PDS FILE ARCHIVE

There will always be a catalog file for the data set (usually called dataset.cat), which you should review carefully. PDS catalog files provide overview information about various aspects of the data in a structured form that can be ingested directly into the PDS catalog database. You can find the instrument catalog file, for example, by looking up its name in the catinfo.txt file. This file will tell you what is in all the other files in the directory. Look for the appropriate *info.txt file in these directories to learn more about their contents.ДЄfter you've dispensed with the 'AAREADME', turn your attention to the catalog/ directory and the catinfo.txt file. Each of these optional directories will include a plain text informational file with a name ending in info.txt. There may be additional optional subdirectories included with the data set, some of which are listed below.

tab files), or you might find scientifically interesting fields added to the index.tab file. lbl files describing the contents of the. There might be additional table files containing scientific indices into the data (look for.

index/: At a minimum, this required directory will contain files called index.tab, which contains the PDS manifest for the data set, and checksum.tab, which has MD5 checksums for everything in the data set.

document/: An optional directory containing document files that provide detailed descriptions and explanations of various topics related to the data, like calibration procedures, instrument descriptions, observatory logbooks, etc.

The 'AAREADME' should make the subdirectory layout clear in these cases. Some data sets will have multiple data directories under the root directory, usually named mnemonically for observing modes, mission phases, targets, or such.

data/: In an SBN data set you will usually find the data files in a subdirectory called data/, though this is by convention rather than requirement.

catalog/: A required directory containing files with very high-level information used to populate the central PDS catalog for searching.

calib/: An optional directory that, when present, will contain calibration data files used to produce the data set.

The directories you will most likely encounter are: Most of the subdirectory names are dictated by the PDS Standards Requirements. You'll probably also see a file called 'VOLDESC.CAT', which you can safely ignore, and possibly an 'ERRATA.TXT', which you should probably not ignore. In the root directory of the data set you will usually find an 'AAREADME' file (plain text or possibly HTML) that should provide some basic info about what is included where in the data set. You may work your way through a data set online or by downloading the entire collection.Д®ach data set is organized as a directory tree. It also suggests a sequence of actions that new users seem to find helpful for getting familiar with the contents of a data set.

PDS FILE ARCHIVE

This page presents a basic description of what is included in a data set for those unfamiliar with the PDS3 archive structure.

Pds file