xsl:template match="/">
    <HTML>
      <HEAD>
        <TITLE><xsl:value-of select="ASTRO/RESOURCE/NAME"/></TITLE>
      </HEAD>
      <BODY>
      <H1><xsl:value-of select="ASTRO/RESOURCE/TITLE"/></H1>
      <I><xsl:value-of select="ASTRO/RESOURCE/DESCRIPTION"/></I>
      <HR/>
         <xsl:for-each select="ASTRO/RESOURCE/TABLE">
            <H2><xsl:value-of select="TITLE"/></H2>
	    
            <H3>Column description:</H3><UL>
            <xsl:for-each select="FIELD">
	       <LI>
		  <xsl:value-of select="NAME"/>: <xsl:value-of select="TITLE"/> <I><xsl:value-of select="DESCRIPTION"/></I></LI>
	    </xsl:for-each>
	    </UL>
	    
	    <H2>Data:</H2>
            <PRE><xsl:value-of select="DATA/CSV"/></PRE>
	 </xsl:for-each>
      <HR/>
      </BODY>
    </HTML>
</xsl:template>

</xsl:stylesheet>

Version 16 July 1999


5  Query VizieR and Get XML Output

VizieR is now able to issue XML as the result of a query.

Choose the Catalog:   Tips: Use either a catalog designation like I/239/hip_main, or an acronym like IRAS or TYC... or an asterisk to get the results from all (>2300) catalogues, but it might be slow!
Choose the Target :   radius arcmin
Choose Data Formatting :  

and just push the

     to get the XML result from the VizieR Query.

The default VizieR Query brings up a description of the various usable parameters.