HELIO
Heliophysics Integrated Observatory

Access through Applications Software

HELIO can also be accessed through different types of application software:

Using IDL/SolarSoft

The SolarSoftWare system (SolarSoft or SSW) is a library of software that has been developed over more than 20 years by the solar physics community. SolarSoft is based on the Interactive Data Language (IDL); it consists of multiple branches and sub-branches for the many solar observatories and instruments together with main branch containing generic software.

Follow this link to learn more about the SolarSoft code developed for HELIO.    [Pop-up index]

Using Python/SunPy

The SunPy project is an effort to create an open-source software library for solar physics using the Python programming language. Software to access HELIO using SunPy is currently being developed.

Information on the Python/SunPy access will be provided when it becomes available.
 

Applications Program Interface (API)

HELIO can also be accessed at different level; the services can be accessed through their own APIs or through a collective system-level API.

Service Level APIs

The HELIO Services have interfaces that are based on standards developed by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA); they are detailed in the HELIO document Service Interface Specification.
  • The HELIO Query Interface (HQI) is used for most of the services that provide SQL-like search capabilities
  • The IVOA Universal Worker Service (UWS) pattern is used for services that perform the more complex tasks
  • The IVOA Registry Interface is used to implement the HELIO Registry Service

HELIO Query Interface (HQI)

The services that involve some sort of SQL-like search capability based on time and other parameters are addressed through the HELIO Query Interface (HQI). These services that involve access to a relational database include the HEC, HFC, ICS, ILS and UOC; the DPAS employs an adapted form of the HQI to support more complex searches.

The HQI interface is based on the IVOA's Table Access Protocol (TAP) and Parameterized Query Language (PQL). The HQI supports both synchronous and asynchronous run queries through SOAP and REST-based interfaces.

Universal Worker Service (UWS)

Services that are more complex in the type of task they perform use the IVOA's Universal Worker Service (UWS) pattern. These include the Context Service (CXS), which produces various types of plots on demand, and the Coordinate Transformation Service (CTS), which is used to translate between the coordinate systems used by the different communities.

Registry Interface

The HELIO Registry Service (HRS) describes the interfaces that are used for each HELIO service; it is based on the IVOA's Registry Interface. The Registry is able to harvest the service VO Support Interface (VOSI) capabilities although this is not done automatically because the diversity of the HELIO catalogues is presenting a challenge to the IVOA standards.

System Level API

The system level API is described in this document.

 
Last updated: 4th April 2016